Givenchy, CoverGirl, Bourjois and MAC – find out which one of them made it to my all time number one mascara!
MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash £14.00
I am most impressed with this mascara, at a pricepoint of £14 and from a higher end company, this has performed better than any other mascara I have ever used! Yes ladies and gentlemen, I cannot say enough good things about this mascara. And what’s more, when I’m done with it I would still get £2.33 out of it towards a new lipstick! Well done MAC, well done!
In terms of my history with MAC mascaras, I did not get on well with Zoom mascara at all. Opulash was good to me back in 2010, but when I recently used a new tube of it I was very disappointed (link to my review HERE). I did like their False Lashes mascara that first debuted with their Marcel Wanders collection back in 2011 very much that I even bought a back up! I stopped using it though because the back up tube flaked on me pretty much right away :/
But alas, this Extended Play Gigablack Lash has redeemed MAC mascaras for me. Here’s why, the long thin wand allows me to easily coat my lower lashes and get into my inner lashes without smudging all over the place. The formula layers BEAUTIFULLY, allowing me to create fluttery voluminous lashes so long as I go over and over and over for about 1-2 minutes on both eyes (which I’m more than happy to do). What’s more is that this mascara is SO easy to remove, it doesn’t force me to pull or tug on my lashes at all and 80-90% of it glides off onto my cotton pad with one swipe. AND it’s in gorgeous electric blue packaging.
I opened this tube in late May – it’s now early August and it still performs pretty much exactly like the day I opened it. I have never come across such a high performing mascara before. Here's a post I wrote about it earlier on when I discovered just how fabulous this mascara really is LINK.
Pros: layers beautifully, does not flake, gets lower lashes and inner corners so easily, gives gorgeous fluttery lashes, can BACK TO MAC, gives great results 2 months on and counting, remove easily.
Cons: none that I can think of!
Bottomline: BEST MASCARA EVER. This mascara is DEFINITELY number 1 in my top 3! (Bourjois’ Ultra Curl being number 3 and Bourjois’ Defintion Glamour Max being number 2 in case you’re curious).
Bourjois Volume Glamour Max - regular size priced at £9.99
I purchased this travel size mascara before I left for Glastonbury as I didn’t want to take my precious MAC Extended Play Gigablack in case I lost it (I lost my Topshop eyeliner in Sable at Isle of Wight festival last year – lesson learned). [The other Bourjois mascara that’s in the Glamour line is my second all-time fave, here’s a LINK to my review of it early on and a LINK to my review of it in an empties post once I'd used it up]. As such, I had high hopes for this one and was happy to test it out in this travel size that retailed for £5.99 in June. I also picked up the blue and purple versions of this to experiment with at Glasto.
This mascara did the job but didn’t amaze me. It’s really bog-standard. I liked that it didn’t flake and that the brush was really soft, but I didn’t like how it was rather hard to remove and I found myself having to tug at my lashes sometimes :( no bueno. At the end of the day, the effect it gave my lashes was not memorable or that voluminous for that matter. I’d give this mascara a pass.
As a sidenote, I want to say that the blue and purple versions were very pigmented and showed up really well on my naturally black lashes. Two thumbs up!
Pros: rich black colour, wears well, gives some volume and lift, doesn’t flake.
Cons: does not give enough volume for a mascara that claims to be voluminous.
Bottomline: While this mascara does have a rich black pigment and a soft dense bristle brush, it does not perform exceptionally and did not give me memorable lashes. I won’t be repurchasing this again.
Givenchy Noir Couture - regular size priced at £22.50
I’d been wanting to try this baby and as luck would have it, Glossybox sent me this sample version in a recent box, cheers Glossybox! I love love LOVE the wand, it is absolutely brilliant for lengthening my lashes – seriously. It makes them look 25% longer in just a couple of swipes!! The formula is really creamy and light as well which makes layering an absolute dream, you can really feel that it’s a luxe makeup product. The formula is a rich black colour but unfortunately dries a little more on the grey side. This mascara isn’t the best for volume either. I doubt I’d ever purchase it full price.
Pros: consistency, brush (for length), doesn’t flake, paraben-free.
Cons: not very volumizing, can be annoying to remove.
Bottomline: This mascara is definitely a go-to if you’re after long, long lashes if you're happy to spend some £££. I’d recommend layering it with a volumizing one for the whole package.
CoverGirl Nature Luxe $6.79 (£4.43 as of the exchange rate on August 5th 2013)
I purchased this baby months ago and only finally got to try it out yesterday and this morning. That’s largely to do with how well MAC’s Extended Gigablack Lash has lasted me! While I've only used this product twice so far, I already like it. The formula is very creamy and buildable. The brush is a defining plastic brush that does a great job of creating a fluttery effect on my lashes. I haven’t used this long enough to give an in depth review, but here's my first impression of it.
Pros: creamy formula, defining, fairly volumzing, great value!
Cons: contains 1 type of paraben.
Bottomline: watch this space!
Last but not least, I want to give a shout out to my latest purchase from Jo Malone (I say latest, haven't purchased from them since 2010!). I absolutely LOVE this scent, especially as a candle ie. room scent! Cannot wait to have the £££ to buy the normal sized candle instead of this cute little mini size. Next on my list, the Orange Blossom fragrance and Blackberry & Bay candle!
Xx
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