Mascaras - Which One Do You Use?

One of my favorite makeup items has always been mascara.  I feel as if it's the finishing touch to your makeup.  Even on those days when I don't feel like making up my whole face, or if I'm in a rush, I always put on mascara.  So this brings me to the question: Are higher priced mascaras really worth the money we pay for them?  In my experience, it depends on the brand of the higher price mascara.  With drug store mascaras, it has always been hit or miss for me. With that being said, I'll give you a run down of my favorite mascaras - high end and drug store.

My all time love of mascaras right now is the Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara.  In my opinion this mascara does it all!  It achieves an intense, dramatic lash look with one stroke. Its uses a Triple-Film Complex: a film-coating for intensity, a conditioning film for curve, and a fixing film for long-lasting effectiveness.  The brush applicator combines nylon fibers of varying diameters for volume enhancement.  I love this mascara, and when shopping in Sephora one day, I picked it up.  I was sad that my wallet had to take a dent at the $28 price, but to me every penny was worth it.  This is the mascara that I pick up the most often as it does everything in one stroke.

My next choice for high end mascara is actually a combination of two items.  I really love Urban Decay's Eyelash Primer Potion used with DuWop's Lash Venom.  These two eyelash products work great together. The Urban Decay Eyelash Primer Potion is a lengthening, volumizing, and fortifying mascara base.  If you use this product before your favorite mascara your lashes will appear thicker, longer, and stronger.  It uses the conditioning, fortifying, and thickening formula of Silk Protein, Panthenol, and Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein. I love to pair this with DuWop's Lash Venom. I like the Lash Venom on it's own as it provides extreme length without clumping.  The formula also contains vitamin E and an acrylic polymer that prevents smudging and flaking. The brush is made to optimize both pick-up and delivery, ensuring consistent performance with every application. Lash Venom gives your lashes instant fullness and a glossy, jet-black finish.  In conjunction, these two products give you the effect of false lashes when you really aren't wearing them.

Of course there are many more high end mascara that I use and like. Buxom by Bare Essentiuals is a great mascara, as is the Bad Gal Lash by Benefit. However, the ones reviewed above are way worth the price if I had to choose. I've been wanting to try the Dior Show Extase Mascara, and may treat myself to it the next time I am at Sephora.

So I bring myself to drug-store brands.  I have only found 3 drug store brand mascaras that I would like and repurchase.  One is the Covergirl Lash Blast.  This mascara is really awesome for a drug store brand.  I was actually very surprised when I used it as I had never had a drug store brand give me the effect I wanted before this one.  It gives you instant volume and lift. It's smudge proof and smear proof, and it's also hypoallergenic (which is good for those who wear contacts).  I love this mascara and plan to try the other varieties of it that Covergirl is beginning to offer. 

Two other drug store mascaras I reach for are both made by Maybelline.  The first is the Intense XXL® Volume + Length Washable Microfiber Mascara.  This mascara works alot like the UD Eyelash Primer and my Duwop Lash Venom combination, however with a little more clumping...so if you can't afford the higher end combo, this would be a great mascara for you.  It creates up to 60% longer lashes and 11X the volume. I feel the only downfall of this mascara is that the microfiber side of the tube tends to clump my lashes, so an eyelash curler is a must when using this mascara.  Another mascara by Maybelline that I use is the Lash Stiletto. I must say the brush on this mascara is great.  It grasps each lash and coats from every angle, while the formula is filled with Pro-Vitamin B-5 that conditions and smoothes for black-patent shine.  I would reccommend this mascara to anyone who is looking for a great drug store brand.

On that note there are many other drug store mascaras I have yet to try and would like to.  So my questions for you are:
What is your favorite mascara?
Do you prefer high end mascaras to drug store brands?
Do you think that the price of high end mascaras is worth it?
What mascara would you reccommend to your friends?

Hair Products - New Favorites!

Not too long ago, my Secret Santa sent me a great gift. She gave me a variety of CIBU hair styling products.  Let me just say "Wow!"  Now I love this stuff.  According to the Cibu website: Cibu shampoos, conditioners and finishing products add maximum shine and moisture to all hair types. Fine, straight, thick, dry, curly or chemically treated, Cibu's patented blend of Bamboo, Water Lily and Lotus Flower extracts and Vitamin B5 protect and nourish hair. And it smells so good!

So let me tell you what I have been using and loving.  One of my favorite things, one that I have been reaching for everyday I may add, is the Origumi Paste. This stuff is totally awesome.  It gives my hair volume and shine.  I use it on my damp hair, on the underneath and in the roots, to give my hair some lift.  I be careful not to use too much as it will weigh my hair down, but I've gotten that down to a science now.

Another product I've been using is the Miso Knotty Leave In Detangler. This is a gentle leave-in detangler that works great in my hair. After shampooing, I spritz it into my wet hair and comb through. It eliminates those little flyaways at the crown of my head and refreshes my hair. Sometimes, because I have fine, limp hair, conditioners can weigh it down. This product doesn't. It's great for when I want to skip a conditioner day.

I've also been using the Shang Hi Root Booster, Thickening Paste and Mousse Lee Foaming Volumizer. These are awesome products for fine, limp, lifeless hair like mine. When I use them, I apply them to my damp hair and then blow dry. What I like most about these products is that I don't feel like I have any product there. My hair is touchably soft, but volumized. Check out Cibu's website: http://www.cibuinternational.com/index.html

There are definitely products there for all hair types!

Just an Update

Thank all of you so much for your responses to my last blog.  I know it must have been weird to read so much about me personally, but I used the blog as a way to get a few things off my chest.  Just to let you guys know, I did go back to see my doctor, and I am in the process of switching medications, which is not an easy thing to do.  I will not be returning to work this week.  Having to ween off of one medication while getting on another is sometimes a difficult thing to go through, so my doctor told me not to go back until next week.  While I know it is truly needed, I feel horrible that I cannot go in. 

Thanks again for all of the support you guys have given me, and continue to give me here, on twitter, and on youtube.  I love you all!