the flutter wars, phase 2 - Rimmel Lash Maxxx

I swear to you all - I tried to review more mascaras before posting this. Seriously, I did try.

Rimmel Lash Maxxx

This was a spur of the moment purchase, while buying a desperation can of Red Bull. My attention was caught first by the tube, accented in deep metallic pink, and then was kept by the comb. The comb is unique: it's a row of three staggered rubber bristles, so unlike haircomb-style mascara wands, this applicator is perfectly capable of putting quite a bit of product on your lashes. Like Lycra Lash, this is a no-fuss, lightweight formula of which you can use multiple coats without worrying about smudging. The ingredients of Lycra Lash and Lash Maxxx are nearly identical, but there has to be some change in the percentages because this stuff feels even lighter than the Lycra Lash. That said, the main benefit of this product is that the comb provides nearly unparalleled definition, and because the comb is smaller than normal mascara brushes, with a tilt of the wrist I can control the angle of the sweep at any time in application.

This product has been a LOT of fun. Being able to change the look at a moment's notice provided me with many opportunities to play. I don't think this would be a voluminizing formula if your lashes are sparse, but if your lashes are anything like mine, with three strokes it can go from subtle to dramatic. The endurance isn't superb – at the very end of the day, there's a noticeable reduction in the look, but it looks totally stunning for at least 10 hours, so I can't take too many points off. It's no Define-A-Lash, but then again, what would be? ;) The feel is so light and airy, I can't help but think that gaining extra endurance would result in a lesser Feel score.

Of all things, the only thing I can really pick on is the fact that the pink of the cap doesn't match the accent pink on the tube ;) Since I'm not grading for packaging, that doesn't count!

So its ELFF score is:

Endurance – 8
Look – 9.5
Feel – 9
Flutter Factor – 10

The highest score yet!

In the next post I'll finally phase 3 this project, listing all the reviewed mascaras along with their ELFF scores. If I feel particularly motivated, I'll post some pics as well!

correcting previous notes

Quite a while ago, I went to the L'Artisan boutique uptown at their Madison Avenue boutique, and I was informed that the new October scent will not be named Eau de Liane, but Fleur de Liane. The scent is slightly different now - more rainy and crisp, less deep green - but still stunningly gorgeous.

mediterranean light - Diptyque's L'Eau des Hesperides

It is beautiful when a house that normally doesn't work on you releases something you adore. Diptyque scents normally exhibit a headiness that turns into headachiness on me, even though I can tell that the fragrance is well-crafted. I really loved Tam Dao for the first hour, but a repeated sinus headache meant I couldn't wear it again. Therefore, the fact that the three scents in this collection are all eau fraiche concentration led me to try them the way I normally try fragrances, with very happy results.

This scent carries a lovely sweet greenness, like stripes of seagrass on the coast of an orchard of mixed fruits. Mandarin, lemon and rosemary carry well together, and none of them get overwhelming. Normally citrus notes are OH SO DECIDEDLY CITRUS, but a bit of mint brightens and freshens the whole thing, with petitgrain anchoring it in coolness. Red thyme, which I've used in skin preparations in its essential oil form, along with white musk and the smallest hint of cedar add a bit of warmth to balance out the concoction. It sounds as though it would be heavier than it is; all in all it's a nice refreshing bit of olfactory joy, and I'm happy to wear it.

As a side note concerning the name:
Anyone who knows a decent amount about Greek mythology knows that the Hesperides are garden-nymphs, in a garden that carries echoes of Eden. The fruit of that garden is scattered throughout several legends, as the Hesperides' garden was supposed to live in the distant west, and held the irresistible golden fruit of immortality. (Hesperis, in Greek, is defined as the avatar of evening.) The Latinized version of the tale held the golden fruit to be apples - considering the Greek weather and palate, that isn't likely. Apples were so rare in Greece before the 7th century BC, and wild apples so bitter, that I have a hard time accepting that it was originally an apple. It has further problems when you consider that early Northern Europeans called nearly any foreign fruit an apple. To Chandler Burr, the fruit of the Hesperides is an orange. Bitter orange, maybe... I'm not a scholar of ancient Greece (anymore), but according to "The Meaning of Trees: Botany - History - Healing - Love" by Fred Hageneder (pg 81), the quince is the golden apple: the quince tree itself was named chrysomelon, which translates almost directly. Considering any in-depth research into Greek history will provide the quince as a preliminary symbolic fruit before the apple reached wide cultivation, I'm willing to accept Mr. Hageneder's assertion that the quince is, indeed, what the Hesperides' garden contained.

To me and on me, there is nothing dark or moody about this scent - the citrus aqnd herb combination does elicit the fruity freshness of quince, brilliantly executed by Olivier Pecheux, along with having the late-light coolness of a Mediterranean sunset. Smooth, vacation-y, and lovely, all at once.

the flutter wars, phase 2 - Rimmel Lycra Lash Extender

It has been a long time, my friends, in which this perfumista has embarked on many adventures. I've seen people kayaking in cardboard scullers; I've photographed people painting themselves blue; I've watched half-naked women who had bejeweled their shaved heads; and I've received numerous job offers that make my heart pound in gratitude.

But I still need to finish the flutter wars, so let me move on:

Rimmel Lycra Lash Extender

This is a very interesting product – Lycra Lash has a lot to recommend it. It's an easy-on product, with very little smudge. I can put on multiple coats and clumping isn't usually a problem; oddly enough, due to its lengthening properties this is the only product I tried that had the potential to make my eyelashes look spidery. But if you use a medium amount, it's a very pretty look with very little fuss, and it's so lightweight you never feel it after application.

There was only one problem I encountered with it, and I have to admit it's a serious one. This is the only product I tried that flaked and got in my eyes. Now, I'm fairly sure that if you have dry or combination skin, this wouldn't occur. However, I have very oily skin, and so my eye makeup always tends to wander. Most of the time mascara is heavy enough that its migration isn't something that gets in my actual eyes, but with Lycra Lash, three quarters of the way through the day I'd feel grit in my eyes and need to go fish it out. Because of this, I also couldn't do the dreaded sleep test – after about fifteen minutes of lying down I could feel it in my eyes and had to go remove it. I tested it with some pressed powder dabbed on my lids, which did help significantly, but I don't like putting a great deal of effort into makeup so this isn't a solution I will use or recommend. Several endurance points were taken off for this, but I'll bet that if you use a lash primer, you'd never experience the flaking problem.

So its ELFF score is:

Endurance – 6
Look – 8
Feel – 7
Flutter Factor – 9

All told, I've worn this on numerous occasions where I need to look pretty in a hurry, but I wouldn't buy the tube again.

Next up: Rimmel Lash Maxx!

sorry to post and run, but...

I have three more mascaras to review and I cannot wait until I'm done with them to say it. I can't wait to shout to the stars:

Lash Maxxx!

More when time allows. I have a bunch of reviews of fragrance and makeup stewing.

the flutter wars, phase 2 - Maybelline Define-A-Lash

I admit, I was more enthusiastic about Lash Expansion, and a bit skeptical about this product. Define-A-Lash comes in absinthe-green packaging, and the brush is a slender, flexible, rubber-bristled thing with multiple lengths – shorter in the middle; longer at the ends. It's not quite an hourglass shape – the end bristles are longer than the beginning bristles. It's a very feminine shape, and again, it rendered me a bit skeptical.

Then I tried it. So, without further ado:

Maybelline Define-A-Lash

Okay, the brush is a wee bit tricky to figure out at first, since it really is quite flexible. It takes a bit of finagling to force extra application where you want to; if you're counting on any rigid point in the brush, you'll be disappointed. It'll just bend to make the application even. I am a fan of those rubber bristles, though! They really allow you to fix any inadvertent lash clumping. The curvature of the brush makes for some interesting detail work; the longer outside allows me to fix the tips of my lashes with greater ease, and the touchups were a breeze. The thinner inside made sure I didn't over-apply on my center lashes, which was a relief since I feel like I'm always fixing that bit. The look is really nice, as well – since I already have the volume, I don't have to be concerned about spidery lashes, and so the nice lash definition that this product provides is a treat. No ball at the end, and great sweep – though it doesn't alter the angle of my lashes, which takes it a slight step down from the YSL. The fact that the formula dries so quickly isn't a problem for me at all, and while the feel is a bit odd at first, I didn't find it distracting.

However, where this product REALLY excels is in endurance. I revealed in an earlier post that I wore each product to bed, right? Well this one lasted through the next day. No, seriously. If I slept on my back, the next morning the mascara would still be there on both eyes – not as bold and gorgeous as the day before, but still perfectly wearable and pretty, with no soot-dust underneath my eyes. I was astonished; this wasn't even the waterproof version! If I slept on my side, one eye would be more worn away, but a bit of a touchup rendered them even. I repeated this a few times, just to be sure it wasn't an anomaly, and sure enough – this stuff stuck with me. Despite that kind of Atlas-esque endurance, it's still quite easy to remove, which makes me wonder exactly how much beeswax is IN this.

Endurance – 10
Look – 9
Feel – 8
Flutter Factor – 9

For a product that clocks in at less than $10 after tax, I'm deeply impressed. If you don't have reasonably voluminous lashes already, this will be a bust – if you have lashes that need definition rather than boosting, this product is a godsend.

Next up - Rimmel Lycra Lash!

Yves Saint Laurent 1936-2008

I find it semi-spooky that my last blog post was about a Yves St. Laurent product. I intended to post on Sunday, a "Happy June!" sort of thing before I went on to Maybelline Define-A-Lash. Instead, June 1st gave me a gorgeous day and some sad news. With that, I am wearing Christian Dior's "Remember Me," a lovely limited edition/discontinued fragrance released in 2000 before Yves retired.

I think this quote is my favorite of the ones I've seen in the obits:

"Yves didn't like the word fashion that much, he liked style. ... What will be missing in the world of fashion is a total respect of the human being, of the woman." — Lulu de la Falaise, Saint Laurent's studio assistant and a close friend for more than 30 years

the flutter wars, phase 2 - Yves St Laurent Faux Cils

This was a suggestion by the lovely H at PerfumeShrine, she of the glorious fragrance history. I took her on her word, gritted my teeth, and shelled out for:

YSL Faux Cils

It went a little like this:

*Dip, swoosh*

"Well, oh my, look at that. Doesn't that look lovel--OH blast its all over my eyebrows. Hang on."

*Swirls qtip in a bit of rosehip oil; scrubs*

Thinking: Eyebrows? How did I manage that? Did they really get that long?

"Okay, now let's look at that aga-- oh, oops, I took a little off my lashes there. Let me just do another coat."

*Dip, swoosh*

"Wow, that really looks grea--OH blast it's all under my eye. Let's start over."

*Carefully cleanses face and removes traces of mascara. Dries off. Waits a few minutes. Has some chamomile tea.*

"All right, let's do this again. Slowly this time."

*Dip, sllloooow pass.*

"Yes, that still looks really lovely."

*Touches inner lash gently yet experimentally with pinky.*

"Yep, it's all over. All right, lesson learned. No touchy, no blinky, no pose-y."


It's a wet formula, at first. A VERY wet formula. But once you give it a minute, it dries and you're left with really stunning lashes with no ball at the end, lovely definition, great sweep. The feel goes from overly wet to slightly crisp, but after half an hour the crispness is barely noticeable so I only subtracted a little bit for feel.

Endurance, though, was a problem. It's not half as bad as the DuWop was, but for the price I expected it to last a good long time. I tried experimenting with more coats to increase the endurance, but I'm such a clutz I couldn't keep the stuff off my face if I gave it more than one and a half coats. That also reduces the flutter factor by a miniscule amount; I can't flutter to full effect until the stuff dries. The mascara lasts through a work day, though, and considering the dramatic lashes it creates, it's a kicker of a date look.

YSL Faux Cils gets:

Endurance - 6
Look - 10
Feel - 7
Flutter Factor - 9

This makes Faux Cils the first mascara to get more than 30! Next up - Maybelline Define-A-Lash!

the flutter wars, phase 2 - Maybelline Lash Expansion

Initially I was supposed to test out Maybelline's Lash Discovery, but when I read the ingredients on the package (it pays to double-check) I saw a few things I couldn't wear. Therefore, I read around and chose two other mascaras, one of which was Lash Expansion.

Maybelline Lash Expansion

Oh dear, I should have thought a little more before choosing this one. The packaging itself says "Wraps Thickens Lengthens," and the moment I read the T word I should have left it behind. My eyes became the Great-Wall-o-Lash. Or should it have been the Short-Brick-Wall-o-Lash? The brush is really nice, but the product works on the thickening far too well while not giving any additional length. It was an adventure getting it off my fingers, but it didn't last as long as the Smashbox Bionic on my lashes - and I barely went outside all day. ;)

Maybelline Lash Expansion gets:

Endurance - 7
Look - 4
Feel - 6
Flutter Factor - 4

I can't say it's a pity, since the packaging has the unfortunate luck of reminding me of a product I saw at Toys in Babeland once. *cringe*

Next up - YSL Faux Cils!

the flutter wars, phase 2 - Smashbox Bionic

For those of you who don't remember, I had decided to set out on doing a run of mascara reviews, and then followed up with some pics of my baseline mascaras on my eye, as a base point. The ELFF score (Endurance, Look, Feel, Flutter) can add up to 40, and neither of my two staples add up to more than 30. Therefore, without further ado, I present...

Smashbox Bionic Mascara

Smashbox has a great list of ingredients, and I was pretty excited to try it out. The skin test was a success, and so I tried it out in a variety of circumstances. The lengthening effect was pretty intense, but like my staple MAC LongLash, it left the tiniest of balls on the ends of my lashes. It's a lovely dramatic look if you're after thickening as well as lengthening, though, and it lasts until the end of the day. My lashes were a wee bit crispy when I blinked, so I had to take off extra points for feel, and due to the lack of the nice sweeping point at the end of the lash, the flutter factor was reduced.

One thing to add, here. I did a special test with all the mascaras I tried: I slept in them to see exactly how long these babies could endure. Bionic doesn't last through the night, but it also doesn't leave a flaky rim under your eyes. Extra convenient for those evenings when you might need to crash at a friend's place. ;)

Smashbox Bionic gets:

Endurance - 8
Look - 8
Feel - 6
Flutter Factor - 7

It matches with MAC LongLash, but doesn't exceed it. Because the look is better, given only those two I'd choose this over the MAC.

Next up - Maybelline Lash Expansion!