Update: L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara

L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara
$10 (in the Hinterlands, somewhere...)

Well Lovelies, I told you the Internet was blowing up over this  Too Faced Better Than Sex dupe by L'Oreal.  Glamour just reviewed it just reviewed it and there editor was pleased with her results.

I finally got to CVS and was initially flummoxed not to find it among, maybe twenty different L'Oreal Mascara offerings, (if men wore mascara daily, there would be two choices from one product; waterproof and non-waterproof. Period.)

Then my brain cells kicked up a notch and went to the front of the store where the newest launches live... Voila!

I got lucky. There were only two left; one Black and the other Blackest Black. Guess which one I chose???? Riiiiiight.

L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara--Is this the one???

L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara
$9.99 (ish)

Has it finally arrived??? My drugstore mascara Holy Grail??? Please, let it be so...

The Internet is blowing up over this Too Faced Better Than Sex dupe, offered by L'Oreal, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.  Bloggers as well as Vlogger's are singing it's praises for its ability to provide gorgeous length and volume, for a fraction of the price of the big guns.

Review: IT Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara

IT Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara
$24

I have a somewhat iffy relationship with IT Cosmetics.  Overall, I would say I have returned more items then I have kept.  

My Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara was on its last clumpy legs, and I decided to return my replacement Born This Way Foundation because I think it will be way too heavy for the summer months and because I noted a distinct difference in their Golden shade, now that they have amped up the number of offerings.  Huge SIGH!

On a whim, I picked up  IT Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara.  Maybe the life sized displays at the cash register had something to do with it as well...

I got a lovely surprise Friday morning...this stuff is good! Full disclosure, I tried one eye with a primer (as I always do,) and the other without. The first coat without a primer was a bit anemic, but with? Oohh la la!

What resulted was a lush, long, full fan of very black lashes. reasonably clump free for a first attempt, no flakes throughout the day and it washed off without any tug or toil.

Nice!

For those of you who want more details, here you go:

Clinically shown results!

• 96% said their lashes looked stretched!
• 96% saw dramatic volume & length!
• 96% saw plumper-looking lashes!
• 100% saw a fuller lash line!

Anti-aging & lash-loving! 

• Elastic Stretch Technology
• Lash-Lifting Polymers
• Volumizing Collagen
• Hydrolyzed Keratin
• Proteins and Peptide-Infused
• Biotin

Key Benefits:

• Game-changing, exclusive Elastic Stretch Technology for volume & length!
• Lash-Changing Power Brush for maximum reach, lift, separation & curl
• Super Black pigment plus collagen to condition as you coat

Happiness! Certainly one to try...Diva divined!

xox,

DD

Two from Target; Did they make the grade?

Maybelline's The Blushed Nudes
$14.99

I love clever marketing.  Some guru at Target, realized that if you give away generic drugs cheaply, making the back of the store pharmacy, a must-go-to destination for prescription pick-up, increased sales would follow. My 90 pill script may cost 10 bucks, but I've never left Target with less than a 3 digit receipt.

Thats's genius.

Cosmetics, inevitably are included in my haul.  Maybelline's The Blushed Nudes keeps popping up on a lot of beauty editorial and bloggers must-have drugstore beauty buy lists.

It certainly is nicely packaged, and upon closer inspection, the colors do appear soft and wearable. O.K....I finally caved.  In the cart it went.

My Mascara Lately; One to buy, one to skip, one to try

Long time DivaDebbi readers, know I am always on the hopeful quest of finding a "got it all" drugstore mascara; volume, length, clump and flake free.  Oh yes, and cheap.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
$23

Rimmel London's Super Curler 24 Mascara
$8.99. Less anywhere besides CVS in Greenwich Ct.

I was down to the dregs of my beloved, Holy Grail, Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and happened to be doing a CVS run. I find the whole drugstore mascara gig to be a confusing mess...not only are there a dozen brands, but each brand offers a dozen iterations of their own mascara.  Pretty much, I throw a dart.

I'm not adverse to using an eyelash curler...it's as ingrained in my routine as brushing my teeth, but I thought I'd try Rimmel's Super Curler 24.

Every time I try a new one, I'm always optimistic that I might just have found, "the one". I won't say that Rimmel's Super Curler 24 failed on that front; I could see the curl, but the formula was limp and my lashes looked thin and spidery. By the days end, my eyes were red and itchy and if I had more time between getting home and going out, I would have removed all of it and started again, which would have been a first...

Back to CVS for you...

L'Oreal Voluminous Superstar Mascara

L'Oreal Voluminous Superstar Mascara
$9-$13...depending

Longtime Lovelies, know I am always on the hunt for a spectacular drugstore mascara.   With so many launch spawns each year; Rimmel, Maybelline, CoverGirl as well as L'Oreal, all have at least 8 iterations of bump and plump to their lash brands, ya think it would be a no brainer.

I am currently a double devotee; Lancome Cils Booster XL Lash Primer followed by Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara it doesn't come cheaply.

We all know that L'oreal is Lancome's little stepsister, so I'm always hoping to find some remnant of the best of Lancome's product development in L'Oreals latest offerings. I purchased this thinking maybe I would luck out and find a twofer that would cost a quarter of the price.

So, did L'Oreal Voluminous Superstar Mascara, a two step mascara with a built in primer, meet or surpass my expectations???

Sort of...The primer is a winner, boosting lashes almost as perfectly as Lancome's Cil's Booster XL Lash Primer.  I was totally stoked...until I tried the mascara. I didn't mind that the brush is slimmer than Too Faced's, I find fat brushes difficult to maneuver, particularly in lash corners and on the bottoms.

What I did object to, was the thinner consistency and less than stellar results. Where was the lovely fan of lashes I had come to expect? Nowhere to be found, even with an extra coat.

Dang...

My Lancome primer is no longer prime (it does have a somewhat short shelf life,)  so I have been using the L'Oreal  Voluminous Superstar "step 1" primer with my new tube of Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and will continue to,until it runs out.

So, for less than half the price, will I purchase it again as my new primer, even though "step 2" will never even get cracked open??? It feels oddly wasteful, even though it's more cost effective.

TBD and of course, the search continues...(do chime in with any suggestions!) I'm all eyes...and ears.

xox,
DD

Review: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
$23

I have been on the hunt for a really good mascara. I know it's a lot to hope for; massive length and volume, a glossy rich black hue, no clumps or flakes and the ability to remove it without removing my existing lashes.
Oh.  And can it please be less than $25?

I nearly caved, and repurchased Benefit's They're REAL Mascara after trying and returning Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara (a gloppy mess), and Dior Addict-It Lash Mascara (which lived up to none of it's promises.)

I love everything about They're REAL Mascara, probably the best product Benefit has ever produced. except when it's time to take it off.  Even with expensive removers, specifically formulated for waterproof mascara, (which They're REAL is not), it's hard work. I just knew I was damaging my lashes, so the love fest did end and after many purchases,  I quit cold.

Sephora has a display of mascara's from different brands that allows you to compare them by promise and applicator. One of their associates saw me pondering them and offered help.  I in turn, asked what her absolute favorite mascara was, whether displayed or not.  "That's easy", she replied...