Showing posts with label mascara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mascara. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Avon Mega Effects Mascara Review

A couple of months ago, I won a pretty cool giveaway (Hoozah! The streak continues!) from MomTrends - Nicole was giving away an Avon Mega Effects Mascara.

The name itself, Avon Mega Effects, might not be super familiar to you... but I guarantee you've SEEN this mascara around ye olde blogosphere in the last year:

Avon Mega Effects Mascara Review by aka Bailey

MMHMM you know you've seen this crazy spaceship mascara around and have wondered about it. But despite my fondness for trying new mascaras, chances were pretty low that I'd actually be buying this one. I've literally never bought anything from Avon - ever. That's why I was über psyched when it was gifted to me, so my foray into Avon would be a low-risk one. (Thanks Nicole!)

Avon Mega Effects Mascara Review in its packaging

I wanted to use the mascara several times before reviewing it here - especially because "mascara first reactions" are misleading, in my experience. Even with my favorite mascaras, there's a bit of a breaking-in period that one must go through before a tube of mascara feels like it's the perfect consistency. #HollerIfYouHearMe.

So here are the features of the Mega Effects Mascara, via the Avon site:
  • This breakthrough mascara provides 24-hour volume, leaving lashes darker, denser and more dramatic. Get ready for a corner to corner lash transformation with our first ever Wonderbrush. 
  • The Wonderbrush bends and adjusts to multiple angles capturing every lash, top to bottom. The unique brush fits the natural shape of lashes, coating them evenly with formula from root to tip. The extra surface area of the Wonderbrush bristles are designed to deliver 40% more mascara to the lash. 
  • Mega Effects Mascara provides a clump-proof, sweat-proof, non-flaking and non-smudging experience. Ophthalmologist-tested.
The "Wonderbrush" bends in lots of different directions - here are two of its HOTTEST POSES, to give you a taste:

Bendable wand head of the Mega Effects Mascara

Bendable wand head of the Mega Effects Mascara
.  i call this one "blue steel"  .



To get started, you have to squeeze the pink cap to remove it, unveiling the texture grip area of the mascara wand:

Avon Mega Effects Mascara, cap onAvon Mega Effects Mascara, cap off

Then, following the instructions, you rock the pink wand back and forth in its base to get it coated with mascara before removing the Wonderbrush from the base.

... Easier said than done!

It was difficult to remove the mascara wand from the base. The instructions make it sound like it's going to just wiggle right outta there with little effort, but you're going to actually require some strength and agility. You'll probably even feel like the wand is going to suddenly come flying out and spray you with black mascara splatter. I hope that doesn't happen to you. I really do.

Next comes the adventure of actually applying the mascara to your lashes. #YallReadyForThis?

Bringing the wand to your eyeball is rather a terrifying experience. I'm pretty sure the "Jaws" song plays in my head every time I apply this mascara.

The Wonderbrush is terrifying.

It's coming to get me.

Avon Mega Effects Mascara will literally eat your face.
You may end up being so frightened that you miss the base of your eyelashes altogether because you're terrified of what the shark-scara will do to your precious eyeball...

If you're too scared to get it up against your lashes, it's going to leave bald spots. GOOD LUCK.

When I do manage to get the brush into my lashes, I find that the Wonderbrush consistently loads a ton of product onto the base of the lash. This means that I always have to go back and comb through it with a clean mascara wand to separate and distribute the product.

I didn't find the U-shape of the wand head to be at all helpful. In fact, there's something about the shape that seems to make it especially prone to applying a good amount of product onto my eye lid - more so than with any other mascara I've ever used.

Avon Mega Effects Mascara is messy
.  hope you like your eyelids to have MEGA EFFECTS as well  .


And as far as the bendable wand-head... the point of it is lost on me. With a simple round wand, you don't need to stop what you're doing to bend the head of it into another angle - you simply rotate it to fit your needs. There's no "rotating" this Wonderbrush, clearly. Unless you want to lose an eye!! #PiratePatchesAreSOLASTSEASON.

My first reaction to the Avon Mega Effects Mascara ended up being the same as my ultimate opinion - I haven't had any more luck with it any time I've used it.

Long story short:  I wouldn't recommend this particular mascara to you or any of my buddies. With so many great mascaras out there that don't require all of this fuss, clean-up, and bravery... there doesn't seem much point in purchasing the gimmicky Mega Effects.

But to end on a demi-positive note... if you DO make it past all of the product redistribution and extensive clean up, there's a light at the end of the tunnel - my lashes do have a long, curled and sinewy look in the below picture:

Avon Mega Effects Mascara after I cleaned it up
So there's that. But I still wouldn't recommend that you buy this one.

Here are some mascaras that I would recommend that you try out:
  • Maybelline's The Rocket
  • Maybelline XXL Intense Volume and Length Microfiber
  • Covergirl Clump Crusher
  • Maybelline Lash Stiletto
  • Sephora Full Action Extreme Effect
  • Benefit They're Real
What are YOUR favorite mascaras?
Are you into drugstore mascaras, or more high-end?
Have you tried out this Avon Mega Effects Mascara?

p.s. Like my nails in these pics? See more of that mani here!

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Thursday, November 7, 2013

New Favorite Eye Makeup Remover!

Confession, err'body:  I've never been a big fan of using eye makeup remover.

And by that I mean... I did not use it. Or own it. Or even look at it in the stores, really. It's supposedly awful practice, but I've always taken the more straight-forward and rough approach of using a wet washcloth in the shower to remove my mascara from my lashes. "Manually," if you will.  I'd grasp my lashes between my washcloth and basically pull on them from root to tip, removing mascara along the way. Pretty sure it's the best way to prematurely make your eyelids go bald, but WHO HAS TIME FOR REMOVING MAKEUP THE GROWN-UP WAY?

Well, apparently I do now.

I blame my new need for eye makeup remover on Maybelline's The Rocket Volum' Express mascara. Do you guys use this stuff? It's awesome - it really is... but good god it's difficult to remove! It acts like it's a waterproof mascara or something! (It isn't, I swear... I triple-checked.) So now that The Rocket is my everyday mascara and it refuses to just be muscled off, it's become time to re-evaluate my removal strategy. Maybe even actually use some of those eye makeup removers that I'd been gifted at the #blogvancity event back in September. (Read all about it here.)

So what did I discover?

Almay Longwear and Waterproof Gentle Eye Makeup Remover, favorite eye makeup remover

THIS STUFF RIGHT HERE: 

Almay Longwear Waterproof Gentle Eye Makeup Remover
.  and yeah, there's french all over it.  welcome to canada, y'all!  .



It's the Almay Longwear & Waterproof Gentle Eye Makeup Remover, and I was generously given a full-sized, 4-oz bottle of it in my #swagvancity #blogvancity gift bag. It is oil-based (which I know some people don't like), so you do have to gently shake it before each use to mix it all up. You can see in the pictures above that the oil separates and sits on top when the bottle has been left sitting.

In the month following #blogvancity, I tried out this product a couple of times... but since I wasn't in the habit of regularly using eye makeup remover, it didn't really catch on with me at first. However, the more I realized that The Rocket is seriously a biatch, the more I warmed up to the idea of using something gentler to remove it. Beauty requires some sacrifices, you know. Like giving up a long-standing practice of abusing your poor eye lashes with a washcloth.

I'm happy to report that, while it's still not a daily habit, I've started using this eye makeup remover a lot more lately. It's really gentle, just like the package says. After applying some of the product to a cotton pad (enough to soak the cotton pad through slightly), I just place the pad over my closed lid and move it in small circles over my lashes. And guess what? The Rocket slides right off! NOT SO HOT NOW, EH ROCKET? #TakeThat! (#ReallyGently!!)

Have you used this particular eye makeup remover before? I've tried a few brands, but this one is definitely my favorite so far. I'm going through this bottle pretty quickly though, so if there's a holy grail of eye makeup remover that you think I ought to know about, tell me in a comment!

I received this product fo' free in a gift bag from a blogger event, 
but all opinions are MINE! ALL MIIIIINE!!!!! MUAHAHAAHAH!

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