Makeup Wars: My Favorite Mascara.

This week in Makeup Wars, we are talking about mascara. Our favorite mascara.  This is a tough one for me.  I swear my favorite mascara changes every month.

I try so many and I still buy so many, trying to find the perfect one. So I am going to go with my current favorite mascara. In fact, I have used this mascara more than any other for the past three months. Thus I am declaring my favorite mascara Lancôme Hypnôse Star Mascara.

I got a Hypnôse Star sample as a Sephora 100 point perk toward the end of the summer.

Just looking at the brush, I knew it was different. Notice that one side of the brush round, and the other side is flat and straight.

I like to wiggle the flat side into the base of my lashes. It lifts them and helps form the curl upward as it is applied. And volume? Wow! I use the rounded side to comb through the lashes. As I brush it on, lashes are lengthened and defined. I find them almost wispy looking, and I love it.

The overall finish is a beautiful glossy black, with no clumping, flaking or smudging. My lashes look long, thick and great all day. It is easily removed with just a makeup wipe or eye makeup remover (before cleansing) at night.

Lancôme Hypnôse Star Mascara comes in just one shade of black and retails for $28.00. It was originally a Sephora exclusive and is supposed to be available at Lancôme counters, but when I checked over the weekend, it still wasn't at my local counter yet.

Be sure to check out the favorites from the other Makeup Wars bloggers, and tell me what your favorite mascara is in the comments.

 

CARGO Cosmetic Tins.

I have been recently re-acquainted with the amazing CARGO Cosmetic Tins. These are no ordinary tins. These are iconic, signature tins that are super durable, stackable and filled with makeup the pros love. My favorites are the bronzers, of course, and the lip quads.

For the bronzers, I have HydraBronze and BeachBlush.

HydraBronze ($30) is a wonderful bronzer that actually boosts the moisture level in the skin as yuwear it. It looks super powdery, but in fact it is super soft and applies smoothe as silk. It lays beautiful on the skin as it glides over fine lines and wrinkles. The light reflecting particles brighten the skin as it highlights it, but very naturally.

BeachBlush ($30) is a palette with four stripes of alternating blush and bronzer, making it the ultimate marriage of both. Cheeks look perfectly flushed and glowing, with the super fine shimmer that looks gorgeous as it brushes over skin.

Sunset Beach is a pink/bronze palette.

Coral Beach is a warm peach /bronze palette.

The Lip Gloss Quads ($24.00) contain four beautifully color coordinated triangles of gloss.   The glosses are very rich and creamy, and full of pigment. They are nice and glossy, but rely on more color than shine. It's like wearing a high shine lipstick, because it really wears so well.  Wear them separately, mix them, or layer them for a customized look.

Argentina is filled with nude and berry shades.

Oceana is filled with pink shades.

 Shop for CARGO Tins online at cargocosmetics.com, in ULTA or BEAUTY.com.

COVERGIRL LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara.

How many coats of mascara do you normally apply? If you are like me, you probably apply two to three coats. I think that is pretty normal. With every coat applied, I have to be careful of the dreaded clumps. I think we all want luscious, clump-free lashes. Well, this brand new COVERGIRL LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara promises no clumps - up to 30 strokes.

That's not just it. Clump Crusher Mascara also amps up the volume by up to 200%. That's right. This mascara delivers the LashBlast drama you love, with up to 200% more volume and ZERO clumps, even after 30 strokes of the great green wand.

How does it hold up?

After 30 strokes of the mascara wand, which is about three coats of mascara, my lashes were noticeably thicker and darker, with no clumps in sight. I'd say this mascara lives up to its' name.

The formula, which almost seems dry, comes very cleanly out of the tube, so all you get is mascara on each lash. The lash-hugging curved brush design, with a straight bristle edge, basically custom fits the brush to the curve of the eye. It is super easy to get right to the base of the roots and concentrate the color right where I want it. Lashes look great all day, with no flaking or smudging, and comes right off easily with my normal eye makeup remover.

Clump Crusher comes in four shades:

• Very Black
• Black
• Black Brown
• Brown

I used the shade Black in the photos above.

Look for COVERGIRL LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara at drugstores such as CVS and mass retailers like Target and Walmart, nationwide now. One tube costs about $6.99.