Sephora‘s Mix & Mingle Lip Set Limited Edition 2018 is a lovely little minx offering lip pencils (but I’m calling them crayons) and glitter glosses. The colours range from light nude to deep browns to coral red and to a dark mythic purple. The crayons are pointed so neither a sharpener nor a liner are needed. Colours are fairly long lastingly rich. Feel is smooth. Look is that of a creamy lipstick. Translucent gloss is not gritty and doesn’t slip off easy. No colour bleeding.

Other features:

• Slight sweet scent & flavour;
• Crayons are great for ombre look;
• Glosses are also lovely on their own;
• Colours are good for Kells & my skin tones. Plus you can customize colours by layering;
• Good for day & night looks;
• For cleanup, you will need a good makeup remover;
• Crayon caps are very short & tend to pop off. So place in a snack sized zippy plastic bag, to avoid colouring the inside of your Calvin Klein handbag (grr);
• No colour names so if you like the singles, bring in the empty shell to match up to existing singletons. Or, sets are still available at Sephora Australia, Shape, Poshmark & Amazon.

N&K Recommendation:

Other reviews are positive. And, yes we agree that it is definitely worth the buy. In fact, Kells & I have added this set to our quick go-to photoshoot bag!

And guess what I thought? It’s Mascara Monday time for our gorgeOUs N&Kers!

Let’s re-state our review rules:

1. We bought all mascara ourselves (which means nobody is paying us).
2. We wear each mascara for a week.
3. All mascaras purchased were black, and the darkest black they had available.
4. Every mascara used was put on the exact same way, with only two coats. All eye makeup for the comparison pictures was exactly the same.

That’s it…there are no more rules.

Wait…maybe one more…the opinion is ours…take it or leave it. Believe it or not. These are just our 2¢.

What we want in a mascara

Lasting Curl

Staying Power

Colour

Separation

Volume

Length

Most reviews talk about these 6 points. The first 5 are important to me since I’ve got naturally long lashes².

The problem is that my durn lashes ramrod straight. So, I’ve got to bust out the eyelash curler first¹. Doesn’t matter if it’s a mascara dipped in gold. Without that lash curler, the mascara will not reach its full potential.
Application. So after curling and applying Rimmel London’s 24 Hour Supercurler, I found that the product applied quickly, without much fuss.
Curl power. This product didn’t curl my lashes very much. But, once I cyborg’ed it up¹, the mascara worked well.
Staying power. It lasted quite a while. In fact, I found that I needed to get a Q-tip in there after cleansing to ensure all the product was out. (Lots of other people experienced this as well. See some other reviews.)
Separation. That curved brush is thick and it’s got some junk in the trunk. Angle that brush around & work it for your lashes. As the product has a thin consistency, lashes were separated beautifully with no porridge-y clumps.

Colour. Yep, the colour was “very black”. See Volume as this affects appearance of Colour.
Volume. Oh sigh. Here’s where it falls short. I got length, separation, curl power, colour… do you really need volume, too? Can all 5 equally co-exist in 1 mascara? I layer my mascaras anyways, so I’d just pair it with a volumizer.

Interesting tid bit: Rimmel London gives a dupe on fake lashes here. Did this dupe work for you?Did this dupe work for you?

Would I buy again (Yes!) & would i recommend it?

For newbies this is a good starter mascara.

For the seasoned mascara-ists, you’ll have to pair with a volumizer.

Footnotes

1 Mr Nals calls me cyborg when I’m using the curler. I’ve found that when I put curler under the hair dryer for 2-3 seconds, the curl is intense and adding a good mascara suspends it in curl-perfection.

2 My lashes have lengthened and volumized with EyEnvy eyelash conditioner! Our review is available here.

Eyenvy is an eyelash & brow conditioner.

I searched high and low last year and could only find the mascara.  I thought it was peanuts but it actually made lashes a bit fuller.  My review is here.

Kells found the actual conditioner.  She reviews it here.

So in July, I finally got a bottle of conditioner.  They recommend applying once daily x3 months then go to every other day.  I noticed a difference about 2 months into the routine.  Or rather, others noticed:

 

a friend of mine said “Your lashes are so full that they’re casting a shadow on your face!”

 

Mr Nals said “They look bigger.”(Man of a few words, that one.)

 

I’m now down to the every-other-day application.  But, it was easy enough to remember to apply & let dry.  My skin & eyes are super sensitive but I didn’t find any adverse reactions.

So N&Kers, if you want to try it: do it!

A couple of N&Kers have tried it, with uber positive results.

This week Nals

will be reviewing Katy Perry’s Katy Kat Eye mascara (by Covergirl).

Their kitch

. . . is the sculpting brush.
Indeed this is a swashbuckling brush, all swirly and packed with bristles. It applies the product to your lashes, with luscious accuracy.

Red dot eyes show results after 2 coats

drawback

The product is a bit thick so wipe it off real good before applying. (The first time I used it, I didn’t and ended up with a gd huge black molten glob in my eye… and had to trash the contact¹.) The issue may not lie in the mascara’s viscosity, but rather, the scooping expanse of the brush.

Conclusion?

Defo try this mascara… but not ideal for the novice user.
Footnote:
¹Truth be told, the black glob looked like something out of X-Files.

To read previous Mascara Reviews, please search our Mascara Monday tag.

Kells started us off with a bang with several Mascara Monday reviews. (Feel free to search our tag cloud for her Mascara Reviews.)

Today, I will be reviewing

⇒ ⇒ EyEnvy ⇐ ⇐

No spoiler alerts here (hee hee) but the love story began with a co-worker of mine. As if she had stepped out of game of beach volleyball, in to my life walks Miss T. She sports an au naturel look with lashes that go on for dayzzz. I asked her the secret. She told me EyEnvy serum. Then off I trotted like a truffle piglet, snout to the ground… and did I find the serum? Hells to the nope. Firstly, only select places sell it. Of those places I visited 3 with no luck. And I fruitlessly called a myriad of others. SOLD OUT! Scant weeks before Christmas & can you imagine the nerve of people to gypp me out of a precious bottle!

So I begrugingly settled for the EyEnvy mascara. Pfft. Peanuts.

Sooo … I have sensitive skin, a sensitive schnoz and sensitive freaking eyes. Initially, I thought I was the s-word to EyEnvy. This is because the next morning, my eye were sore puffballs. This happened several morning before I figured out the culprit.

Turns out, this stuff coats your lashes like a second skin. So when removing makeup, add a 2nd step: Get out your cleanser-covered Q-tip and get to cleaning up in there for an extra minute or so. (Like one of those skin-eating pedicure fishies… but… not weird or as creepy.)

Once I did that, all was shanti.

So, to remind y’all about The Rules of Engagement:

1. We paid for everything ourselves and were not comp’d.
2. 2 coats were used for the photos with same make up.
3. This is just our opinion. Take it or leave it.

The brush: conventional.

The formula: is thick and sets kind of quickly. Make sure you do your coats quick but thin. So after swirling your brush in the bottle (not pumping like it’s a bicycle-tire pump), do a few good zig zaggle squiggles near the roots to build volume then move up to ends. Don’t just do your coat roots to tip. You must squiggle.

Positives:

• My lashes got thicker after using daily for just a few weeks. And for you skeptics, the thicker lashes still look thicker with other mascaras, too.
• It has staying power.
• It’s got tons of coating power. (But I needed >2 coats to get the desired effect.)
• Colour=Very black!
• Compact product line.

Other Considerations:

• Not for the novice as one needs to build coats quickly and thinly like a pro.
• Clumps quickly (avoid this by applying thin coats).
• Not waterproof.
• On the expensive side – especially if you’re just trying it out.
• Poked my eye a few times with that hard as nails brush.
• Semi-challenging to source – can’t just pick up at your local drug store.
• Need to pay extra attention to removing product – I thought I was sensitive to it until I started the Q-tip step.
• Only available in black (at least in the stores I looked at).

Conclusion:

Once I figured out how to apply & remove it properly, I fell in love. I have long lashes but they don’t stay curled. With EyEnvy, my lashes are thicker and longer and… remained curled.
→For the seasoned mascara-ista: thumbs up, must try!
→For the newbies – stick with drug store specials till you hone your technique.

Have we enticed you to try EnEnvy?

What are your thoughts?

Clearly, this shibbles-n-bits isn’t just for kindergarteners anymore.

And so… what better time, than Holiday Time!, to discuss shimmery glittery goodness.

Today, we’ll be giving you the lowdown on:

1) BITE’s Prismatic Pearl Crème Gloss
2) smashbox’s Be Legendary Liquid Lip
3) Julep’s Moisturizing LipGloss

.One day, I had me a hankerin’ to get some glitterati. I was directed to the BITE Prismatic Pearl Crème line, with 10 coveted colour choices. The Pink Pearl is a light pink opaque with a suspension of light pink glitter. It has cool white-silvery undertones. The Rose Pearl’s base is a warmer opaque magenta with mesmerizing dual-tone glitter (pink-gold). I can’t quite figure out if the base is golden-hued or if it’s just the glitter. But whatever it is, it’s all fab. These glitter glosses (GGs) have staying power and true colour. (eg: it looked the same on me and Kells, and looked the same as inside the bottle.) The base feels like creamy gloss, and there’s no gritty feel to the glitter. Warning: this line is not for the glitter-shy. It bites you right in the kisser. So, if you’re unsure about glitter, you may want to look at the nibbly alternatives below. Check out our gangsta pic where we’re both sporting the Pink Gold. Kells has layered it on top of Fenty’s Cosmic Gloss Lip Glitter. I’ve layered it on top of Clinique’s Bold Pop matte lip. (Bold Pop is a rich velvety burgundy .)

For Christmas, my lil work SiSter, got me the Sugar Cane* gloss in smashbox’s Be Legendary line. This line has quite the array of colours from a ka-pow brick red to more muted tones. The Sugar Cane base is a full colour warm brown sugar with prismatic micro-glitter. It feels like a creamy slithery gloss (but not as rich as BITE’s). And with a soupçon of glitter. On my skin, this looks like a dark shimmery nude. I’m actually wearing this under a glossy Julep taco** in our Merry Christmas post on our Instagram.

Julep’s translucent GGs are also dreamy. They have pretty good staying power with that yummy glossy feeling. These are generally sheer with super duper fine glitter. There is a choice of 13 colours.  I’ve tried Glowing (coral pink), Charming (deeper rosy brown) and Adored (baby pink). The Julep glosses are great starters for those just getting into gloss and GGs.

Pink Pearl, Rose Pearl, Bold Pop, Sugar Cane, Low Key & Charming: L to R.

THE ANALYSIS

These are all awesome glosses in their own right.

more versatile than you think

What we love about glitter glosses is that are uber versatile. You can wear these:

• straight on your nekkid lip
• on top of lipstick… you can do the full Monty as we have in our gangsta pic, or just dot your centres to highlight
• on top of lipliner
• … get ready to have your mind blown… put a clear gloss on top of the glitter. Yes you heard me right, folks. When you add that clear gloss taco, your lips resemble a shiny marble. It’s glitterati to the max.

Okay so some other considerations…

Kells and I have a gorgeous gal-pal, Lil Kiwi. She is hyperaware of age-appropriateness of makeup and clothing.  She has a lovely porcelain complexion, warm brown mischievous eyes and an infectious AF laugh. However, she gravitates towards a more natural look, anyways, which is always age-appropriate. (Though lately, she’s branched out a bit, which Kells and I love.) So as I myself am approaching a certain number, I had a sad thought: is glitter is out of my age range? After thorough and extensive processing, the light of reason shone upon me.

My conclusion? “My inner diva is channeled and she wants glitter!” and boom! here you have this post^^.

We hope you enjoy exploring these GGs.

Do you have faves that you’d like to rave about?

What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below!

End bits –for you keeners that look this kinda stuff up–

^(in my head)
* (how appropriate as we are both from lands o’ sugar cane)
** Julep gloss taco: Ultra Hydrating Lipgloss in Low Key
^^ this post is dedicated to all the inner divas out there! Here’s hoping we can out them soon.

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