Here, Let Me Show You My Mascaras

There are so many things that can make a mascara go wrong. It can smudge. It can flake. It can itch, or smell, or clump, or loosen curl, or fade, or fill-in-the-blank-here. My lashes are naturally long, dark (slightly lighter at the tips), and plentiful, and they grow straight, so if I don't curl them, they bump against my glasses (even more of a problem when wearing mascara!). I therefore look for mascara that doesn't clump them together (an effect of many volumizing formulas) and does hold a curl.

Terminology clarification: when I say "mascara clumping", I mean that the mascara builds up on the lashes in little balls. When I say "lash clumping", I mean the mascara clumps individual lashes together, making them look like a single mondo lash.

Since mascara needs to be replaced at least every three months, I try to stick to drugstore options, but there are a couple of higher-end ones here. My absolute favorite HG love forever is Armani Eyes to Kill, but it's $30 a tube and in the 2 years since I first purchased it, I haven't been able to bring myself to fork over the cash again. Fortunately, Maybelline Full N Soft is almost as good and 1/5 the price! And several of these that I've tried lately are good, too. (Most of the pictures in this post are stolen from other posts on the blog, so if they look familiar, don't worry, you're not crazy. Or, well, you might be, and at the very least you certainly have an uncannily excellent visual memory, but it's probably not reason to get yourself checked out.) For all mascaras here, I have chosen the blackest option, since anything else just seems pointless.

For reference, bare, curled lashes:

you're gonna be seeing a lot of my right eye in this post.

Maybelline Full N Soft, one coat:

Springing Spring: Pink Lipsticks

I have somehow, in the last couple months, managed to acquire three cool pink lipsticks. That's not a color family that I tend to gravitate towards, preferring warmer pinks or deeper plums, but a confluence of factors (one I won in a giveaway, one was a free gift with purchase, and one caught my eye in Rite Aid) led to this point, so...whatever. Here's my thoughts!

Tarte LipSurgence SkinTuitive Lip Tint in Energy*

This is one of those "pH matching" products, which is complete baloney, but it came free from Ulta when I ordered my mother's mascara, and even if the marketing is a bunch of hooey, that doesn't mean it's not still a pretty pink. And it is, though it's not without its issues. It applies clear, and like all Tarte LipSurgence products, it smells and tastes like mint and tingles a bit upon application. After a minute or two, it's turned into a sheer medium pink (thanks to the Red #27 in it). It's mildly moisturizing, in spite of the peppermint, but I don't get very long wear and need to reapply roughly every hour. It does lightly stain, but only the inside of my lips; for it to wear completely evenly, I need to exfoliate my lips ahead of time, and that's more than I can usually remember to do. Still, it was free, and it's pretty on, so I'll probably use up the sample! $24 for 0.1 oz, available from Sephora, among others
*free gift with purchase

Tarina Tarantino FOTD

I won Liz's Tarina Tarantino giveaway, and after a number of delays, my goodies arrived a few days ago and I've been having fun playing with them! I'll do complete reviews of the products over the next few weeks, but I thought it would be nice to start with a full Tarantino FOTD as a preview.

HELLO

Face

MAC Matchmaster 1.0 mixed with Face Atelier Ultra Foundation Zero Minus
MUFE Full Cover Concealer 1
Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow Luminizing Primer* patted on cheekbones, cupid's bow, browbone
Meow Cosmetics Pampered/Flawless Sleek Siamese/Korat foundation
Ben Nye Neutral Set Powder
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Radiant Magenta

Inglot EOTDs

These are a little belated, as I'm generally pretty harried in the morning so I don't remember to take photos, but I managed to get my act together 3 days, so here they are! I've made note of what I wore where; all looks feature lashes curled courtesy of Shiseido's lash curler and Maybelline Full N Soft mascara.

Look 1: The Pretty Peacock
Maybelline Barely Beige Color Tattoo as base, Inglot 352 all over, 415 above the crease, 428 in the crease and outer corner, 391 along lash line. I like this because it's colorful without being over-the-top, and I love how the duochrome in 415 makes it look like I'm wearing green in it, too!

Tarina Tarantino Jewel Eyeshadow Palette in Fantastical Review and Swatches

Another birthday purchase! I bought this one after much research and consultation with other beauty nerds, and I must thank Larie for suggesting Tarina Tarantino to me (not to mention encouraging me to wear color!). Purple is a color that I feel comfortable wearing on my eyes, unlike, say, lime green, and I thought it would be a nice way to dip my toes into non-neutral shadows. Read on for more thoughts!