First Impressions of Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara

I love mascara.

That should come no surprise to you since most of my blog makeup reviews are about mascara.

And it shouldn't surprise you either that today I'm going to share my first impressions about one of the most talked about affordable mascaras out there: Jordana Best Lash Extreme.

This is one of the most recommended mascaras if you search the internet. I honestly had never heard about it until recently, but the reviews online basically promised the world when it came to this mascara. Not only is it $2.99 at Kmart and Walgreens, but it also apparently performs nothing short of miracles on eyelashes. All for $2.99 from a brand that I would be kind of skeptical buying from.

Don't get me wrong. I like good deals and drugstore makeup, but sometimes you got to wonder if these things really work or if they'll make your eyes break out with pink eye or something crazy.

Anyway, I found it at Kmart, hidden away beside the NYC line. There were three mascaras left, so that made me feel a little bit better that it hadn't been sitting on the shelf for the last five years.

The promise from Jordana about this mascara is nothing out of the ordinary. It promises:

-Immediate Extreme Volume
-Buildable Formula without Clumping
-Long-Lasting Power

Actually, that might be the least amount of promises ever from a makeup brand about a mascara. Usually they promise everything just short of filing your taxes and washing your car for you.

So let's get into my first impressions:

Packaging:

The packaging is simple. It's a straight rounded tube that's purple and black. It may be the simplest packaging aside from the Elf Mineral Infused Mascara I used awhile back. When I first say it, I honestly had no clue what to expect.

The brush too is simple It's just a natural bristle that's nothing out of the ordinary. I can't really compare it to any others, but it's medium size. Nothing too big or too small or too fancy.

I can't take away points for the plain packaging. In fact, compared to some really obnoxious over the top mascara packagings out there (seriously the Flame Out is just awful in my opinion), it's great.

And the brush is good too. Just straight forward. I like that a lot.

The Look:

This promises extreme volume. And I think you can say that it delivers. In just one swipe through, it has built volume. I haven't seen this time of easy volume in the Falsies, Voluminious Million Lashes, or even Benefit's Bad Gal Lash. It just goes on super duper black and very easily. I just love how fast it builds. You have to watch it though, because if you get like me and just get greedy and swipe a million times through, your lashes can get heavy and kind of clumpy. Just to give you a warning, I love spidery lashes. That's because I love drama and length. I'm not so much a defining, feathery lash sort of person. And that's why I love this mascara so far. It lengths, adds volume, and defines in every way that I love.

 

 

I also must admit that I love mascaras that are kind of crusty and hard on my lashes. Why? I find they smudge less, hold up to my watery eyes better, and I just like feeling my mascara on them. And that's something that this stuff does. And with the help of my Clean and Clear makeup dissolving wipes, comes off very easily at the end of the day.

Final Thoughts:

If you have a Kmart or Walgreens near by, and like trying mascara, I say just do it. It's only $2.99 and if you like it, great. If you don't...well it's only a few dollars. I love this stuff. It could even become an all time favorite.

Do you love mascara reviews? Well I have a ton of them! Check out these others: L'Oreal Voluminious Million Lashes Excess, The Rocket vs. Clump Crusher, L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black, Telescopic Shocking Extensions, and Benefit They're Real!    

First Impressions of Suave Moroccan Infusion Shampoo and Conditioner

Hi everyone!

If there’s one thing I can say with all certainty, is that I’m a complete sucker for new hair products. I always have been (one of my earliest memories is that of me telling my grandma that I got all A’s on my report card in like second grade, and to reward me, she offered to buy me anything in Walgreens-I love Walgreens. So I bought a Rusk Shampoo, my first salon shampoo).

 

SuaveMoroccan Infusion

So recently I picked up Suave Professionals Moroccan Infusion shampoo and conditioner at Walgreens (I really do love Walgreens). I’d been eyeing this for awhile mostly because it says it has Moroccan argan oil in it. Now, if you should know one thing about me, it’s that the original Moroccanoil (the light blue bottle that costs like $40 a pop), is my holy grail hair product. I love the smell of it (if there were a perfume, I would be all over it), and pretty much it’s the only product that allows me not to have to wash my hair and then sleep on it to make it less poofy. The one product. I cherish this stuff.

So it’s kinda understandable that I’m going to compare this shampoo and conditioner to Moroccanoil, especially since they state right on the packaging that this is comparable to the shine it gives.

Since this is a first impressions post, this is based off of one use. As with most hair products, I think you really start to see how good it is after the first few uses, when your hair is new to the product. I’ll let you know of my long-term thoughts, but right now this is based off the first use.

First off, the scent. Is it like my holy grail product? Not really sadly. While the original Moroccanoil smells heavenly…like vanilla and musk, this is just most musk. I don’t find it super offending, but I wouldn’t wear it as a perfume. It’s a lot like a cheap cologne. Not entirely bad, but if you dislike it, you probably won’t be able to stand it. It’s pretty strong, something that I sorta like, because it did linger in my hair. It filled my bathroom with its scent, which I personally enjoyed.

Speaking of using it, the shampoo suds up extremely well. Like, I used way too much and had an explosion of suds on my head. So if you really like a nice, big lather, you will like this shampoo.

The conditioner isn’t as heavy as I’d thought it could be, but just to be safe I only put it from the ears down to avoid excess oil on my roots.

When it came to styling, I purposely avoided all additional products except for my Not Your Mother’s Knotty to Nice Detangling spray. I used a hair dryer on my hair and instantly noticed that it seemed softer and shinier than it does with my S Factor Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner (which, I’d like to add, are over $45 more expensive…).

The next morning after washing my hair, I noticed the biggest difference. My hair was smooth, glossy, frizz free, and straight. So instead of curling my hair, I just took my flat iron and straightened it out a bit. And basically had a great hair day. I did have a little static in my hair, but it’s probably because of lack of humidity (less than 10%) and the wind.

And as of day 2, my hair is definitely not too oily.

So I’m pretty impressed. Especially for the price. I’ll let you know if my opinions change at all, but this might become my favorite shampoo and conditioner.

A Little Bit of Everything Haul

Hi guys!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Last week I went a tad crazy and bought a ton of stuff that I’d been eyeing for a while now. I guess that means that this week I have to take it easy, but I’m super excited about the things that I picked up!

The first place that I went to was Walgreens.

I went there pretty much in search of the Milani blushes and the eyebrow kit. And Great Lash's clear mascara. And I walked out with the Batiste Dry Shampoo in the Blush scent. Unfortunately, the brow kit was a bust. The colors are just too light for my brows (even the darker color which I thought would be waaay too dark just sticks out like a sore thumb on my face). However, the other three all work really well. The plus is pigmented and the perfect glowing color. It's not nearly as peachy/pinky as I thought it would be. The clear mascara is just awesome in helping my brows cooperate. And the dry shampoo is AMAZING. I am definitely buying the full size eventually.

 

 

Then I went to Bath and Body Works, which is always my complete downfall. I was there to buy a gift and wound up getting a few extras for me. I bought 4 Wallflower bulbs because I've come to love Market Peach, so I definitely wanted to pick that up. It smells so strong and amazing! Then I got the Limoncello from the new Italy collection. I haven't tried to the Wallflowers yet, but the candle is pretty much my new favorite thing ever.

If you guys saw my What I'm Loving Wednesday post, you saw that I posted this bag from Lizard Thicket.

Well, I bought this amazing chevron tank from there. I can't tell you how much I love this top. I got so compliments on it and it's seriously the most adorable thing I've ever seen. Plus it shipped so fast, came wrapped up in this cute reusable bag, and was exactly what I thought it'd be! I totally recommend this boutique!

Another thing I'd been eyeing constantly was this little mist from Victoria's Secret Pink in Sweet and Flirty. This smells so good! It's sweet and fruity and just perfect for spring and summer! I seriously can't get enough of this amazing scent!

 

Another thing that I’d been dying to get my hands on was the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette. Now, this kind of comes as a surprise because for the longest time I thought this palette would be a total waste of money. I mean, there’s nothing really unique about it. And it’s $27, which is kinda steep. However, I’ve seen some really nice Youtube tutorials using this, and I had enough Ulta rewards points to knock off about $8, which really told me that I should get it. Plus Ulta was running a special where if you purchased $30 worth of Urban Decay stuff you got a sample size of the All-Nighter Makeup Setting Spray (honestly, I have no clue why she gave it to me, but I got it, so I’m super happy). So far I’m in love with this palette by the way!

Going back into clothes...

 

I picked up this tank at a little local boutqiue and instantly fell in complete love with it. First of all, the tag as an adorable bow on it. Second, it's a kind of minty color that is so popular right now that I'm completely obsessed with. And it has lace. It is so incredibly pretty I can't stand it.

Continuing with the whole clothes trend, I ordered these bow tanks from Forever 21. Now, I'm not a huge fan of Forever 21. In fact, these are the only things I've ever purchased from there. And both have little things wrong with the. The sizes are always completely weird I've found. But I'm determined to make them work because they are both so cute!

The top shirt is a plain white tank with the most adorable bow on it. Althought he picture doesn't show it, it has little black rhinestones that make it sparkly too. I love it so much, but the hi-low hem line isn't my favorite because the low back is waaay too low for little 4 foot 11 me. It's actually pretty bad. But I'll figure something out.

 

Likewise, this tank has tiny little black bowties all on it. The interesting thing is that these bows are actually velveteen. This is cute as well, but it is completely sheer and a little bigger than I thought it would be. But once agian, I love the bows and I'll find a way to make them work. 

Finally, the last two things I picked up are from American Eagle, which has been really impressing me lately. They have had such adorable tops, dresses, scarves, and pretty much everything you can imagine. 

The reason why I went there was for this super cute tank top. I fell in love with it online with the metallic arrow design, the flowy fit, and the zipper detail on the back. Making it even better, I had a 20% coupon I got in email, so I knew it was meant to be.

 

Here's a closer look at the adorable design. I just love it so much!

 

 And because everything in the store was buy one get one half off, I decided to get another one in a different color. For somer reason this one looks really orange, but it is more coral in person. It too had the zipper in the back. And in the end, I got this shirt for pretty much $5 after the sale and coupon. Not bad.

So that pretty much sums up the entire haul. It had a lot of clothes in it, which is exciting since it's finally warming up around here.

Have you been shopping recently?

 

  

Reasons 101 and 102 Why I Love Walgreens

It's really funny. It seems like everyone I know hates Walgreens.

However, I worship a trip to Walgreens. Even though they are waaay more expensive than places like Target and Walmart, they never seem to disappoint me. They have lots of great cosmetics (that are in stock), new items, and all in a compact little store.

So I was thrilled yesterday when I had to go there. And of course, I didn't walk away empty handed.

As you all probably know by now, I'm a sucker for cute school supplies. And this folder I found for $1.99 was so adorable, even the pharmacist said she wanted to go back to school just to use it. They had like four other colors and designs, and I'm in total and complete love. The crazy hoarder in me (I feel like it is always wanting to show its ugly head), wants me to go back and buy all of them.

While not related to school supplies, the Youtube beauty guru MakeupByTiffanyD (you've probably all have seen her because she's so awesome), has talked previously about how much she loves Revlon's Brow Fantasy. And I just so happent to have crazy eyebrows. So I wanted to give it a try.

And of course, Walgreens had it, in the color I wanted (dark brown). And so far I love it.

I think it was a productive trip to say the least.

Thanks for reading! Happy Sunday!