Maybelline the Colossal Cat Eyes: Review + Comparison to the Original

Last I reviewed the Colossal by Maybelline and it was unfortunately not my holy grail. I've seen it work beautifully on other girls, so I was disappointed that it did not love me back.

This time I'm here to review the Colossal Cat Eyes.

I really love lashes that wing out at the outer edge, but I'm always skeptical of mascaras that say they give one shape or another. I tend to think that's mostly decided by your natural lash shape and how you apply your mascara. Nevertheless, I was curious to see the difference between the Colossal Original and Cat Eyes.

Brush:

The brush is curved and the bristles are shorter and more spaced out than the original Colossal brush. I didn't find this brush to pick up as much product as the original brush.

Formula:

The formula is even more wet than the original.

Application:

Because the brush is so sparse and not a lot of product gets picked up you have to really apply a lot of coats before you see results. Just for clarification, by 'coats' I really mean strokes, because I didn't find this to be the type of mascara you can apply, dry, re-apply. When you let the formula dry first, the second application is always clumpy on my lashes. I really had to load up the mascara within one pre-dry coat.

Comparison & Conclusion:
I think the curved and sleeker shape is conducive to better mascara application near the edges of the eyes, which would allow the user to apply winged out coat of mascara.

For me there are to lashes at the very outer corner of my left eye I always notice when applying mascara because they stick forward less and stick more parallel to the surface of my eyes. The larger the brush the harder it is for me to get to those lashes, so the Cat Eyes brush was more capable of getting to those lashes.

However, I found this mascara to be noticeably less volumizing, so it essentially canceled out whatever benefit the extra access provided.

Again, similar to the Colossal original, this is another high-maintenance mascara; the mascara did not hold curls, did not add volume easily, and stick together past a certain number of applications.

I like this mascara less than the Colossal original, so this is definitely not a holy grail product for me.

What do you guys think? Do you love this mascara? Maybe this would work better on me if I had more lashes, longer lashes?

-Katherine

Next up, the Falsies!

Launching the search for my holy grail mascara: Maybelline the Colossal

While I don't have the perfect skin, I'm comfortable stepping out in nothing but moisturizer on my face. Naked lashes, however, are a whole other story! My lashes are OK for an Asian girl, but I have to admit that I feel uncomfortably plain when I don't have mascara on.

Ironically for someone who loves mascaras I don't have a holy grail one. Truth be told I've never even been that keen on finding one I absolutely love until now. I then told myself to wait on finding my holy grail mascara until I finish a couple of tubes from my current collection, but of course once I had this pact with myself I suddenly found it the most convenient time to enforce the three months rule. I kept two mascaras I like (Almay Triple Effect and Revlon Lash Potion) and threw all the rest out!

Now I'm ready to search for my holy grail mascara. It may turn out to be the Almay or Revlon I currently own, but I'm excited to try out a bunch of hyped up mascaras I keep hearing about in the beauty community.

First collection I got my hands on is the Maybelline Volum' Express line. Kicking off this mascara review series is the Colossal.

Brush:

The brush is rather large with a full head of long bristles. The brush tapers near the tip and has the general shape of a bulky cone. The bristles run a tight, dense spiral to catch every lash. The brush picks up a decent amount of product.

Formula:
This mascara is wet.

Application:
I usually like large brushes for the volume they tend to give, but the combination with the wetness of this formula made this mascara quite messy to use. It was hard to get the mascara to coat from close to the root of my lashes without the formula getting all over my eyelids, but the wet formula made going over my lashes, coat after coat, more possible without clumping. At one point my lashes did clump, but I was easily able to brush them apart using a clean lash brush.

The curl goes away after application because the wet formula weighs down the curl, so I have to use a curler again after the mascara dries to achieve the final look I like. The problem with this is that during the morning rush I can't wait long enough for complete dryness, so the lashes get stuck on the curler. It's not only slightly painful to pull lashes off the curler, but the curler flattens the lashes and/or takes off a smidge of mascara in the middle where my lashes touched the curler--near the base it looks OK, then in the middle it's thinner, and at the tip it looks normal again.

Conclusion:
From a regular distance, this mascara is actually quite nice. It gives rather defined, long lashes. I definitely prefer more volume, but I really like the overall effect this mascara on my face.

All in all despite feeling that this is a decent mascara I did not like the high-maintenance nature of this mascara. For my lashes I can only achieve pretty lashes if I:

1. Apply lots of coats
2. Clean my lids after application
3. De-clump
4. Re-curl

In conclusion this is a solid mascara, but I did expect more based on the amount of love it gets on YouTube. This is not my holy grail.

What are your thoughts on this mascara?? Please comment; I'd love to know!

-Katherine

Next mascara up for review: Maybelline the Colossal Cat Eyes

Revlon Nail Enamel in 410 Dreamer

Hey y'all,

I know it's fall and all, and I love fall...but I am having such a hard time letting go of my spring and summer colors... Pastel and bright and girly colors are my weakness!

Artificial Lighting

(Bright) Natural Lighting

Indoor, Natural Lighting

Do you drink tea?

I am a recent tea convert.

I used to drink coffee everyday, but one day while making my perfect cup o' joe just felt utterly ridiculous about the amount of sugar and creamer I was using. So I tried tea instead and never looked back. I still add honey and cream to my tea, but not nearly as much as when I make my coffee.

I feel great about the change--I'm not staining my teeth and I'm absorbing all the health benefits.

Read below for a short blurb about what I've tried so far!

Almay Color + Care Liquid Lip Balm

It certainly doesn't look like it right now, but I actually rarely wear lip products. Right now I'm not adventurous enough to wear anything out of the nude to soft/mauvy pink range and I usually feel too self-conscious to apply lip products in public. (Anyone else out there also self-conscious about applying lipstick in public? It's such a "classic sexy Hollywood" scene!) In addition, I'm constantly eating, snacking, and sipping on tea or coffee that lip color gets wiped away pretty quickly...there's almost no point in buying lip makeup. But I let myself get curious and look at the pretty colors...and google swatches... Next thing you know I'm taking these photos for you guys. Where are you, self-control?!

Ah well. Let's just enjoy the pretty pictures, shall we?

L to R: Blooming Balm, Pink Pout, Lilac Love, Cantaloupe Cream, Apricot Pucker

L to R: Blooming Balm, Pink Pout, Lilac Love, Cantaloupe Cream, Apricot Pucker

---Swatches & review below---

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Summer / Fall 2013 Cleanser Collection

Caroline Hirons suggests having a couple of cleansers to use in rotation so I drafted my lineup a few months ago and it includes four products. I tried a good number of cleansers before finalizing my lineup, and I've been extremely happy with all of these products and my collection as a whole.

Cleansing Practices:

I cleanse once in the morning and twice at night. Unless there is something really urgent I need to tend to, I always wash my face to remove makeup as soon as I get home. I literally walk in my front door, put my stuff down, change out of my work clothes, and head to the bathroom to wash my face.

I don't have a system regarding when I use each of these products. I generally just go by how my skin is feeling or how I'm feeling. Generally I use a nickel-sized amount of product and lather using my hands. I focus mainly from my temple to along my jawline and underneath because those are my problem area for blemishes. After I'm done working the lather I use a wet muslin cloth to wipe away the lather while exfoliating my skin. Lastly I splash some more water on my face to get rid of any leftover soapy residues.

Products:

Cetaphil DermaControl Foam Wash / AM / Foam
I use this in the morning because it's really too gentle for anything other than washing off (please excuse this gross detail) whatever residue is built up during sleep. It leaves a barely noticeable thin film that serves to matte-fy my skin, which is great in preparation for the long day ahead.

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Facial Cleanser for sensitive skin / AM&PM / Gel
This is an amazingly gentle, light, refreshing cleanser. It leaves face feeling not squeaky and yet very clean and ready to breathe. This is my go-to cleanser once or twice a week in the morning and almost every night as my first cleanse or both cleanses.

La Roche-Posay Toleriane Purifying Foaming Cleanser / PM / Cream
This is what I consider to be my 'big gun' as far as cleansers are concerned. It has ridiculous foaming power, and is an extremely effective cleanser. This is what I use when I've put my skin through a long day, or feel that my skin needs a sort of restart. It leaves my skin more squeaky clean than the Clean and Clear cleanser, but it is gentle enough to use twice in a day or everyday. For me, I tend to use this only once or twice a week because it can feel a bit drying.

Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Cleansing Gelee / PM / Gel with microbeads
To me this is a mix of the Clean & Clear and La Roche-Posay cleanser because it starts off as a cool gel cleanser and as you work the product the beads pop and the cleanser foams quite a bit. I have started using this almost every Sunday night.

Do you also have a cleanser rotation or do you stick to one? What are your favorite cleansers?

Katherine

Wet n Wild Megalast: Club Havana

I am finally getting around to using the polishes I got from the Wet n Wild Megalast basket I told you guys about a few posts ago!

Color:

This is an opaque true orange polish. The first coat offers great color, but I prefer to use two coats on my nails because I like the vibrancy and almost gel-like look.

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Facial Cleanser for Sensitive Skin

Ever since I finished my Olay Total Effects 7 in 1 Foaming Cleanser I've been looking for a new gel cleanser to fill its spot in my cleanser lineup.

I have to admit that in recent years I've always skipped the Clean and Clear section of the drugstore because last time I tried a product by C&C my skin could not handle the super strength punch the cleanser provided. However, I decided to try this cleanser because I had a really generous coupon, it's inexpensive ($5.49), and Paula's Choice had a really positive review of it.

And my verdict?

Love/Hate: Politics

I thought this was highly appropriate, given what's actually happening in Washington right now...

"We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons, we passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were, and we never beat our chest. We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and we cultivated the world's greatest artists and the world's greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men. We aspired to intelligence; we didn't belittle it; it didn't make us feel inferior. We didn't identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election, and we didn't scare so easy. We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed. By great men, men who were revered. The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore."

Two Olay Cleansers with Micro-Beads

Olay is probably my absolute favorite drugstore skincare brand, so naturally whenever the need arises for me to replace a product or a new skincare need develops I naturally gravitate toward Olay products. I recently picked up these two products with high expectations.

Pretty in pink with an accent of metallic glitter

You've probably seen this combo everywhere on Pinterest...figured I'd finally try it myself!

Olay Total Effects 7 in 1 Anti-Aging Revitalizing Foaming Cleanser

I am so excited to do this empties / review post because I honestly think this may be my first completely used up skin product ever! I am somewhat notorious for buying a lot of products I never completely use because I always have multiple products per category. On top of that, I used to be terrible about following a routine so it takes me forever to work through a product. OK, confession: before I started wearing makeup, on some nights I'd go to sleep after just washing my face with water. I know, it's really terrible. But I'm totally reformed now, I promise!!

Before you dwell on what I just told you and I lose all credibility let's just talk about this product, shall we?

I bought this Olay Total Effects 7 in 1 Anti-Aging Revitalizing Foaming Cleanser a while back, before my new found obsession with skincare, and to be honest I never really saw this product with the same level of excitement that as my more recently purchased cleansers. I'm not exactly sure why that is--maybe because the packaging isn't as cute? However, time and time again I find myself reaching for this cleanser over my new ones. I guess to me, this is like that old frayed sweater you don't wear out to wow anyone with, but love wearing whenever you just want to be comfortable.

Hello October

Breaking Bad is over.

The government has shut down.

And it's October already.

I need to buy a planner. ASAP.

September Wrap Up: Disappointment and Restart

Warning: this post is a major downer!!

I don't know about you, but boy, this month really flew by for me!

Overall September was kind of a rough month for me. I had two goals for this month, but kind of let them slip by...and as I sit here on the last day of the month and look back on the last 30 days I really can't believe I let myself do that. And more disappointingly, I've come to realize that I do this a lot. I make goals, realize they're challenging, and too quickly let myself off the hook. Procrastination at its worst.

Recently I've started seeing this cycle as self-medication rather than procrastination. I think if I'm to be honest with myself procrastination is too weak a word. Procrastination is when you delay doing the laundry until you have to dig through the hamper for semi-clean clothes that can be "refreshed" with perfume. Or when you only have fresh granny panties left to wear...

Putting off tasks because they're too hard and make you feel uncomfortable--that's really self-medication. When you ask addicts why they turned to their drug of choice, the common answer is to numb the pains of life, no? For me my drug of choice is the internet, mostly news and social/political analysis sites. While I am absorbing intelligent information, it is nevertheless self-medication.

Just to clarify, I totally understand my life could be much worse. However, we all have our own standards and expectations, and based on my own hopes for life I'm falling short.

Anyways, as October begins I am putting down on paper to restart myself.

I'm 24 years old and this month just kept thinking of those demographic check boxes for age. Usually the "young" group is 18-24. I'm at the end of that age range already! I know this is all arbitrary, but I guess this is a great wake up call for me. Better now than when I'm 30!

Anyways, sorry this was such a bleak post. On a Monday!

Here are five thought items that have occupied my mind this past month:

• Information Is Beautiful: This site visualizes ideas, issues, knowledge, and data in really beautiful and powerful ways.

• Lana Del Rey: Forever late to the party, I am a new fan.

• Hillary Clinton: I guess primarily due to the RNC declaring they would not allow CNN or NBC to air the next Republican Presidential Debate if they make a Hillary Clinton documentary, there was a lot Hillary 2016 hype recently. I won't go too much into my own political opinions (yet), but it's absolutely fascinating to see how passionately people feel about her.

• Obamacare: If you live in the U.S. and watch the news at least once in a while, there's no escaping the nonstop Obamacare talk now that the House Republicans have decided to try to pass a budget that does not fund Obamacare (which begins enrollment this October). It didn't occur to me how odd it is that health insurance is tied to employment until recently. Here is a Wall Street Journal article to answer this question. And I know this is a crazy long, but this video is pretty interesting to watch:

• Louis C.K.: While explaining why he hates cell phones and won't buy his kids cell phones ends up speaking about something much more profound and true.

I am ready for October!

Breaking Bad Series Finale

There are no words.

I am not ready for this series to come to an end.

Wet n Wild Megalast Salon Nail Basket

As I may have alluded to previously, I can be a bit of an obsessive categorical shopper. What I mean by this is that when I'm in certain phases I'll just have my mind set on looking for and buying items in one category only. For example, when I was in cleansers phase I researched cleansers exclusive and bought four. When I was in my blush phase I looked at a ton of swatches and bought six. And when I was in design jeans phase I bought two and made myself stop before I spent $1,000 on just five pairs of jeans.

Recently I've been in a bit of a nail polish phase, but I let that slowly die down as I looked at my nail polish drawer and realized I'd doubled my collection and had basically all the colors covered. Previously, (my sister likes to make fun of me for this) I only owned shades of red/pink and shades of nude. Now I have COLORS.

Anyways I was done. Except every time I went into CVS I'd always loop around to this one stand where this little basket of Wet n Wild Megalast polishes and nail tools sat...just to see if anyone had nabbed the last basket.

Review/Estée Lauder Unboxing: Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Cleansing Gelée

You had me at "hello." 

Jerry Maguire, anyone?

Two or so weeks ago Estée Lauder was having a four-hour promotion of their Advanced Night Repair serum that would accompany any purchase from Estée Lauder. I have been eyeing their night creams recently, but I hadn't had the chance to really research them or test a sample, so I ended up ordering a cleanser. I got the Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Cleansing Gelée (200ml) for $25. I felt that the price was very reasonable (in comparison, the La Roche-Posay Toleriane cleanser I currently use is $23.99) and figured I couldn't go terribly wrong with a gel cleanser. The reviews were generally positive, with a couple of people who I guess much preferred their old formula, but that didn't really detract me from this product because I can't really long for a discontinued item.

Before my quick review, I actually wanted to share with you the unboxing because the packaging was so luxurious! A little confession, whenever I order from online, if they offer free gift-packaging, I always opt in. Why not get it gift packaged? Just because you're buying something for yourself doesn't mean it can't look pretty!

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." -Aristotle

Today I want to share with you my current favorite song: Here we are by Patrick Park. It's a bit emo for Friday night, perhaps, but I think the lyrics are quite relatable to most of us. I first heard this song on Best of the Left Podcast and it just works wonders to wrap up the podcast. 

I just love to unwind to songs like this. Add to it a bubble bath, wine, and a good book and life is quite perfect even with imperfections.

Katherine

Mini Haul: Wet n Wild Megalast Lipsticks

You know, once I get obsessed with something I can't stop. Since getting a few New York Colors lip products last week I am full on obsessed with lip products now. This week I picked up a couple of Wet n Wild Megalast Lipsticks.

Anyways, these are the shades I picked up:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Summer 2013 Limited Edition Pinch of Punch

I recently bought this Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Pinch of Punch (Summer 2013 edition) and just fell in love! Right after purchasing this polish I tried a swatch on my nail and loved it so much that I considered going back into the store to buy a second bottle!

I've been obsessed with the color purple recently, and this color is the exact, perfect berry pink color I've been looking for. I already have a couple of polishes that are variations of blue-purple range and a lot of red-pink-coral range, but nothing sort of in the middle. This color is that pink with blue undertone I've been looking for. The color is so juicy while not being in-your-face. It's a really sweet and fun color without being too prude the way soft pinks are with that sense of innocence.

Similar to the other polishes from this line the formula is opaque and creamy, just the right level of thickness.

One base coat (OPI) + two coats of color

 More photos!

Mini New York Color Haul!

Well, I just can't say no to a great deal.

Recently I picked up a few items from New York Colors.

I got me some masksssssss

In my sudden obsession for skincare I've been on a hunt to try new products and come up with a new collection of skin care products that will really take care of my skin and covers a good range of skincare needs. Prior to this mini shopping spree I had maybe three skin care products and none of them I really loved or believe did much for my skin, so needless to say this research-and-shop phase has been a lot of fun.

Facial masks are actually the final group of skin care products I researched because I've never really understood what they do or how they work. I'm still not exactly sure, but the other day I tried out my mom's Shiseido the Skincare Purifying Mask and my skin felt...cleaner and more alive! After that I figured, meh, why not start with some budget-friendly drugstore facial masks. These are the three I bought:

Breaking Bad: the end is near

I watched parts of the Emmys last night and then watched the second to last episode of Breaking Bad. It was again, excellent. While the previous episode, Ozymandias, was by all standards, epic, this one was equally excellent, but with a different mood. This one felt more...like the settling of dust. Like all of Walt's actions have caught up with him, and he's trying to find peace with his downfall...

I think I watched the entire Ozymandias with my hand over my mouth because it was one of those episodes. I mean there were no breaks for regular breath-taking, really.

This episode on the other hand, while still incredibly awesome to watch, it was so bittersweet knowing that with every minute of this episode I was getting closer and closer to the series finale.

Really, does it have to end?!

Oh god, I can't even wrap my mind around what it'll be like when the final episode airs... Oh god...

Oh dear, oh dear, where is my wallet?

The other day I was at the library, just shuffling around everywhere. Usually when I go to the library to do work I sit down and don't move, but this time I was like a bumblebee, moving around everywhere (printing station, asking for white out, bathroom, etc). Then at one point I had to enter my credit card number for a purchase...when I realized my big fat wallet with all my credit and bank cards, some dollar bills, and tons of receipts and random useless membership cards was no where to be found!

Ever the one to fear causing a scene, I calmly searched the entire second floor for my wallet.

But it was gone.

In my hail mary attempt I went and asked if the library has a lost and found. The librarian chucked and responded:
"Why? Did you lose your wallet?"

And before I could even describe my wallet--which is often the standard operating procedure for proving a lost item is actually yours--the guy at the counter handed me my wallet. I almost started crying out of relief! Apparently a reference desk librarian had found it near the printing station. (I knew it!)

In hindsight I guess you don't need to really prove a wallet is yours when it has your IDs inside...

The world is still a good place.

-Katherine

Revlon Nail Enamel in 610 Charismatic

To tell you the truth I only bought this polish because it came in a package of two Revlon polishes and I really wanted the other color... Usually pearly or metallic polishes always take the backseat to either pastel or juicy colors, but I decided to give this baby a try because I'm trying to be an equal opportunity polish lover.

I've now had this on for a couple of days now, and I have to report that I am rather surprised by how much I've come to like this color.

The sheen on this polish is fairly subtle; the light is reflected in these photos and really exaggerates the metallic nature, but in person the pearly reflection is very understated.

Grr bubbles...

How To: Finding cosmetic product expiration dates

Recently I started selling items on eBay in attempt to downsize my rather ridiculous amount of stuff. One of the items that sold was a Neutrogena sunscreen I had bought within the year, but when I went to package and ship I noticed that it had expired! Obviously I couldn't ship this item, so I ended up throwing it away, went out and bought a brand new tube, and shipped that.

This made me wonder, what other products do I own that's already expired? Prior to this incident I've actually rarely considered expiration dates of cosmetic products because the information is so easy to ignore. You can easily tell when milk goes bad, but it's much more difficult to tell when the chemicals of sunscreen has broken down. In addition, the cosmetics industry is not under stringent regulation to label expiration dates in mm/yyyy format! But, there is a way to find the expiration date for all cosmetic products. I'll show you how!

First attempt at DIY french manicure!

Not perfect, but not too shabby for first attempt, right?

Cetaphil DermaControl Oil Control Moisturizer SPF 30

First off, thank you for coming to see my second blog post!

I wanted to give my first review honor to the product that really kicked off my sudden and overwhelming interest in skin care. For the longest time my knowledge of skin care has been really limited to just sunscreens because it was the one thing my mom really stressed all my life. Unfortunately as most combination / oily skinned girls like myself know, sunscreen is often not our friend and the SPF 50 sunscreen I've worn since circa 2004 was...well, it just wasn't my soulmate.

When I came across Cetaphil DermaControl Oil Control Moisturizer with SPF 30 (4 fl oz, $18.49), however, I started to realize there's hope for even a combination/oily skinned girl like me! This product really helped a great deal in erasing the disdain I had for my skin.

THE first post

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Oh god there's so much pressure to make this post perfect.
I'm experiencing writer's blog.

So I'm going to skip this post.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

See you next post!

Katherine