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Dollface Reviews: Lancome Oscillation Water Resistant Mascara

I really expected to love this. I mean, I'm more or less Lancome's bitch when it comes to mascara: I've been using their offerings almost all of my mascara-wearing life, and although I have my little flirtations with other brands, Lancome is the one I always come back to.

Oscillation is currently Lancome's most hyped offering, and it's even water resistant, so I thought it couldn't fail. And did it? Well, yes and no.

On the plus side:

• It's much easier to use than I expected it to be. Oscillation, of course, was one of the first of the new breed of vibrating mascaras, and as I'm one of the clumsiest people I know, I fully expected to end up in accident and emergency, as the idea of ME putting a vibrating stick anywhere near my eyes just seemed like a recipe for disaster. But no: the vibrations are much more subtle than I'd expected them to be, and I had no trouble at all applying this, using the "zig-zag" motion recommended. I didn't even get it all over my eyelids, either, and I do that with NON-vibrating mascaras, so that was quite a result.
• It really does live up to the claim that it will "fan" your lashes out. I could actually see it happening as I applied it, and the effect is lovely and fluttery. WIN on that score, too.
• It's not clumpy.
• It's not flaky.
• It doesn't rub off.

So far, then, so good. But...

On the minus side:

• It doesn't add much in the way of length
• Droopy lashes. Remember, it's water-resistant, not water-proof. There is a difference, and while I haven't actually tried it in water, so can't comment on that, the difference for me is that it doesn't hold my curled lashes in place the way my regular mascara does. (See here to compare.)

Overall, more pluses than minuses, but although I do like Oscillation, I don't LOVE it, and it hasn't been able to knock L'Extreme off the top spot. (Will ANYTHING?) For me this is more of a daytime mascara, and lacks a bit of the drama I like to associate with my lashes, but it is a lovely consistency, easy to use, and, well, fluttery. It's just very, very fluttery. If that sounds like what you're after, you can buy it here.

BUY: Lancome Oscillation Water-Resistant Mascara

 

A small Sephora haul...

...but only a very small one, because as anyone who reads my personal blog will know by now, I got a little bit carried away in the Neiman Marcus shoe department during my vacation, and had no money left for makeup. Boo! (But also, "yay!", because seriously, Christian Louboutin on sale: how could I resist?)

Anyway, I did go to Sephora, and while I took the opportunity to stock up on some old favourites, like my beloved Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, I did get some new things too, most notably, Lancome Oscillation (at LAST!) and the fabulous Lash Stash, which I wrote about a while back. So clearly you can expect a LOT of mascara reviews in the next few weeks. Ahem.

More posts will be up soon - hope everyone had a good couple of weeks!

On vacation...

I'm sure I've mentioned my upcoming vacation often enough for it to come as no surprise that I'm here to bid you adieu for a couple of weeks, as I head off to the sun to recharge my batteries and shop at Sephora.

I have an early flight on Thursday morning, so I'm taking tomorrow off to pack and, er, sleep. Stay beautiful everyone, and I'll see you (through the computer) when I get back - or possibly sooner if I can't resist showing you my Sephora haul!

Guest Post: How to make your eyes pop….. (not literally)

Kerry Walker writes...

Ever noticed that your eye colour really seems to ‘pop’ with some eyeshadow, and not with others?  If you want to know how to make the most of your beautiful brown, gorgeous green or bonny blue eyes, then you have to go back to primary school.  Because it’s all about the colour wheel.

Exhibit A: Colour Wheel

In order to accentuate the colour of your eyes, you should choose an eyeshadow colour that is opposite your eye colour on the colour wheel.  For instance, I have blue eyes (well, they are really grey, but I like to say that they are blue) and opposite blue is orange.  This doesn’t mean that you have to have fluorescent mango coloured lid!  Just look for colours with orange-y tones.

Exhibit B: Eyeshadows with Orange-y tones:

 

Here’s some examples:

 

Don’t be afraid to play around with eye shadow colour.  Just remember to use brush, not those horrid sponge applicators, and to always blend, blend, blend.

[Kerry Walker]

A huge thank-you to Kerry for her excellent advice! ~ Dollface

Guest Post: Primer Potions and Ruby Slippers

I'm getting ready for my vacation today, so I leave you with a couple of guest posts from makeup-artist-in-training, Kerry Walker. Kerry writes...

One of the best discoveries I made while studying to become a make up artist, is foundation primers. Prior to this, I was strictly a ‘moisturiser only’ type of girl. “These fancy primer potions are just a have”, thought I. Having not used any, I wondered what kind of a difference a primer could possibly make? But once I did try them, it was a bit like that scene in The Wizard of Oz, where everything suddenly becomes colourful (but without the singing little people and the ruby slippers. *Sigh* ruby slippers…).

 A primer acts as base coat layer to help your foundation go on more smoothly and stay put for longer. It fills in fine lines and large pores and makes skin silky smooth and lovely and matte. Just like you wouldn’t paint your house without a base coat, if you want a long-lasting, flawless looking foundation application – you should use a primer. But be warned, not all primers are created equal. Some are quite drying and some are just glorified moisturisers. The ones I prefer contain a small amount of silicone and look like a gel. Smashbox Photo Finish  is a good example of this – however, it’s very pricey. Shop around, some make up companies make very good “photofinish-like” primers for a fraction of the cost.

You can apply a primer with a sponge, a brush, or just your fingers. If you do use a sponge or a brush, make sure you only use that one for primer and use a different one for your foundation. Foundation and primer don’t mix very well. Similarly, after you’ve applied your foundation, you should wait until it has fully dried before applying foundation. Once the primer has dried, you can apply your liquid, mineral, or powder foundation and your beautiful Dollface is good to go!

[Kerry Walker]

Genie Instant Line Smoother makes you look younger. Apparently.

It's a genie in a bottle, baby! Sorry, I just couldn't resist...

If this does what it says it will, it'll be a lot like a genie, though, but only if your wish is for younger looking, line-free skin. And isn't it always?

The Instant Line Filler isn't skincare, so its effect will last only until the next time you wash your face, but once it's on, it claims to fill in lines and smooth out wrinkles, making your skin look smoother. A bit like cement, then, but apparently very lightweight, and, er, not at all like cement, obviously.

I've tried a product similar to this from Too Faced, and didn't see any difference at all to the appearance of my skin, so I'm just a little bit skeptical about how well this kind of thing works, but if you're ready to give it a go, it's £19.99 and available from Amazon.

Smashbox Anti-Shine powder/gel

Embarrassing beauty confession of the day: I have a tendency to look a little bit shiny. It's just one of the many small joys of being me, and although there are various ways to deal with this issue, of course, I've yet to find one that I'm 100% happy with.

Which is why I'm currently pinning my hopes on Smashbox Anti-Shine. Quite apart from anything else, I like the no-nonsense name of this: Anti-Shine is what it's called, so we can reasonably expect that this is exactly what it'll do.

Another reason to hope for the best with this is that I'm a big fan of Smashbox primer, which is itself fairly good at putting paid to the ol' shiny forehead: perhaps together the two will be invincible?

This is a gel formula which feels like powder once it's on, and although it looks pinkish in this picture, it's actually colourless, so should work on any skin tone. It's $27 from www.sephora.com

Trish McEvoy 'Bronze' Luminizer: bronzer in a pen

So, I'm still loving the Asda self-tan lotion I wrote about last week: in fact, I used it last night. One problem, though: although the tan on my legs and body is absolutely fine, my anxiety to not have a fake tan disaster on my face meant that I kinda neglected to actually use it there. So I woke up this morning with a sun-kissed body... and a brilliant white face and neck. Excellent!

Some of my trusty Johnson's Holiday Skin Daily Facial Moisturiser (just like the body version, but a little more subtle, so less alarming to use) will sort that out soon, but in the meantime it's bronzer all the way. It's too late for me to order this Trish McEvoy Luminizer now, but it's something I may look out for in the future, because I like the idea of the brush applicator - just twist it once and apply the product anywhere you need it.

There's only one shade of this available but they say it's a "natural" one which will make your skin look "luminous". If you want to try it out, it's $38 from Nordstrom.

ASOS bright red moc croc vanity case with animal print lining

Vanity cases have never struck me as being particularly practical: they trend not to have compartments inside them to stop all of your makeup from rolling around, and because airlines have so many restrictions these days on what you can and can't take on board with you, they're not much use for travel, either.

I really wish they were, though: they harken back to a more glamorous age, when people used to actually dress up for travel, and for that reason alone, I love them.

This red one is particularly glam, with its moc-croc fabric and animal print lining. And even if it never leaves the house, it could make a really cute piece of cosmetic storage for your bedroom. It's £28 from ASOS.com

Did Kristen Stewart get a mullet haircut?

OK, I know it still looks slightly damp and unstyled (please tell me it's unstyled...) so this photo probably doesn't show the best side of Kristen Stewart's new hairdo, but even so, I'm seeing a mullet here. Is anyone else seeing a mullet?

One more under the jump...