L'Oréal Miss Manga Mega Volume mascara

I stumbled across this in Boots yesterday and I just couldn't resist the super cute advertising, and the promise of big anime eyes. Already being a L'Oréal fan, I just had to give it a try.

My overall impressions are..... it's quite good. It's a perfectly fine mascara, but doesn't really offer me anything I can't already achieve with my current mascara, and I certainly don't look like a Japanese cartoon character. The brush is a bit flimsy, and bends a tiny bit when you're using it. It's also a bit tricky to get a good bit of traction to get good separation. But it is the perfect shape for getting lovely, fanned out lashes. The thin nib is great for getting at your corner lashes.

I found this mascara gave me lots of  length in just one quick coat but not a huge amount of volume. It took a fair bit of building up to get the length and volume I'm used to. But I do love that it comes in unusual colours such as turquoise and purple!

Miss Manga is currently on introductory offer at €8.99.

Essence Stays No Matter What felt tip eyeliner

I generally have a lot of time for Essence products because they tend to do exactly what they say on the tin, while still being extremely purse friendly. This eyeliner, however, is the biggest load of crap that has ever disgraced my make up box. Let me begin...

While it goes on easy, and the skinny tip makes it easy to get the eyeliner shape you want, you wont have your eyeliner on for long. I have quite sensitive eyes, and a strong breeze can make them water slightly (SLIGHTLY!!) but the second even a drop of water was released from my eye I looked like I should be on my way back to the panda enclosure in Dublin zoo. Ok, fine, not all felt tip liners fare that well against the elements, but don't release and eyeliner that claims to last up to 24 hours "no matter what" and then have it fall at the first hurdle. I was left with a big black ring around 1 eye, that was a nightmare to get off (bit late for your 24 hour trick to be kicking in then), and a smudge on the roof of my other eye where the eyeliner had just rubbed off.

I hate being so negative about an Essence product, but there really is nothing good about this eyeliner. There's a very, VERY good reason it's under €3. AVOID!!

Mini haul- NYC and Essence- 04/02/13

I had a few spare quid this week, so I decided to treat myself to a few new bits of make up! Considering i spent less than €10, I think I did pretty damn well!!

Today's mini haul!

For me, NYC is one of the best budget make up ranges on the market. Bar their foundation, which I can't use because they don't make one pale enough, I have always been pleased with their stuff! So I got NYC Big Bold Curl Mascara in Extra Black for €3.79, and Expert Last Lip Color in 441 Traffic Jam for €2.49. A steal!!

Big Bold Curl in Extra Black €3.79

Expert Last  in 441 Traffic Jam €2.49

I'm thrilled with lipstick! I thought id would be quite a balmy colour judging by the look of it in the tube, but it packs a punch! It feels really light and moisturising on and has a lovely, healthy shine to it. This beats the socks off some of the more expensive lipsticks I have, only downside is the range of colours is great! But hopefully that'll soon change! I know what you're thinking, pink hair, red lips..... lets just say I'm getting in the mood for Valentine's Day!

I haven't tried the mascara yet, I packed on my 17 Doll'd up this morning, so that will have ,to wait till tomorrow!

Now onto the Essence! I've always found them a bit hit and miss. Some stuff is absolutely fantastic, other stuff, particularly in the new Studio Line nail range, is just piss poor! But I have always loved their mascara's, felt liners, powders, eyeshadows and eyebrow pencils!

I got t he new Stays No Matter What Waterproof eye pencil in Stunning Brown. I didn't buy it to use on my eyes, but my eyebrows. There is NOTHING in this world worse than an eyebrow pencil that smudges as soon as you look at, walking around for hours with your eyebrows down your nose and being none the wiser. THE HUMANITY!!!! I have high hopes for this, as I swear by the run of the mill Essence eyebrow pencil. I popped it on when I got home, left it a while, then gave it a little rub, and to be fair, it didn't smudge!! For €1.89, I'm very impressed! They could have been slightly more inventive with the name though!

Essence Stay No Matter What €1.89

I also got Essence Colour & Go Polish in 144 Black is Back. I have had a life long battle with black nail polish. It's verging on impossible to find a budget black polish that doesn't come out like mucky water and need 5-6 coats before it's not see through. This surprised me! It's easy to apply, but goes on a really dense, dark colour, 2 coats and your done! And it dries quick! If it doesn't chip like a bitch like most black polishes I'll be a very smug shopper!

Colour & Go 144 Black is back €1.79

So there ya have it! €9.96 spent in total, and overall i'm very happy. The Essence stuff surpassed my expectations, as did the vibrancy of the lipstick. If the mascara is any good I'll be 4 for 4!!!

17 Doll'd Up mascara and Eyeliner

Get both for €7.59 in Boots!

I've been lusting after a new mascara for a while, but i haven't seen any new ones that get my motor running for a while. I was in Boots over the weekend and found this little gem.

17 Doll'd up mascara, 2 coats

It was on special offer, €7.59 for the mascara, and you get the eyeliner free! Absolute bargain!
Initially i was a bit skeptical, as the brush is one of those hard bristle brushes, which i normally despise, but i gave it the benefit of the doubt and headed straight to the check out. And boy am i glad i did!

I'll start with the mascara, it absolutely exceeded my expectations. Im generally always pleasantly surprised by 17 mascara's, but none more so than this. It promises up to 24 hour curl, and to be fair, it pretty much delivers! Now, i haven't been pulling all nighters to test the theory, but i have been wearing it every day since i bought it. It stays put ALL day and I've yet to notice any flaking. My eyelashes look long and separated. Im even slightly converted to the ways of the stiff bristle brush!

Now on to the eyeliner, what little beauty! I go through eyeliner like nobodys business because i normally lash it on for big chunky cat flicks, and honestly, this is one of the best felt tip liners I've come across!

It has 3 tiny nibs as opposed to 1 thick one, giving you complete control over your look. Thick or thin, it's up to you. And this eyeliner isn't going anywhere. It's on for the day, no smudging, fading or bleeding. I find with most eyeliners that they will fade a lot on the outer corner of my eye, ruining my cat flick, but not this one!

All in all this is probably the best €7.59 I've ever spent in Boots. I couldn't recommend either of them highly enough!

Essence Get BIG Lashes volume curl mascara €2.97

This is a little gem!! I'm super skeptical of mascara's, and find it almost impossible to find one I really LOVE! Essence have brought out about 4 new mascara's, all aimed at big, bold lashes, and all under the €4 mark. This is the first one I've tried and I'm very impressed with it. I'm forever buying new mascara's in the hopes of finding that special one <3 I'm not sure if this is the ONE, but it's definitely the best I've come across in quite a while, and is wonderfully cheap!!

I have no complaints about this! I wore it all day yesterday, and it didn't smudge, clump, or start falling off in little flakes like some cheaper mascara's tend to do! It really separated my lashes, and definitely gave them a subtle, but noticeable curl! Particularly with my corner lashes, gave them a real cat's eye look!

The brush is also a nice big chunky one, which I love!! I really can't tolerate small brushes on a mascara wand. It's just.......wrong. I gave my lashes 2 coats on each eye and the look long, full of volume, and separated. I wouldn't necessarily use this as a going out mascara, I don't trust it enough just yet to put it to the test! But as a day time mascara...It's my new best friend!!

Essence Gel eyeliner

This is a little gem of a find! This was the first gel eyeliner I ever tried and I was very impressed! It goes on smooth, think, and jet black. And stays put ALL day!

This comes in at around the €2, but it's worth so much more! Essence also sell an application bush for the eyeliner for a similar price. It comes in a few colours to- Black, brown, purple and a dark green.

I'd definitely recommend this for anyone trying gel liner for the first time and wants to experiment. I can't find any faults with it, and can safely say it beats some of t's more expensive competitors hands down!

Barry M Dazzle Dust #98 Petrol Black

What would life be like without Dazzle Dust?.....It doesn't bare thinking about :(

I love dark eyeshadows, especially black, and ESPECIALLY when it has a little sparkle to it. This shadow is a very. very deep navy blue. It essentially black with a deep blue shimmer and a greenish glitter....and it's stunning!! I adore it!

As with all loose powder shadows, there was a little bit of spillage, but a lot less tan I expected!! This definitely gets my seal of approval!

Edit: After about 2 hours this shadow began to clump pretty badly in the crease of my eye, looked really unsightly :( Such a pity!