lovelipstick: Barry M

So for what seems like AGES now I've been testing mascaras out for a post that I've wanted to write ever since I relaunched this blog: a post about vegan mascara options.

I'm going to jump straight in and tell you what I like about each mascara and I'll also include the price and where you can buy them from.

For comparison purposes, here is a pic of my eyeball with naked eyelashes! GAH, horrible. :) I'm not sure how well you can see but they're not particularly long and they're very fair.

OK, let's do this! Starting with....

Eyeko - Skinny Brush Mascara (V)

£15 from Eyeko's website or Selfridges stores

Brush close-up

I will start by saying this is the most expensive mascara I'm reviewing today. I've always been of the opinion that pricey mascaras are not worth the money, because they need to be replaced so often and there's some brilliant 'drugstore' options out there. I still stand by this, however, this mascara is brilliant.

It gives really long, dramatic lashes, without adding falsies. So if you're going for a smokey eye, or bright makeup and just can't be bothered adding lashes, or don't have the time - this is the one!

I don't think it's meant to be waterproof, but I definitely find it's water resistant. Also, at the end of the day when I've been wearing it for more than 12 hours, my lashes are still curly!

As with all good things though, there's a (teeny) downside - the removal is a bitch!!

Barry M Lash Vegas Blackest Black with Fibres (V)

£6.49 from Barry M's Website or from Superdrug, Boots or larger supermarkets

Brush close-up

This is my favourite 'drugstore' or affordable range mascara. I actually don't love the original formula of Lash Vegas (I like the waterproof one ok and actually use it on bridal clients) but this one with the fibres is a much better formulation and is basically now my every day mascara.

One good coat of this is enough, a second will add extra drama. It also removes easily with my regular cleanser. It can get a bit clumpy, as you can see below, but working it through with the brush usually separates the lashes out enough.

B. Longer Mascara (V)

£9.99 (although it's on sale for £4.99 right now) on Superdrug's website or in store

(The packaging of mine is silver because it was from a palette.)

Brush Close-up

I tried one of the B. mascaras when the range first came out in Superdrug and I wasn't a fan. It's one of those mascaras that forms tubes around the lashes and I just really thought it was kind of blah! However, this one, I actually really like. I got this with one of their palettes that I got at Christmas time (which I have a post about coming up!) and was prepared to hate it.

Again it's one of those tube forming mascaras which they say will come off 'easily with a bit of warm water'. HAHA, no. It DOES come off with warm water, but it needs a pretty good rub to do so - also an eyelash came with it when I did this, maybe I was a bit over-zealous! I also found a few little stubborn bits that I had to kind of pick off.

On the plus side, it did give my lashes length and it separated nicely. It was also good for bottom lashes.

GOSH Amazing Length'N Build (CV)

£5.99 from Superdrug

Brush Close-up

This used to be my gym bag mascara. Which means that I like it a lot because I used to go to the gym every morning pretty much. Now I've let that slide, but let's not talk about that, it has been left in the drawer for a while. So rediscovering it for this post was great.

I do like this mascara, although it's probably the least dramatic one I tested; if you just like a mascara to darken your lashes but don't necessarily want much length or volume added, this might be a good one for you. It needs a couple of coats to get a good effect but it doesn't smudge, it has a nice brush and doesn't go all gammy and claggy!

M&S Autograph False Lash Effect Mascara (CV)

£11.00 from Marks and Spencer's website or in stores

Brush Close-ups

The first thing I want to say about this is that the formula is quite nice and I did like the effect of it. BUT DAT BRUSH DOE!!! UGH, I am far FAR to clumsy for this brush. I have used this 2 or 3 times and without fail, every time, I poked myself in the eye with it. Ouchies.

Hopefully you can see from the pics above that the brush is like a regular fat mascara brush on 2 sides and pointy and plasticy on the other sides. It's supposed to help you be able to work through the clumps but as I said above, I'm too clumsy for it!

Also, I got a craptonne of it on my eyelid - not saying that this is totally the fault of the mascara because I do this pretty much every day anyway. But this is more than I usually manage to smear on myself. On the plus side though, once it dried it flaked off super easily without wrecking my makeup.

Beauty Without Cruelty Full Volume Mascara (V)

£11.99 from their website

Brush Close-up

Another surprise here - I don't mind this mascara!! I have used their products before because I love the idea of supporting a fully cruelty free, vegan makeup company but have always been disappointed. The makeup was also mediocre and reminiscent of cheap nasty makeup that I wouldn't have touched.

But when I tried this mascara out I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting it to be one that just made your lashes black but didn't add anything to them. I was wrong... it's actually pretty good!

The formula is nice and 2 good coats gave a not especially dramatic but decent effect.

Makeup Revolution Amazing Volume (AV)

£2 from Revolution's Website or from selected Superdrug stores

Brush Close-up

I am a huge fan of Revolution products: they are affordable, there's a tonne of products available, they're pretty vegan friendly* and for the most part, they're awesome.

However, I don't like this mascara. I picked the * one out of a few available and when I took it out the box I really didn't like the packaging but that's by the by. I also noticed when I took the wand out that it appeared to be a formula that had fibres in, which I wasn't expecting. As I'm a fan of the Barry M Lash Vegas Fibres, I was happy to see that. When I applied it though, the fibres just kind of clung to the tips of my lashes, making some of the lashes look long and the rest normal length.

Also, 2 coats on my lashes and my left eye (always the troublesome bugger) was a clumpy spidery mess. I worked it in and used the brush to separate the lashes as much as possible, I just wasn't a fan of the overall formula. Add to that, the 2nd time I dipped the wand in, when I pulled it out the whole top came off (the bit that scrapes off the excess product!) I managed to screw it back in but gah! Gah!!

So no, this one is a thumbs down I'm afraid. (Can you see the fibres just kind of hanging off some of the lashes?) Although for £2 it's better than it probably should be!

*when it comes to vegan items, Revolution say they don't claim to be vegan, but anything non-vegan is obvious in the list, such as beeswax, lanolin or carmine.

ELF Defining Mascara (CV)

£3.95 from Eyeslipsface

Brush Close-up

I went into this with low expectations, I must admit. I used to have a really crap ELF mascara, in a white tube that was about as much use as a chocolate teapot. So I was pleasantly surprised when I tried this one. I picked this out of the several that ELF do, because it was literally the only black mascara in stock, except the one with the teeny brush that's really meant for bottom lashes.

Anyway, I really like the brush and it goes on well. It really only needs one coat as well to get a pretty good effect. It's nice for bottom lashes too!

So here's where I'm on the fence: 2 coats and the lashes are a bit spidery. No biggie, just needs a comb through with a lash comb or stick to one coat.

But there's more. The first day I wore it, I was on the train to work about an hour after I applied it and I did a big sneeze, which obviously made me squeeze my eyes shut and my lashes all sort of stuck together. And even 8 hours later, there was still a bit of tackiness, so it's kind of a sticky formula. Again, annoying but not a deal breaker.

Removal is what really lets this mascara down though. It took a decent scrub to remove it and a couple of my eyelashes came away with it.

Conclusion: I don't hate it, I don't love it either!

Lilylolo Natural Mascara (V)

£10.99 from Lilylolo

Brush Close-up

The last one I tested was one that I was expecting to kind of suck, because whenever I've tried mascaras from 'natural' / mineral brands before, they have. But you know what, it's pretty great. I love the brush, I think it's the perfect shape & size. I was pleasantly surprised that their mascara was vegan, as not everything in their range is, although it is a very vegan friendly company.

The formula is very nice too. Smooth, super black and makes my lashes look nice. Nothing particularly dramatic but for an every day mascara; I like this a lot. Removed easily and still looked good at the end of the work day. Only down side, is that by the end of the work day, there were a few crumbs of the mascara had dropped onto my face. Not a biggie though!

So there we are. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there really are some great vegan options nowadays when it comes to mascaras - it used to be near on impossible to find one without beeswax. The above mascaras are mostly all good mascaras and a few are really great. Most get a thumbs up, some I'm on the fence about.

My everyday choice would still be Barry M Lash Vegas because as well as being a fabulous mascara, it's super affordable and it's the one that is the easiest to get hold of, as both Superdrug & Boots sell Barry M, as do some larger supermarkets like Tesco.

My splurge fancy choice for proper dramatic lashes goes to Eyeko's skinny brush, which I love love love, despite it being a mutha beeyotch to remove! For a dramatic eye look when you don't want the hassle of applying falsies, this is the one!

So there you go. Did I miss your favourite vegan mascara? Tell me about it, I'd love to add to this post at some point, once my eyes have forgiven me! :o)

Love & Stuff
Sal xXx

PS: if you're a beauty blogger too, please leave me a link to your blog or Instagram in the comments. I love to discover new ones! :)

If you liked this post, or think anyone you know would find it useful too, please consider sharing it and leaving me a comment or talk to me via the social media links to the right. :o)

13:30

So today I'm bringing you my first party makeup pic tutorial. I was fighting a losing battle against getting this done before the sun set, so the light does change in the pics. But hopefully you'll get the idea.

I started with something a bit more colourful, as there'll no doubt be a few sparkly / neutral ones in this series. This method is super easy and can be done with any colours you like; I picked purple & pinks.

Here is the overall look

And here's how I did it...

When using bright colours, I think it's best to put down a light base (white works well) so I used the lightest concealer I could find (in this case, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer in Shade 1 - CV). I patted this all over the lid and blended it in with my finger. Don't add too much or it'll crease.

The eyeshadows I used from this palette mostly came from the Revolution Matte Brights Palette.... ooooh see how pretty....

I started by picking up the lightest pink

With a fluffy blending brush (I used a bdellium 785), put this colour in the crease. This won't really show and so doesn't need to be neat. Just go back and forward really roughly in the crease. This is our transition shade.

Then with a flat brush (I used a Furless PM2), pick up some of your bright purple.

Pack this on the inner and outer 1/3 or so of the lid

I switched to a pencil brush (Furless PRO3M) as I wanted something that would the colour packed on a bit more.

Then join up the inner and outer corner by using windscreen wiper motions with the pencil brush in the crease

It should look something like this

Then go back to the blending brush you used for the light pink and blend so there's no harsh edges. Repeat these steps (packing on purple, blending out edges) until you're happy with the colour intensity.

With a clean blending brush (this is an Illamasqua blending brush), pick a small amount of up the dark pink.

Put this just above the purple and blend it well, going back to your blending brush and adding a bit more light pink to blend out if needed. The aim is to create a bit of a gradient.

Then pick up the white (I used a bdellium 776)

And put it under the eyebrow to highlight the brow bone

Then wipe off your flat brush (or use a clean one) and pick up some light cream eyeshadow. You can skip this step if you have a really pigmented shade for the next step, but mine wasn't very pigmented so I did this to give the shimmer something to stick to and make it stand out more. This is Superdrug's B. Cream Shadow in the shade Lizzie (V).

Pat this onto the space in the middle of the lid that we left free.

Then flip the brush around and pick up a light and shimmery eyeshadow or highlighter. This is Revolution's Baked Highlighter in Peach Lights (AV)

Pat this over top, feathering out the edges to blend it into the purple. If need be, add a touch more purple to blend it.

Then add some black eyeliner. This is optional but I like the way it looks with liner. I didn't wing out the liner much, just finished it off at the edges.

Then line the waterline with a gold eyeliner. I used GOSH's Velvet Touch Liner in Renaissance Gold (CV). You could use black or silver if you prefer.

Then add plenty of mascara, I used my favourite, Barry M Lash Vegas + Fibres (V).

You can add lashes too at this point, but as this was just for Monday night salsa, I skipped them. However, at the end of this post is a similar look I did on a weekend away, that shows you how much more dramatic this will look with lashes! :)

Onto the face. I mixed 2 pumps of B. Youthful Foundation (shade 10, Linen - V) with about half a pump of SEVENTEEN's Skin Wow! Highlighter (CV).

I buffed this onto my face with a bdellium 954 brush, which I've been loving for foundation lately.

Then I added concealer under my eyes (Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, shade 2 - CV). I like to blend this out with a bdellium 949 brush.

Set under the eyes with powder - I used a Real Techniques Setting Brush and MUA's pressed powder in shade 1 (AV). I switched to a Barry M Kabuki brush to set the rest of the face. (Sexy powder face!!)

Then go back to the eyes. Using your pencil brush again, pick up a tiny bit of the purple and blend it under the lower lashes, connecting the corner up to the purple on top. I also filled in my brows with Anastasia Beverley Hills' Brow Wiz in Ash Blonde (AV) and added a bit of GOSH's Clear Brow Gel on top (CV).

This is where I'd totally lost the light so moved into another room! :)

For the face, I used my Revolution Sugar & Spice Ultra Blush Palette (AV). I swirled my brush into the 2 bronze/contour shades on the top left.

And dusted it high on the cheeks, forehead and a bit over the bridge of the nose, to warm up the face. I used a Real Techniques Powder Brush.

Then I picked up this blush shade with a Real Techniques Blush Brush

This is one tiny tap! It's SOOOO pigmented (I REALLY love this palette!)

I tapped it off on the back of my hand then tapped the brush onto the apples of the cheeks, so as not to put too much colour on.

Then, I used a Real Techniques Contour Brush to add Revolution's Peach Lights highlighter, the same I used on the eyes, to my cheekbones, bridge of the nose and the cupid's bow.

I lined my lips thickly with OCC's pencil in Hoochie, but not fully.

Then filled in with Barry M's Gelly Hi Shine Lip Pencil in Electra (V)

So that's the final look. The next one is going to be glittery, as I'll be wearing it to my work's Christmas do, so stay tuned! :)

As promised above too, here is another example of this look; I used a brighter shadow in the centre of the lid (although I can't for the life of me remember what it is!), used black in the waterline, a sparkly white on the inner corner AND I added lashes and gold eyebrows! The brows are Sugarpill's Goldilux pigment (V) mixed with Illamasqua Sealing Gel (CV).