w7 Absolute Lashes Mascara VS Benefit They're Real Mascara. Save or Splurge?

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

I have a slightly different type of post for you all today, its a sort of "battle of the brands" if you will! Bargain beauty buys are great but whats even more fantastic is when you find a budget product that performs more or less the same as a high end product. I'm sure everyone has heard of the Benefit Cosmetics They're Real! mascara, its the number one best selling mascara in the world. It caused quite a stir among the beauty community when it was released a few years ago with everyone and their mother singing its praises. Well, word on the street is that budget brand w7 released a mascara that is a dupe for They're Real!. I love a good old bargain buy so I decided to put the two to the test today on the blog to see if the budget brand could compare to the highly hyped They're Real!.

I am a fan of Benefit Mascara. Bad Gal is glorious, Roller Lash is a firm favourite of mine but Benefits best selling mascara They're Real!...not my cup of tea. I didn't let that get in the way of this post though, I was still genuinely curious to see how the w7 brand mascara would compare. So on we go!

First things first, the packaging. The tubes are very similar, they are the same size and both have that metallic reflective finish to them. The colour of the packaging differs slightly with one being a gunmetal grey and the other leaning towards more of a silver. Even the font is much the same. So we can all agree that the packaging is pretty similar but are there any other similarities?

For me a wand can make or break a mascara. I just find that it doesn't matter how amazing the formula is, if the mascara doesn't have a decent wand it doesn't perform well over all. With these two mascaras, I like the wands on both. From a distance the wands look identical but on closer inspection you will find that there are some subtle differences.

Benefit They're Real Mascara 

w7 Absolute Lashes Mascara 

Both of the mascara wands have a spiked tip on the top which I find great for coating the lashes on the very outer portion of my eyes. The wands are the same size in terms of height however the Benefit wand is thinner and has less spikes where as the w7 wand is thicker and is coated in more spikes. Now onto the good part..the application!

Lashes Before - No Product

w7 Absolute Mascara - One Coat

Benefit They're Real Mascara - One Coat

Lashes After One Coat of Mascara

While the products may have initially been very similar after application the difference begin to show. The Benefit They're Real! Mascara is noticeably darker than the w7 version. Benefits formula is more wet while the w7 mascara is on the drier side which is my preference. I find a mascara that is ever so slightly dry performs better than one that is very wet. The w7 Absolute Lashes Mascara separates the lashes really well and lengthens them but not as much as Benefits They're Real!. On the other hand, the Benefit mascara does a better job at thickening the lashes. You can see from the above photo that the roots of the lashes on my right eye are darker giving the appearance of fuller lashes. 

w7 Absolute Lashes Mascara - Two Coats

Benefit They're Real! Mascara - Two Coats

Lashes After Two Coats of Mascara

On applying a second coat the Benefit mascara further lengthens and deepens the colour of the lashes but this comes at a cost. Unfortunately that cost is clumping. Some people like the appearance of clumpy, spider like lashes but it isn't my preference. The second coat of the w7 mascara adds further volume but the lashes are still noticeably separated. It gives the effect of full fluttery lashes which I really enjoy.

In terms of longevity both mascaras lasted almost equally as well throughout the day. However, with the Benefit mascara the product did flake down onto my cheeks on occasion.

The removal process is extremely easy in regard to the w7 Absolute Lashes mascara, a little bit of Garnier Michellar Water does the job. The Benefit They're Real mascara is much more tricky to remove and is one of the reasons why I just don't like the product. To remove the Benefit mascara you will need an oil based makeup remover. 

The w7 Absolute Lashes mascara is known to be a dupe for the Benefit They're Real! mascara but I would have to disagree. The w7 mascara is by no means a dupe for they're real!, they are two completely different mascaras. You can tell from the pictures above that based on the formulation and such, that in terms of performance they are not similar at all. I actually way prefer the w7 mascara for so many reasons in relation to the way in which the mascara works. Also, the Benefit They're Real! mascara retails at €26 while the w7 Absolute Lashes mascara retails at just €3.50. That speaks for itself really!

I hope you enjoyed this style of blog post, it was really fun to make!

Chat soon :)

Eimear x

4 Easy Eye Makeup Looks Using Colour

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

I pretty much have 4 tutorials in one video for you today.

I think almost everyone that knows me will know at this stage that I am a massive fan of colour. Colour when it comes to makeup only that is, clothing wise my wardrobe pretty much consists of black and white. Its handy when it comes to washing clothes though…its fool proof! Black wash…white wash. Sorted! 

I love the more colourful/theatrical makeup looks and yes I will wear them on a daily basis. A lot of people will enjoy their neutrals, nope no sir not me…I need something vibrant! Recently though I haven't been rocking the 'I just got vomitted on by a pack of Crayola look' which pains me ha. I now record my tutorials at night time so I tend to not wear makeup during the day, if I do its eyebrows and some foundation. It pains me, but it pains me even more to have to put on..take off…put on and take off my makeup whenever I wanted to film a tutorial ha but thats just me!

Anyway, enough of the auld ramble. Here is a look at the 4 makeup looks that I have created. As I have said in the tutorial you don't need to wear a neon shade of colour to wear colour, select a shade and tone that you are comfortable wearing :)

Look No: 1

Products Used

Wet n Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner '863 Turquoise'

Wet n Wild Mega Volume Mascara

Hard Candy Lash Call Lengthening Mascara '235 Limelight'

Look No: 2

Products Used

Wet n Wild Mega Liner Liquid Eyeliner '861 Black'

Gosh Extreme Art Eyeliner '11'

Wet n Wild Mega Volume Mascara

Look No: 3

Products Used

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette (review here)

Sleek MakeUP Acid Palette (review here)

Wet n Wild Mega Volume Mascara

Look No: 4

Products Used

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Eyeshadow Palette

Gosh Velvet Touch Eyeliner 'Blue Lagoon' (review here)

If you would like to see how I created each of these makeup looks then just click on the play button below :)

Thanks for tuning in!

Eimear x

Easy and Affordable Beginners Smokey Eye

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Today I have another beginners eye makeup tutorial for you all.

I get SO many requests for beginners eye makeup tutorials I felt I needed to do another one haha! 

I'll have one more beginners makeup look uploaded in the next few weeks and that will be it for the time being :)

I decided to use a trio from MUA Cosmetics for this look as MUA are such an affordable company and their cosmetics are great!

It was really late when I recorded the video so I didn't actually get to take any pictures of the look, but here is a screen shot from the tutorial :)

I'll link where you can find each of the products too if you are interested in picking any of them up!

Products Used

Eyes

E.L.F Eyelid Primer 'Sheer' (find here)

MUA Eyeshadow Trio 'Innocence' (find here)

Catrice Volume Plus & Length Mascara 

Face

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfecter 'Light' (find here)

Eyebrows

Nyx Eyebrow Kit with Stencil for Brunettes (review here)

Brushes Used

Sigma Medium Angled Shading E70

Sedona Lace 305

Sigma Blending E25

Smashbox Shadow Liner #30

If you would like to see how I created this look, just click on the play button below :)

Thanks for tuning in!

Eimear x

Cheap and Cheerful with Make Up Academy

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Ugh, long time no tutorial!

Well...its been a couple of weeks which feels like a life time.

I've been sick which sucks and I didn't want you all to think I had hired Kermit The Frog to record my voice overs...so I said it would be best to wait ha!

I already have one series dedicated to beauty buys which are cheap money wise...not quality wise. More formally known as the "Beauty on a Budget" series.

So far I have covered the brands: 

NYC, Essence and Catrice.

In this series I have dedicated the entire makeup look to one brand to see how cheaply I can apply a full face of makeup for.

I think I might turn today's tutorial into a series.

In this series I will focus on one product by one brand, opposed to many different products by one brand :)

The series shall be crowned "Cheap and Cheerful"

To start the ball rolling we have Make Up Academy.

 I have heard so many good things about Make Up Academy, particularly from a lot of UK YouTubers. MUA is only sold in Superdrug here in Ireland and to my knowledge there are only two stores. One in Tallaght and one in Santry, both are quite a trek from me haha! A couple of months ago I had to go up to Dublin so naturally I popped into Superdrug, I had never been before. Unfortunately the MUA stand was quite small with not a lot of choice but I did manage to pick up this beautiful palette and a couple of single eyeshadows. I am so impressed with the quality of these eyeshadows, the pigmentation is amazing! 

If you are a fan of MUA, you might have guessed from the picture above that I used the 'Heaven and Earth' palette. My god it is a dream to work with!

Keeping in mind that we are now heading into Autumn (YES!), I decided to use browns and golds for this makeup look. 

I will have a review of this palette coming soon I am just over the moon with my purchase. The palette is so versatile, there are so many different eyeshadow combinations you could use! 

If you would like to see how I created this makeup look then just click on the link below!

I hope you enjoy the tutorial and thanks a million for tuning in.

I really appreciate it :)

Talk soon!

Eimear x

Nyx Vlogger of the Month: Simple Smokey Eyes with a Statement Lip

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

As I said in the video this is the final tutorial as part of the 

Nyx Vlogger of the Month...and what a month its been!

I've received nothing but brilliant feedback I'm so delighted you all enjoyed the reviews and the last tutorial too :)

 I really appreciate all of your lovely comments!

I decided to do a Simple Smokey with a Statement Lip.

I've realised I rarely wear bold lip colours in my tutorials, which is a bit silly seeing as I love a vampy lip!

Also I realise I do a lot of colourful eye makeup looks which may not suit everyone so I decided on doing a simple smokey eye but paired it with the bold lip so I'd be satisfying all of my subscribers :)

Unfortunately the weather has been quite bad here in Ireland, no surprise there! So I do apologise for the lighting in this video, its a little off.

This was my third attempt at recording this tutorial.

That along with the fact that I didn't actually get time to snap any pictures of the finished look. I just had time to finish recording the tutorial before it got dark :(

The products I used today were:

Eyes

Nyx Jumbo Pencil 'Milk'

Nyx Makeup Artist Kit

Nyx Satin Finish Black Liner BEL03

Mally Volumizing Mascara Duo

Face

Avon Ideal Flawless Foundation

Blank Canvas Cosmetics 6 Contour/Blush Palette: Face Powder

Nyx Makeup Artist Kit: Bronzer and Highlighter

Lips

Nyx Retractable Lip Liner MPL16 Plum

Nyx Makeup Artist Kit: Plum Lip Colour

Click on the play button below if you would like to see the tutorial :)

Thanks for tuning in guys!

Eimear x

NYX 5 Color Shadow 'I Dream of St. Kitt'

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

As promised here is my review of the gorgeous 5 eyeshadow palette from Nyx.

I received a huge response to my tutorial using this palette, so many of you loved the classic brown smokey eye created with this palette. If I may say so myself...I loved it too!

The palette is from the Caribbean Collection and is number 3 'I Dream of St. Kitt'

There are five lovely shades in a range of matte and shimmer finishes in this palette.

This palette has all the shades you will ever need to create the perfect classic chocolate brown smokey eye. Two shades I would use as a highlight, a light brown I would use as a mid tone, a brown with a shimmer finish and a dark brown I would use as a lid colour. All of the eyeshadows in the palette are highly pigmented and are not chalky at all. With the use of an eyeshadow base such as Nyx Jumbo Pencil 'Milk' I have found there to be no fall out whatsoever. Also the eyeshadow base helps the eyeshadows to last all day long and also helps them to appear more vibrantly.

 The packaging is plain and simple, a nice classic shade of black. Its compact and perfect for travel as it includes a mirror and some sponge tip applicators. I don't tend to use sponge tip applicators on a daily basis, however if I need to do my makeup on the go they come in handy.

I picked up this palette for just €6.99 in Tk Maxx, another bargain buy for Ms Byrne :)
If you keep an eye out in Tk Maxx and have a root around from time to time you can find some great offers. The majority of my Nyx palettes have came from Tk Maxx.

Here is a peak at the look I created using this palette. 

As you can see for yourself the eyeshadows have a beautiful colour pay off and this eye makeup look lasted all night, no smudging no smearing.

If you would like to see a tutorial on how I created this eyeshadow look using the palette just click on

the play button below :)

Thank you for tuning in.

Eimear x

Overall

Pro's

• Eyeshadows are highly pigmented
• Eyeshadows do not have a chalky texture
• Affordable
• Compact Packaging

Con's

I am pleased to tell you that I have found no con's with this palette. Its an overall great buy!

Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil 'Milk'

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

This is a review that is long over due! Before I started really practising makeup myself, I watched makeup tutorials religiously on Youtube. One of the guru's that I have watched for years is Leesha from 'xsparkage'. I was (and still am) completely mesmerised by her unique, creative and colourful makeup tutorials so much that I started my own. I noted that Leesha used Nyx Jumbo Pencil in 'Milk' as her eyeshadow base in almost every video. So much so that when she didn't use it in a tutorial, comments built up under the video wondering where it was ha! 

I decided if I was going to do makeup tutorials on Youtube I was going to do it right. I began sifting through a list of products in my mind, of what I would need for my first tutorial. I rarely wear neutral makeup as most of you may have noted, I wear bold and colourful looks on a daily basis. 

These were the looks that I wanted to create on my Youtube channel, I wanted to be known for my own unique and colourful makeup tutorials :)

I don't use eyeshadow primers I never have I don't feel they are really necessary, I just go old school with a little foundation/ concealer and a light layer of powder on top!

Seeing as I create colourful makeup looks on a daily basis a white base seemed essential so I invested in a jumbo pencil. I started makeup tutorials on Youtube in July 2011 I purchased my very first jumbo pencil for my first Youtube video..and over a year later I am still on my first pencil! As you can clearly see my £4.50 has gone a very long way.

This product is quite creamy to an extent that if you apply too much on the eyelid instead of being a help its a hassle, it will make your eyeshadow crease. To prevent yourself from applying too much on the lid take any kind of brush, I find a fluffy blending brush works best, and blend the product over the eyelid. I apply the jumbo pencil anywhere I am going to be applying eyeshadow so that is always over the eyelid and up to the brow bone. 

After I have prepped my lids with foundation and powder I apply 'milk' everyday without fail.

The jumbo pencil really gives my eyeshadows something to stick to, the eyeshadows last a lot longer opposed to having no base and they appear more vibrantly on the lid also. I really can't praise this product enough! I also own Nyx Jumbo Pencil in 'Blackbean' which is a great way of creating a smokey eye if you are in a rush, apply a light layer all over the lid and blend it out. Apply a little bit of black eyeshadow overtop of the base to set it and you are good to go!

Overall

Pro's

• Affordable
• Eyeshadows appear more vibrantly 
• Eyeshadows last longer 
• A little goes a long way

Con's

I have yet to come across a problem with this product. If I was to nit pick, when paring this product a lot is wasted in the parings. However, this isn't really a problem for me as I still have a quarter of my pencil left over a year later and I use the product on a daily basis. 

What is your favourite eyeshadow base? :)

Eimear x