Yves Saint Laurent Effet Faux Cils: My holy grail mascara

People change as do makeup routines. I think you can probably guess where this is going, my makeup routine has changed. For a year or two I wore pretty high coverage foundation with powder, deep black 

winged liner and a bright lipstick. But nowadays I settle for my Garnier BB cream, a peachy blush and a deep black mascara. As my makeup was changing I was also searching for the perfect black mascara that would make my lashes look long, voluminous yet keep the appeal of soft 'touchable' lashes.

And I found all of that in the YSL Effet Faux Cils mascara. I think I heard Hanne from the amazing Beautylovin' mention this in a few of her posts, so I was dying to try it. So when one of the leading perfumeries in the country had a special offer where they gave you a 40% discount on all mascaras I struck gold. Literally. 

Yves Saint Laurent seriously has the best packaging in the world. It looks and feels super luxurious, just like I said in my review of their Rouge Volupté Lipstick in Peach Passion. The tube is light in your hands and has to different tones of gold with the YSL label stamped into the side. 

The brush of this mascara doesn't look special or revolutionary at all, it's actually pretty plain. But oh the wonders it does when it's swiped over your lashes. Now, my lashes aren't super spectacular but they're a nice enough length on their own. This mascara is mainly used for volume and a deep dark color, but it does add nice length as well.

I think the picture of my eye speaks louder than a thousand words, so feast your eyes on the wonder that is the YSL effet faux cils mascara. 

The mascara lasts all day. The picture was taken at 8pm at night and I applied this mascara at 8:30am that same day. It only smudged a little in the corner of my eye, probably from me rubbing it. Even during a long terrible day at work it still looks wonderful. 

It might cost a fortune, but I really do think it's worth it. 

Low Budget Mascaras Review

Oh mascaras, some women search high and low for the perfect one. You need one that leaves your lashes looking full and voluminous while reaching for the sky and being perfectly separated. A lot of things to desire from one little tube with black liquid inside. Isn’t it? Yet we still want it. And… we’d like to pay as little as possible for that list of requirements.

Every drugstore brand has at least one mascara in their range. And whilst my Bourjois Volumizer is one of my favorite mascaras in the world, that one is on the higher end of the price spectrum of drugstore brands. So a few days ago I picked up three volumizing mascaras from the leading cheapest brands in the Netherlands. Essence Get Big Lashes!, NYC Showtime Volume and Catrice Glamour Doll Volume.

I have tested a different one every day under the same circumstances. (Meaning: the weather was very similar these three days and I worked a night shift every night.) And here is my judgment.

The first day I tried Catrice Glamour Doll volume. This one retails in the Netherlands for €3,99 and is therefore the most expensive of the three mascaras I tried. The tube is a sleek black plastic with silver lettering. When hearing this name I was immediately reminded of the Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara, I did a little digging and the tube and brush are shaped similarly. Right down to the silver words on the tube.

The mascara’s brush is cone shaped. Wider at the base than at the tips. The ‘hairs’ on the brush are rubber and pretty short. This is supposed to separate your lashes better.

The mascara itself is a good creamy formula. One coat gives you good separation, volume at the base and a bit of lengthening. But I’ve tried mascaras that give me more length. Also, it clumped a bit too much for my liking. At the end of the day my lashes still looked okay and only a few dried bits of mascara had fallen down to the area right below my eyes. Overall I think this is an okay mascara and I rate it 3/5.

The second day I went to the NYC Showtime mascara. This mascara contains 8ml of product and will cost you €1,99. The tube is plain black with gold lettering. When looking at the brush it doesn’t look too spectacular. It’s a plain straight fiber tip. The formula is nice and creamy and still leaves your lashes flexible and soft once dried. This mascara delivers a good amount of volume at the tip and lengthens just the right amount. I want my lashes looking luscious but they shouldn’t touch my glasses.

The mascara lasted perfectly on me the entire day. And was easily removed by my Bioderma Eau Miccellaire. While I wasn’t expecting much from this super cheap mascara, I was put in my place. I really like this mascara. I rate it 4/5.

And then on the last day I tested Essence Get Big Lashes. This mascara with 12ml and a pricetag of €1,99 is the cheapest of this test. In the display hung a little bobble saying that this particular mascara had won the drugstore’s customer price. Which promised something.  The tube is nothing too spectacular. A black tube with yellow, pink and black letters. The tube looks a little chunky and oversized. It doesn’t look like a luxurious product, that’s all I’m saying.

Same goes when looking at the brush. It seems too oversized to be handy to use on your lashes. It all seems like a bit too much. But your mind is changed when you actually put the mascara to work. While I was afraid this mascara would clump insanely, it did no such thing. It delivered beautiful separation, length and plenty of volume. It lasted on me all day without smudging or falling off.  And my lashes remained looking soft and touchable. Just what we search for in a mascara. This one gets a big whooping 4,5/5

These pictures go to show that a good mascara does not have to be expensive. All these mascaras won’t cost you more than four euros. Which is insane. Being the makeup junkie that I am I will continue to use different mascaras all the time. But I’m definitely convinced that drugstore brands know how to make a good mascara!

Sisley Phyto-Mascara Ultra Stretch review

Never in a million years would I have spent this amount of money on a mascara. I felt extremely guilty taking it from one of my best friends as a very late birthday present. But I'll make it up to him by not accepting a present when I turn twenty this christmas. But nevertheless, now that I have this super deluxe mascara in my possession a review couldn't stay away.

This is the Sisley phyto-mascara ultra-stretch. A lengthening mascara that curls and volumizes lashes at the root. I wasn't used to this kind of brush, but it was pretty easy to deal with. The brush captures each eyelash individually and coats it in a thick formula, which doesn't budge once it has dried. Yet it leaves your lashes feeling soft and flexible. There a special inner tube that wipes off the excess mascara that leaves you with a nice brush with the right amount of product to prevent clumps.

My lashes without mascara. I have pretty full lashes naturally, but I always like adding length and volume. It just makes my expression a lot more inviting and open.

As you can see, the mascara makes my lashes a lot longer. As for volumising, I'm not too sure. Also, it might be because I'm not used to handling this type of brush/formula, but it seems a little clumpy to me. But then again I did double dip. I like this mascara, it makes my eyes nice and open and the color is nice and deep black. 

As for durability this mascara gets an A+. I wore this on my eyes to work and it was busy, hot and stressful. Usually my Bourjois mascara is somewhere beneath my eyes in a smudged dark mess. But this didn't budge at all, not even a little bit!

I think Sisley is definitely charging too much for their products. But nevertheless this is a really nice mascara and I'm super grateful that I got to try such a luxurious product. Thanks Jorrit!