L.A. Girl

i know there's an entry here for the foundation line that this mixer is a part of, but given than this product is meant to be used very differently from a typical foundation, i thought it deserved its own place for reviews. i bought this pretty recently, just a couple of weeks ago, and it's the first white mixer i've ever used. i've mixed it with a foundation directly on a palette and i've also mixed it into a cushion compact with foundation + moisturizer. i think both ways work fine, and it does definitely lighten my products significantly with very little product. that being said, it interacts differently with different formulas, and while it doesn't seem to affect the consistency of my wet n wild photofocus foundation much, it does thin out my makeup revolution conceal and define foundation and reduce the coverage, which is a bummer as i have a lot of hyperpigmentation i depend on my foundation to cover up and the latter is my preferred formula. for anyone unfamiliar the WNW is fairly thin and a more traditional foundation consistency while the MUR is a bit thicker, almost bordering on concealer territory. fortunately the MUR is closer to my natural skin tone than the WNW is so i can get away with using too-little mixer, but it would be nice if i didn't have to be so careful. i will say the finish of both foundations seems generally unaffected, i don't notice either to be more matte or more dewy after adding this in. i would really like to try the LA girl foundation mixing pigment in white, but it'll be a while before i'll be able to as i only use the tiniest drop of this product each time i do my makeup. for now i'm pretty satisfied with this and i'd repurchase it if i tried the mixing pigment and didn't end up liking it.

I've used L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes for years and have been extremely loyal because it was one of the only tubing mascaras available in drugstores in Canada (I think the U.K. might be luckier in terms of selection). Though that one worked beautifully for me and provided the dramatic lengthening and volumizing I needed with the zero smudging that I've come to expect from tubing mascaras, I still wanted to discontinue using it for ethical reasons. I was so happy to find this one, it's still a new launch so I couldn't find any reviews on it but I took the plunge with the intent to post a review on here for everyone. It has a plastic bristled brush (a pet peeve of mine, I prefer nylon) and the brush has a shape similar to Lancôme Hypnose, where the bristles on one end are longer than bristles on the others, so that when you apply you get a "cat-eye effect" I.E. More lengthened on the outer corner than inner. I love this type of brush design because that's exactly my goal. However, the plastic bristles are an issue. I've found with every mascara with this brush type, the wand collects too much product at the tip and you have to clean your wand off with a tissue to get the excess off (or you risk depositing mascara onto nose bridge, under eyes, brow bones....your nose practically). To compound the effect, the mouth of the tube is too wide for the brush type, leaving the wand too saturated and your application to be gloopy from the get go. If you don't mind taking a tissue and cleaning it up before applying, this shouldn't bother you, but I do mind. A: I want my application to be as quick as humanly possible, an extra step when I have very little time in the morning is annoying. B: The hard plastic bristles are hard to clean off with tissue because they rip the tissue fibers apart, so you need so much more. So wasteful. Other than the packaging issues, I love this mascara. I love the price (only $10.00 CDN from the site where I bought it). Absolutely zero smudging, which is why I'm a tubing mascara devotee. Really big payoff in terms of length and volume, almost equal to Beauty Tubes. The black is a dense rich black, there's a semi glossy finish when it dries. I've experienced no flaking. And my eyelashes don't feel dry or damaged after use. L.A. Girl, if you ever see this, please just repackage this or come out with a second mascara with the same formula with a different brush. People need more choices for drugstore tubing mascaras!

honestly a little bit too dry, despite my oily skin ahah! the brush applicator is also not my favourite. but the colours are great.