Tarte "Gifted" & Benefit "They're Real" Mascara Reviews

Hi everyone!  So, I’ve been using my two new mascaras alternately for the past week and I figured I have enough…data…experience…something…to give my opinion on them.

To start out, here’s a picture of my eyelashes with nothing on them.  As you can see they are sort of light and fairly short.

I tried the “Gifted” Tarte Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara first.  This is the one I saw on QVC and thought at first the model was wearing falsies.  Then, when they put it on the 2^nd model, I saw that it wasn’t fake eyelashes, it actually was the mascara.  After using this I honestly believe this actually works.  It lengthened, thickened and lasted the 12 hours Tarte claims it will without flaking.

A few days later I tried the Benefit “They’re Real” mascara.  This one works like expected as well.  It also lengthened, thickened and lasted all day.  It seems to work just as well, if not slightly better, than the Tarte “Gifted”, and I do like it a lot as well.

Over all, they are both great mascaras and would be perfect for anyone who wants something to  make their lashes look long and thick.  By volume, the they are about the same price, the Tarte is $19.00 for .24 oz and the Benefit is $22.00 for .3 oz.  I will more than likely only repurchase the Tarte “Gifted” however.  I have fairly small eyes and the brush on the Benefit mascara is actually too big for me and I can’t get it into my inner lashes without getting it all over my eyelids.  I have included pictures below of the wands so you can see the size of the applicators.

The applicator brush on the Tarte is average size

As you can see, even though the wand is short, the applicator brush on the Benefit is quite a bit larger than on the Tarte.

Additionally, the Tarte mascara is made of natural ingredients with no mineral oil, parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate or synthetic fragrances, which for me is nice since my eyes can be quite sensitive.  However, since both mascaras work very much the same I would recommend either one to anybody looking who asked.

Also, just for reference, I have included a picture of my lashes with my other favorite mascara, MAC’s Mascara X, which has very similar results as the above mascaras.  However, it appears that Mascara X may have been discontinued as it is no longer on MAC’s website, though it would have been nice had I been told this the last time I bought a new tube L.  I guess it’s a good thing the Tarte “Gifted” lived up to my expectations, lol.

I hope this review helped anyone who was on the fence about either of these mascaras.  I really liked the way both worked and am very pleased with all the results.  If you have any questions or anything, let me know in the comments and I’ll get back to everyone!

That’s it for this evening, have a great night!  I’ll talk to everyone soon! J

No Video So Here's Some Lip Butters Instead

I know I said I’d have a tutorial up sometime either Monday or Tuesday and now it’s Wednesday and there’s still no video L.  I’ve been having all sorts of problems with software and disc issues.  I thought I got it figured out last night then “BAM!”, more problems this evening.  I hope to have it up tomorrow or Friday night at the latest.  This has really caused more headaches than it should, lol.  Sorry for all the delays, I will make it up to everyone.

So, in place of a video I do have the swatches of the Revlon Colorstay Lip Butters I purchased at Ulta last Saturday.  Recapping those I picked up Sweet Tart (a semi-opaque pink), Peach Parfait (a transparent peach with some frost) and Crème Brulee (a transparent nude).

Sweet Tart

Peach Parfait

Creme Brulee 

Top to Bottom:  Sweet Tart, Peach Parfait, Creme Brulee

Sweet Tart

Peach Parfait

Creme Brulee

If you’re looking for some new lip colors these are great for just about any skin tone.  The possible exception to that is Sweet Tart, it can seem a little bright.  However, the Lip Butters line has a wide array of colors so everyone should be able to find something flattering.  The formula of the product itself is very nice.  All the colors are creamy and moisturizing without being too…slick.  I hope this helps anyone who may be torn about picking up one or two.  I find them to be a great product and plan on getting a few more colors.

That’s all I have for tonight.  Again, I hope the tutorial is up by tomorrow evening.  My Crown Brush palette is finally on the way as well as a new NYX palette so I’ll have many more colors to work with soon.  New colors means new ideas and new ideas are always fun!

Hope everyone has a great night, talk to you soon! J

Quality Comes at a Price

I have found out that sometimes, probably most times actually, but definitely sometimes, higher prices do mean better quality.

For the past few years the makeup brushes I have been using have been okay quality.  I have an assortment of Sonia Kashuk and E.L.F brushes from Target.   I’ve spent from $1.00 to $12.00 per brush on these.  They work well, however they aren’t the softest and they hold onto a lot of product.  So much so that I have a “set” of brushes for each eye shadow look I have because if I didn’t I would have to fully wash each brush everyday to use a different color.  This is a slight problem as I am running out of space to keep brushes.  Additionally, I’m going to have to replace a few soon as the bristles are getting quite stiff and actually hurt to use.

So the Monday after Christmas I decided to break down and spend a much larger amount of money on some really nice makeup brushes from Sigma Makeup.  I had a 20% off coupon code so that helped.  I ordered  the Make Me Crazy 12-piece set in purple.

The set includes the following brushes (from left to right):

F30 - Large Powder (natural bristles)

F40 - Large Angled Contour (natural bristles)

F50 - Duo Fibre (blend of natural and synthetic bristles)

F60 – Foundation (synthetic bristles)

F70 – Concealer (synthetic bristles)

E40 - Tapered Blending (natural bristles)

E60 - Large Shader (natural bristles)

E55 - Eye Shading (natural bristles)

E70 - Medium Angled Shading (natural bristles)

E30 – Pencil (natural bristles)

E65 - Small Angle (synthetic bristles)

E05 -  Eyeliner (synthetic bristles)

I absolutely, positively love these brushes! They are sooo soft and nice.  They pick up a lot of the product and deposit almost all of it on my face rather than most of it staying on the brush.  I haven’t had to use my brush cleaning spray on any of them except for the pencil brush.  Since I’ve been using black eye shadow on that one cleaner is always going to be needed to keep it from being stained.   I don’t need separate brushes for each color of eye shadow I use anymore which is just AWESOME!

All in all, these are great brushes.  Like I said, they are pricey but since I don’t need multiples the price is reasonable to me.  I would recommend them, or any Sigma product, to anyone who asks.  I also plan on getting one more brush soon, the F80 Flat Kabuki as I prefer flat topped brushes for applying blush.  I expect this to meet or exceed all my expectations as well.

I hope everyone enjoyed this review and that I helped anyone who may have been debating spending a lot on makeup brushes.  Some may think I’m crazy due to the cost but it was definitely worth it to me J.

Talk to you all soon!