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Does New NARS Climax Mascara Take Lashes to the Peak of Perfection?

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nars climax mascara
Wizarding wand? — or new mascara from NARS?

This being NARS we’re talking about (because even my glam granny knows that NARS has a thing for naughtily named makeup), I’m pretty sure the new NARS Climax Mascara was named after the big “O,” but can we pretend François was inspired by Klymaxx’s Meeting in the Ladies Room?


I’ll be back real soon…

Now, after you’re done dancing in your chair to the song (because you know you’re feeling it), please do actually meet me in the ladies room, because that’s where you’ll find me applying another coat of this easy-to-layer mascara, because it builds like WHOA!

NARS Climax Mascara ($24)

First Hourglass Caution; now NARS Climax. I’m really liking this trend of featherweight, flexible mascaras you can endlessly layer without clumping.

nars climax mascara
Three coats of Climax

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Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara: [***WARNING***] Your Lashes Will Love This!

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hourglass caution mascara
Please note the lashes stretching out *TO HERE* in this pic, and that’s after just one coat of Hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara!

Lash drama: I has it.

Rather, I’m going through it.

Have I already mentioned this before? Only a million times, you say? Yeah, well…I promise that if the Fabulous Fringe Fairy materializes at the foot of my bed one night, waves her Wand of Winsomeness and bequeaths me with naturally lush lashes 4LIFE, I will happily STFU about the Grand Canyon-sized gap along the lash line of my right eye, and you will never have to hear another sordid tale of my lash woe again. 😉

(Believe me, I want this as much as you do.)

Until then, there’s new Hourglass Extreme Lash Mascara.

hourglass Caution Extreme Lash Mascara in Ultra Black ($29 for a 0.33-oz. tube)

So, what makes this mascara so fancy? — I mean, other than the intensely black color (it’s darker than a supervillain’s heart) and the tapered brush (it’ll grab lashes you didn’t even know you had)?

Answer: Caution lets you just. Keep. Adding. More. Layers. No matter how many you apply, it won’t go full-on Tammy Faye, at least I don’t think so. I haven’t seen a single clump when I wear it. Like not one. And, honey, no matter how many layers you use, your lashes will still feel light and soft. Not crunchy or flaky at all!

An all-in-one mascara that delivers endless length, intense volume and sky-high lift for extreme, dramatic lashes. The combination of the innovative 4D Amplifier™ brush with the continuously buildable formula create lashes that defy the boundaries of traditional mascara.

  • 4D Amplifier™ brush combines 2 brushes in 1 to deliver volume, length, lift and definition for extreme lashes
  • Saturates lashes from root-to-tip for the most volume in a single stroke
  • Perfectly coats the bottom lashes without smudging onto the lower lashline
  • Tapered end reaches even the smallest lashes in the corners of the eyes
  • Smooth, buildable, ultra-black formula creates dramatic but weightless lashes that don’t smudge or flake

    • — hourglass.com

OK…but that’s not even the best part. Remember the catchphrase, “Extreme Lash”? It’s so accurate. My lashes are long, thick, curly and lifted to the N-th degree. Shout-out to the lab geniuses who knocked this one out of the park.

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The 5 Out of 5 Hearts Club: Mallywood Smoky Mama! Mascara

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mally smoky mama mascara
A hidden gem

The “5 Out of 5 Hearts Club” ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ is a new series where you’ll find out about limited edition beauty products that are all that and a bag of baked Cheetos! — a.k.a. perfection in every single way.

No shame moment: I’m one of those creepers who walks around unabashedly staring at strangers’ lashes without any qualms whatsoever. At times, it’s been so intense that people have stopped me to ask, “Do I know you?” and I’m like, “Nah, I’m just admiring your lashes like a weirdo. Don’t mind me!”

If I saw someone wearing this mascara, I’d pull them aside (after popping my eyes back into their sockets) and inquire about the magic happening on their fringe, because it’s good — like, “Gee, where did this dark horse come from, and why isn’t it a cult favorite yet?” good.

“Apply on the top lashline as usual (you can define every lash with this wand!). Then it gets fun! As you apply to your bottom lashes, gently press the wand softly from side to side and barely touch the skin beneath them! Voila! No walk of shame necessary!”

— mallybeauty.com

My lashes refuse to hold a lash curl (they’re rebellious that way, I guess), and they’re short, and I have a big ol’ gap in my right eye from an incident involving the overzealous removal of a pair of falsies, but with two coats of this mascara, I look like I’m wearing lash extensions.

mally smoky mama k
And that’s after just one coat!

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It Would Be a Crime to Keep Hourglass Film Noir Mascara Away from Your Fringe

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Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara

The alley grew darker the deeper she went, but she knew he came this way, the cat with the tabby fur.

She sped around a corner and almost tripped on something metal and loud, a trash can maybe. She didn’t stop. It was dark, so dark. Out of breath, her heart racing, she barely made out the silhouettes of two dogs playing cards under a fire escape before she passed them.

“Which way’d he go?” she barked, pivoting on three-inch heels.

No answer. Damn scamps. She didn’t stop, couldn’t stop, just kept running, arms flailing wildly in the dark.

“Hello!” she cried out, to nowhere, to everywhere, to him. “Please, wait!”

Still nothing. So she kept running, deeper into the night. He was here. She knew it, somewhere, the cat with the tabby fur…

At $28 the new Hourglass Film Noir Mascara is priced more like a big budget Hollywood blockbuster than art house film noir.

Available in a single shade, Onyx, a deep, dark jet black, it borrows a page (or two) from Chanel’s new $30 Inimitable Intense Mascara — sleek, sophisticated packaging, similar lash lengthening prowess and volume plumping powers; all that, and it lifts curls, keeps them lifted all day long and resists smudging, too.

What Hourglass says about Film Noir…

  • That it conditions and hydrates lashes with pro-vitamin B5
  • That polymers in the formula help it adhere to lashes while also resisting smudging and fading
  • The triple-cut, hourglass-shaped brush distributes the product across lashes while creating volume, lift and length
  • It’s free of parabens, sulfates and pthalates

While similar, Inimitable’s spiky lash look limits its flexibility. It’s also not the easiest product to layer (gets clumpy and messy after one layer).

Film Noir has the smoother formula (how smooth is it?). It’s smoother than that sweet talking ex-boyfriend who kept making excuses for not returning your Notorious B.I.G. CDs…

I’m not bitter. 🙂

And it doesn’t clump at all, not even after three (or more!) layers, delivering beautiful definition.


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I’m Becoming Fast Friends with Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara

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chanel inimitable intense mascara review

Sometimes “quick” describes something bad…

Like the blind date I went on some years ago with the Beatles-hating dude who confessed to listening to nothing but techno music 24/7. I grew up on a steady diet of John, Paul, George and Ringo, so when he dissed Blackbird five minutes into the evening, something inside me went, “OH, HELL NO!” I faked a headache halfway through my beer and hightailed it home.

And sometimes “quick” describes something good…

Like the new Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara ($30, available in four shades), a new take on Chanel’s original Inimitable (a lengthening, curling, volumizing star!).

The O.G. version was born back in 2006. This new version 2.0 extends its predecessor’s double rainbow “all the way across the sky!” — with MORE lash drama on all fronts. Plus, because it works well even with a single layer, it’s also quick. 🙂

Can I get an “AMEN!” from my perpetually late/lazy makeup friends/fiends?

Whenever I’m in a hurry, deep, dark Noir hits the spot. A true black, it delivers the dramatic, spiky lash look I love.

The smooth consistency and shape of the brush head make it easy to build volume beginning at the base of the lash. A single layer delivers noticeably longer, smudge-resistant lashes with all-day curl hold.

chanel inimitable intense mascara review
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MAC Haute & Naughty Lash Ups the Ante (AND the Price)

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MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review

Edward or Jacob? Eric or Bill? Nutella or — NO! Forget it. There are some choices I’m simply not prepared to make. 🙂

At least now when it comes to mascara, fickle girls like me don’t have to wrestle with difficult choices. We can have our cake AND eat it too, thanks to MAC Haute & Naughty Lash ($18; available in a single shade, Haute & Naughty Black).

The disco turtleneck on the tube (see the pic below) is what MAC calls their “two-in-one dual wiper system,” and it’s one of the keys to Haute & Naughty’s success.

Unscrewing the wand from the glittery purple end loads the brush with product — LOTS of product — enough for dramatic lash volume from root to tip with just one coat.

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review

But even if you’re more interested in lash length and separation than lash volume, you’re still in luck!

See, this thing’s a little like a Transformer… By disconnecting the wand from the hot pink extension end, the brush loads with less product, resulting in slightly thinner, yet better defined lashes.

Neat, huh?

MAC Haute and Naughty Lash review
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Bobbi Brown Denim & Roses Extreme Party Mascara: A Haiku Review

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bobbi brown extreme party mascara denim

New from Bobbi Brown
Extreme Party Mascara
Denim is the shade

It’s part of the new
Denim & Roses release
Coming out next month

Twenty-two dollars
And limited edition
In dark, blackish blue

It’s a new color
There is also one in black
(Here is a review)

bobbi brown extreme party mascara denim
After three coats of Extreme Party Mascara in Denim

That one flaked so much
Left smudges beneath my eyes
I was not a fan

This new shade’s better
No flakes or smudges in sight
I like it a lot

The blackish blue shade
It shows up on my lashes
Subtle, but pretty

Lashes look longer
Defined and separated
But lash volume lags

bobbi brown extreme party mascara denim
After three coats of Extreme Party Mascara in Denim

bobbi brown extreme party mascara denim
Nekkid lashes!

Love how light this feels
Even after many coats
Soft and not crispy

A feathery fringe
Can be had with Denim’s help
Bobbi, ya done good

MBB Rating…
B+ 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

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