Review: Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Stretch and Original Mascara Versus L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Stretch mascara is one of my all time favorites. I love the brush and the dry formula that holds the curl and lengthens my lashes. When I heard about L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition sharing similar brush with Eyes to Kill Volume mascara, I jumped to test it out. If L'Oreal Full Definition volumizes my lashes, I can skip that the pricey Giorgio Armani mascaras and get some volume for my lashes. Ultimately, they're owned by the same company L'Oreal right?

Let's take a look at the brushes.

From this angle, all three look really similar, even the bristles are spaced the same. 

The formula of all three are rather similar but L'Oreal Full Definition is the wettest and Giorgio Armani Stretch is the driest. 

Giorgio Armani Stretch and L'Oreal Full Definition both lengthen my lashes while Giorgio Armani Orignial adds definition to my lashes but nothing else. The first two stay put throughout the day without flakes or smudging while Giorgio Armani Orignial falls out at mid-day. 

All three mascaras hold curls really well but the most effective must be Giorgio Armani Stretch. 

L'Oreal adds no volume as promise. Also, it feels tired at the end of the day. 

Now, let take a look at the brushes one more time. 

I turned the wands 90 degree to show you the slander shape of Armani Stretch. Armani Stretch is 1/2 full around. Armani Original is 3/4 full around. L'Oreal Full Definition is full all around. 

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Mascaras are priced at $30 while L'Oreal Voluminous Full Definition mascara is around $7.99. I got mine from Kroger for $5! 

I prefer Giorgio Armani's but L'Oreal is an excellent double. Plus the price is so much friendlier. Have you tried these sisters? Which one is the winner?

Review: L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Eternal Sunshine

This review was meant to be up shortly after I discovered my two favorite infallible eyeshadows (Liquid Diamond and Bronzed Taupe). But then I thought golden eyeshadows always felt festive to me. So I save Eternal Sunshine ($5.35 for 0.12 oz) for December :D. 

Like most shade of the infallible range, Eternal Sunshine is highly pigmented and fused with fine shimmer. It goes on my eye lids smoothly, blending seamlessly and easily into the skin. The texture is buttery smooth and soft without any fall-outs. An eye primer is needed for the eyeshadow to stay fresh for at least 8 hours.

What I love most is the color. Having brown eyes, I have really tough time to find subtle gold eyeshadows that don't bring out too much yellow in my eyes (and my skin too). Eternal Sunshine is a soft yellow gold that has warm undertone. It's just so chic and elegant. You can wear this color alone. My favorite combo is Burberry Taupe Brown and L'Oreal Eternal Sunshine. I think together they have the balance of warmth and coolness as well as shimmer and matte finishes.

Eternal Sunshine is highly frosted but in a subdued fashion, or in other words, in a high-end fashion. Drugstore brands have evolved remarkably in the past few years. While I love luxury cosmetics brands, L'Oreal (and Boots No 7) creates many wonderful products (their mascaras are my fav too) at competitive quality and price.

I would recommend you guys check it out at Kroger. They have 25% off several brands for a few months now. The price become lower than coupons from Ulta, CVS, Walgreens, Target or Walmart.

Bottom line. Superb! Highly recommended for all skintones. 

Look: Casual Red Lips

I sported casual red lips through out the summer and forgot to do a post about it:D. Laura Mercier Cherrywood has subtle satin finish that dries almost matte. People immediately picked up this color and complimented every time I wore it. I'm overwhelmed and puzzled! It isn't my very favorite. I want a deeper red but this brown-based red is really easy to work with. 

Anyway, I much prefer red lips paired with casual outfit for an outing to special occasions. Hope you like it. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Joanne xx

Face

Givenchy Mat Radiant Foundation

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Doll Face

Edward Bess All Over Seduction Afterglow

YSL Touche Eclat #8

Eyes

Burberry Taupe Brown Eyeshadow for brows and outter Vs

Urban Decay Primer Potion

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow Liquid Diamond 

Bobbi Brown Gel liner Espresso

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kil Stretch mascara

Lips

Laura Mercier Satin Lipstick in Cherrywood

Look: Go Berry Chic with Edward Bess

Have you ever dressed up your face and stayed home? I have, many times, shamelessly! It did take my husband some time to immune with my fun outfits or wild makeup test run when he got home. As awkward as it sounds, those makeup trials really help a big deal when I'm in hurry. I can just pull out whatever look I have tried before without thinking. Anyway, in one of those days, I wore Edward Bess Berry Chic palette to create a understated flirty look and to test out L'Oreal Full Definition mascara.

I created this look using everything in the palette except for the plummy lipgloss. The highlighter has dries out a bit yet still produces seamless glow for my cheeks. Other products included Bobbi Brown gel liner in Espresso, Burberry Taupe Brown eyeshadow for the brows, Clarin Ever Matte Foundation and Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder.

Edward Bess Berry Chic palette was released last fall together with Back to Basics.  You can find them now on Sephora.com (and selected Sephora stores), EdwardBess.com, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman (in store and online). They are retailed at $75.

Do you think this hair style enhance the "innocent" look? I thought so :D

A close-up to show you the winged eyeliner and the L'Oreal mascara that is supposed to give me length, volume and lash separation. How do you rate this mascara?

I hope everybody is having a great week!

xoxo

Joanne

Guest post on MSodapop

While my blog focuses on high-end cosmetics, I have recently discovered many drugstore products that are serious competitors to my favorite high-ends. When I find a great product I have the need to share (thinking of the hubby at the moment :D). So I'm thrilled that Christine of MSodapop is hosting a guest blog series on her blog. She has keen sense of style and writes objective reviews. Her blog has a relaxing, friendly air that I feel at eased immediately.

I'm so excited to present you my guest post for MSodapop. It features L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows in Bronzed Taupe and Liquid Diamond. If you want to see my post, please click here.

Lately

I literally stayed away from beauty blog through out the months of April and May. My life has been hectic like hell and I lost my inspiration to blog. But all the beauty purchases I made since January were all huge success. I love every single one of them. So I decided to share a brief overview of these goodies and will do a more in-depth description later on.

First and foremost, I finally found THE foundation that I desperately wanted for years ever since my love affair with makeup began. Yes, nearly 10 years. Clarins Ever Matte Skin Balancing Foundation. Smooth with extra finely milled texture. Matte without being dull. Stay on all day (no setting powder needed). Natural like second skin. Doesn't turn orange half day through. Weightless. Cover well and buildable. I found my right shade. Affordable. Smell refreshing. Smart packaging that works well for traveling. I don't think it's the perfect match for everybody but it should work well on loads of skintone and type. I can no longer come back to my Chanel Matte Lumiere or Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk. Totally in love!

Other awesome discoveries were Dior 5-color eyeshadow quint in Beige Massai and Chanel 4-color quint in Kaska Beige. Both are universally flattering neutrals with beautiful pop of colors. Beige Massai, in particular, has everything I love about the best of Dior 5-color quints. And Chanel Kaska Beige is simply a-must. Hands down. Sadly, Dior Beige Massai was discontinued (yes, I checked with Dior). So I had to raid ebay's beauty department and grabbed two (of course).

I've also been using Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Espresso Ink non-stop since March. YSL Touch Eclat is my new under eye concealer. Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Love Affair (seriously, every girl needs this) is my every day blush and will be until the fall comes.

Some other happy procurements include
YSL Rouge Couture in 27
Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Gloss in Beach
Makeup Forever HD Blush in No. 6
L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe
Maybeline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe
Clinique Black Honey
Becca Shimmer Skin Perfectors in Pearl and Opal, both of which aren't new to my collection but I waited until I got a good use of them to write reviews.

I'm very excited to continue to share and learn more about makeup. I hope you are doing well.

Joanne