YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils Mascara: Pics + Review

YVES SAINT LAURENT VOX BOX! OH MY GOD!

I could write paragraphs about my excitement on receiving the most coveted Influenster Vox Box yet, but we just don't have the time and basically, we all know you're here to get the goods on this iconic mascara. To sum it up, the makeup geek within passed out, died, and went to voluminous lash heaven when I got the email and when I got the package I had to clutch my heart and ask myself "Is this real?"

Okay! Now that I've got my cosmetic fangirling out, let's get to the review!

 

The mascara retails for $32.00 and comes in 6 colors (High Density Black, Extreme Blue, Burgundy, Rich Brown, Fascinating Violet, Deep Night)

I got mine in High Density Black, and thank goodness for that because that's basically the only color mascara I wear! 

The mascara wand itself is long with tightly bunched nylon fibers of the same length distributed evenly throughout the brush, tapering in size near the tip.

The formula has been reformulated to not dry out + includes B5 Pro-Vitamin to strengthen and protect lashes.






Upon opening the mascara I was pleased to see they didn't skimp on packaging. The lighter gold tube looks so sleek and frankly, expensive, sitting on my makeup desk. I'm sure to rotate it to the YSL insignia so everyone will know exactly who made this gem. They get a solid A for packaging!

When It came to applying the mascara for the first time, I was a little disheartened by the smell. As soon as I twisted the wand out of it's tube, a strong hair dye scent wafted up to my face. I mean it smells EXACTLY like hair dye! That did freak me out at first and I wasn't sure I wanted it on my lashes because sometimes I'm a bit sensitive to certain ingredients but everything worked out fine. While it was wet, it continued to smell like hair dye but once it dried, the scent faded This was honestly the only real complaint I had about the product so I thought I'd get it out of the way first.

Now onto the goodies! Check out these Before & After shots!

Top Row: No Makeup or Mascara, Middle Row: Left Eye No Mascara, Right Eye Mascara, Bottom Row: Both Eyes Mascara.

The pictures speak for themselves. My lashes have never looked more voluminous or long. I felt like I applied false lashes, except I didn't have to go through all of the fuss. All I did was curl them, apply one layer of mascara and BAM, full on false lash effect (exactly like the name suggests). The curl stayed over 12 hours and when It was time to remove it, the mascara didn't give me much fuss.

I feel confident in saying this is the best mascara I've used. Ever. 

So is it worth the $32 price tag? Yes, yes it is. If you are fully invested in buying the best of the best, don't settle for anything other than YSL's Effet Faux Cils. These blow my previous favorites out of the water (one of which is a prestige brand, the other a drugstore brand). 

Just look at those "Bedroom Eyes", I feel so sexy with this mascara on. Thank you Influenster and Yves Saint Laurent for providing me with a full sized mascara to try + review, I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

Smashbox Double Exposure Review + Swatches

Price: $52 USD

Includes:

-Double Exposure Palette

-Double Ended Brush

-Full Exposure Mascara Deluxe Sample

+Eye Look Instructions

+Shadow Name Sheet

I had been eyeing Smashbox’s Full Exposure heavily when the brand announced a Double Exposure Giveaway. When I say heavily, I mean I had been visiting websites daily just to put it in my cart and then spend the next half hour trying to talk myself in and then eventually out of purchasing it, so of course I had to enter to win part 2 of the series! I entered the photo contest and within about a week, I received an email that I won the palette! Ahhh, my wallet was saved after all. Fortunately, I got to try a similar palette completely free….Unfortunately, compared to reviews of Full Exposure, I got the dud of the series.

While the Full Exposure Palette offers a variety of nudes in shimmers + mattes, the Double Exposure Palette offers more colors than true nudes and has 7 shimmers, 4 satins and 3 mattes.

The gimmick here is that the 14 shadows will turn into 28 shadows when wet. I do feel gimmick is the right word because most shadows will do that, and while they claim to transform into new shadows, I've found they mostly just improve and deepen, which is to be expected in any shadow made wet. It was good marketing though, It grabbed my attention!

Swatching these shadows dry with a primer was a little depressing. They were too soft to the point of excess fallout and the color was blotchy in spots when I glided on the shadows. When I switched techniques and began packing them, the blocthiness problem went away. Definitely pack these on!

Swatching them wet was a much easier experience, I could glide or pack them on easily.

The only major differences in the wet transformation comes from Midnight (The Navy Shimmer) which looks almost black dry but turns more true to color when wet and Blanc (Silver Shimmer) which was intensely amplified when wet. 

The duds of the bunch were Veiled (Last On The Top) which was unspectacular both wet and dry, though improved when wet and was difficult to swatch with a somewhat sheer pigmentation, and Noir (The Matte Black) which dragged when both wet and dry and was difficult to blend out.

The stand outs are Silver (Top First) which was a beautiful silver/blue buttery duochrome that improved when wet and Blanc (Top Middle) which, although standard when dry, amplified considerably when wet and was easy to apply in both the wet and dry technique.

SWATCHES:

Top Row (L,R): Silver (Shimmer), Mauve (Satin), Peony (Shimmer), Blanc (Shimmer), Quartz (Shimmer), Flushed (Shimmer), Veiled (Satin), Bottom Row (L,R): Midnight (Satin), Temper (Satin), Haze (Shimmer), Noir (Matte), Copper (Shimmer), Fig (Matte), Espresso (Matte)

Top Row (L,R): Silver (Turn Metallic), Mauve (Turn Metallic), Peony (Turn Metallic), Blanc (Turn Metallic), Quartz (Amps Up Vibrancy), Flushed (Gets Deeper), Veiled (Amps Up Vibrancy), Bottom Row (L,R): Midnight (Adds Sparkle), Temper (Adds Sparkle), Haze (Gets Deeper), Noir (Gets Deeper), Copper (Turns Metallic), Fig (Gets Deeper), Espresso (Gets Deeper)

Eye Look Using (Wet) Peony on the Lid and (Wet + Dry) Haze in the Crease, Full Exposure Mascara & Both sides of the dual ended brush.

The mascara included is a Full Exposure Mascara in a deluxe size, which I've gotten for free several times in the past & have used often. The brush itself is large with groups of bristles distributed evenly throughout. 

It produces slightly voluminous lashes that looks more like your natural pair, just "amped up" a step. 

The positives are that it's nearly impossible to clump this formula and It removes remarkably well with makeup wipes.

The palette includes a dual ended brush.

The angled brush is too small and stiff to be a blending brush, but I used it to shape the outer corner and before I blended it out with a Sonia Kashuk blending brush, the outer "V" was very crisp.

The flat brush is pretty dense and worked well with packing on color, which is good because this palette sort of demands that technique.

Pro's:
-Comes with an array of Colors & Nudes
-Has Shimmers, Satins and Mattes
-Deluxe Sized Mascara
-Dual Ended Brush
-Eye Look Pamphlet Organized According To Eye Shape
-Pretty Packaging/Looks Nice On Vanity

Con's:
-Gimmicky
-Hit & Miss With Pigmentation
-Must Pack On, Drags When Glided & Dry
-A Bit Expensive For Most ($52 USD)

The verdict is for you to decide. Personally, I'm glad to have won it but If I lost it or hit pan, I would probably not repurchase. $52 is too much to spend on a palette I feel lukewarm about.