**Pictures are from Ulta and Sephora websites.



So I rarely talk about mascara on here, which is funny because my blog is Love and Mascara. Mascara is the makeup product I have the least of. I wear lashes most of the time but I use mascara everyday. I have just a select few favorites. I'm very picky when it comes to mascara but as of lately I've found 2 more that I really really love! Which is really saying something. I'm not a fan of high end mascara. I really feel like you get the same at the drugstore. I decided to try one in a travel size though and then I got another as a promotion and they both turned out to be winners. 


So I'm sure you're thinking "oh since you like them you'll buy the full sized now" and.....no. I think you honestly get a better product in a travel size when it comes to mascara. Plus you never actually are able to make it through a tube of mascara before it's time to throw it away (3 months). So I love travel size or deluxe samples because I feel like they're less wasteful and the formula for some reason is just better. I don't know why that is, but it's how I feel.


Moving on to the actual products, from top left clockwise:

• Rimmel Lash Accelerator
• Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black 
• Urban Decay Perversion Mascara
• Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara

The Rimmel mascara, I love for my bottom lashes. The brush is smaller and thinner than most mascara wands so it's really nice for the bottom lashes and doesn't smudge.
Loreal Carbon Black is my stand by. I love this mascara. It's thickening and makes a difference. It's super black and you can build it up. I always have one at all times.
Urban Decay is the travel size I bought and it's actually bigger than I thought it would be. It's really dark and it's kinda thin so it's easy to build at the base of the lashes. It's also not shiny black it's more matte. I love the brush. I do think this is really comparable to Carbon Black though just a little thinner.
Hourglass Film Noir, is a different style brush than all of these where the bristles are spaced farther apart. For that reason is why I really like it. It separates the lashes and also thickens them. You can really "beef" up your lashes with this mascara. I got this as a promotion. It came in a little Hourglass set with my order. 


All these wands have softer bristles, I'm not a huge fan of the hard plastic bristles. I always poke myself in the eye with the hard bristles and that just plain hurts. For that reason alone is why I steer clear from them most of the time. Not that they're bad just that I'm dangerous with them. 


Because I have thin and shorter lashes I have to use a lot of mascara to get them to stand out. So if you're like me, a lash curler is important. I curl my lashes before I put on mascara and sometimes after the mascara has dried I curl them again. I apply about 4 coats of mascara and sometimes I'll use two different kinds. Here lately I've really been liking the Hourglass and Urban Decay together. I actually looked like I had longer lashes. It was an exciting day to say the least.


So that's it. Short and sweet I know but I don't play when it comes to mascara. I will say go check out the travel section on Sephora's website or the bins in the checkout at the store and that's where you'll find travel sized mascara. The Urban Decay was $10. The Hourglass isn't sold as travel size unfortunately. I did see that they had the Benefit Roller Lash in a travel size though if you're interested in that.

As you know I wear fake lashes in 90% of my looks. I have really thin lashes and kinda short so I look like I don't have any especially in dramatic looks so I always wear false lashes for makeup looks especially. In this I'm wearing Nubounsom 3D Mink lashes. I have an entire post about them if you're curious.

After I've finished my eye makeup I apply mascara. Just a thin coat to blend in with the lashes. I use brush on glue because you don't waste as much, it's thinner, it dries faster and just all around easier. Sometimes the lashes don't always stay on as long with it as it does the water proof squeeze tube but it does just fine for me and it's easy to touch up if one side comes unglued. I use tweezers to hold and apply the lashes so that I don't bend the actual lash hairs and flatten them.

I got some new mink lashes. These are by a company called Nubounsom they are 3D Mink Lashes in the style "Bella". 3D means that it's the layered look of the lashes. Not just one solid layer but several piled on top of each other. They are "handcrafted from custom designs by the finest manufacturers" as stated by the website. They are $34.99 but there are promo codes out there for at least 20% off. I know Manny MUA has one. I got these very fast, I'm always pleased with that. I also really appreciate that the company offers you different price ranges, there is 3D Silk which is also handmade from 3D silk fiber which are $14.99, there is regular mink lashes that are $19.99-$24.99, and then 3D Mink Lashes. They sell out kinda fast though, so they are pretty popular already so if you're interested in a certain style I would go ahead and get them.

This is the packaging. It's clean and simple. The style name is on the side of the box.

The are deep set in the box and I appreciate that as well. They're easy to remove from the plastic too so you don't damage the lashes.

I'm wearing them in all these looks you can wear these up to 35 times, which is incredible. They are light and soooooo fluffy. I really do love them. The company is a very inspiring company anyway, they're awesome to follow on Instagram, very uplifting and always featuring their lashes on different people. (@nubounsom on IG) They're also on other outlets as well. I can say that these will be some of my favorites to wear. 

Here on my blog, you see a lot of lashes. From expensive to cheap. Synthetic and mink. (hey that rhymed!) I love lashes because my lashes are thin. They're kinda short too but my biggest issue is that they're thin. Not that I don't embrace that and most days if I'm just running errands or doing this or that I'm not wearing false lashes. Maybe if me and my husband are going on a date or if I have an event coming up that's for my blog or makeup work I always try to look as good as I can and lashes are a part of that equation. I'm not saying they're for everyone or that you even NEED to wear them. Two of my friends have beautiful lashes that are so long and wonderful that false lashes would honestly take away from their real ones in an everyday situation. To each their own though. If you wanna wear lashes girl then hit it wide open. If you prefer not to that's completely fine as well. There are no rules in makeup, and if there are I break them on a regular basis I'm sure.

On to the differences.

Mink Lashes:

• more expensive
• can wear up to 25x usually
• more natural looking 
• softer and more feathered looking. 
• comes with a case to store them in (usually)
• Almost always have to be ordered online
• look the most flattering with dramatic looks
• handmade (generally)
• Cotton band (usually)

Synthetic Lashes :

• cheaper usually only about 10% of the price of a pair of mink lashes
• recommended to be used only once
• can look extremely fake if you're using a dramatic pair
• easier to buy, available in most drugstores and Wal-Mart
• can be lighter on the eye
• can tend to wear longer on the eye without becoming heavy or lifting

These looks are with some of my favorite drugstore lashes. My favorite lashes ever are Red Cherry Lashes 213's. I can wear them everyday. People don't always notice them and when they do they're so natural looking that they think it's my real lashes. Ardell Wispies are another cult classic and a favorite of mine. Good lashes for a bride as well if you don't want minks. I use synthetic lashes on clients usually. Because the price is like $3-$5 tops. Where mink lashes are so much more. If I'm gonna wear lashes all day it's normally my 213's the band is shorter so my eyes never itch and I honestly can't feel them. They are super natural though. They're so natural that my best friend can't wear them cause her real lashes are the exact same length as they are. Which she was has gorgeous lashes so there ya have it. 



Also it's worth mentioning that I don't buy dramatic styles in synthetic lashes because they are too intense in my opinion.

So here is a a few pairs of mink lashes with different looks. As you can see they differ in style some are thicker and heavier, some are more natural, some are cat eye looking. I've had these lashes for a while. My favorite brand is Lena Lashes. So those are the ones I'm showing for this. There are tons of other brands out there that are good though ie: Velour Lashes, Luxy Lash, Nubounsom, Flutter Lashes so on so forth. I'm showing Lena Lashes because they genuinely are my favorite but they run sales all the time on their lashes. Like for the entire month of June they are 50% off with code "save50". That's a great deal. Most mink lashes will run you anywhere from $25-$40 sometimes more. I love mink lashes. Especially for the final touch on a look. If it's a dramatic look mink lashes are so complimentary to it. Having said that, I can't always wear mink lashes all day long. They tend to be a little heavy or can really itch the corner of my eye. They also can come unglued through out the day. I blame that again on if they're heavy. They aren't all heavy. Some are light as a feather but the thicker more "stacked" ones are the ones that can weigh you down a little. Now there are some styles that I can wear all day no problem just not all of them. They look amazing though. Even the most dramatic styles somehow can look so in place, and fit the look so well. That is the part that makes them necessary. Especially for a wedding day or if you're a makeup artist just getting started. Get a pair and wear them a few times to get used to them . The thing you want to be careful about is when you're taking off excess glue from the band. Pulling to hard can rip the lashes out because they're handmade mostly. Glue doesn't come off a cotton band like it does a synthetic band either so keep that in mind too. It's a little more work.

So here's my final thoughts: I wear synthetic lashes on the daily if I want to. I know they'll stay on I can't feel them to the point that I almost forget to take them off when I wash off my makeup. However for dramatic looks and especially for artistry, or for really special occasions where you want to really get that attention like "wow look at her eyes" I would choose minks any day. They are the best at doing that.

In case you are interested, my favorite lash brand by far, Lena Lashes is having a MAJOR sale. If you purchase two pairs of lashes use code "Tina" and get 50% off your total, next day shipping upgrade, AND a FREE pair of Tina style lashes. This is an insane deal. I'm not sure how long it lasts and I know that some of the styles are close to selling out. I've ordered the Sophia and Naomi lashes this time but I put together some of the styles I already had to give you an idea what they look like. I always recommend Bianca and Bisera lashes first off. These lashes can be worn around 20+ times and they're amazing. Follow them on instagram (@lashesbylena) and sign up for their emails to get the heads up on their sales (which they do often). As long as your following them you might as well follow me too (@lovemascara) to see all my latest looks, and updates on blog posts or good sales you should know about. 

Yesterday I recieved my order from Lena Lashes. ( ⬅️Insert applause) I ordered them around the 6th and got them yesterday the 27th. I know that's a long time but they were having a sale plus Jaclyn Hill mentioned them in her favorites and I can't even imagine the traffic they were getting from it. But hey, that's excellent for them. They are a relatively small company and in my opinion they done really well with re-stocking and having their product available. However when you're flooded with tens of thousands of orders I can't even fathom the hours you would have to put in to fulfill them. I will say that Marlene always kept me updated on the status of my order and I follow them on Instagram so I seen the shipping updates there as well. I don't mind waiting for good product as long as I know my order hasn't been forgotten which it most definitely was not. I got mine 50% off and I think right now you can get 20% off. They are well worth it. The styles I ordered were "Olivia", "Elle", and "Bianca" which are the ones everyone is going crazy about.

Here Im wearing Elle. They are really natural and not incredibly thick. They remind me so much of the Red Cherry Lashes I love only better quality. Lena lashes are mink and fox. These are subtle but give you that definition you need.

In this picture Im wearing Bianca. These lashes you guys....they are so dense. Almost as if you've stacked pairs of lashes on top of each other. They're so dense in fact that it adds weight to your natural lashes when you wear them. I have no problem with that because they're absolutely gorgeous. However if you're very blessed with thick lashes you may not like the extra weight. These are by far my favorite they aren't too long but they are just perfect for smokey looks and sultry looks. I'm in love. I can't get over them. They are so fluffy but yet soooooo natural looking that it's really a gorgeous set of lashes and I'm completely honest when I say I've never seen a pair out there like them.

I've not tried the Olivia set yet because they're very dramatic and this week Im doing more neutral makeup but I can't wait to get them on. You can order these online from Lena Lashes. Follow them on Instagram for deals and sales they're having. Also if you aren't following me in Instagram please do so (@lovemascara) it's where I'm most active and I love talking to everyone.

This week my stand out product is Evermore Lashes on Lash Fever. I have a full post about these so I'm not gonna repeat myself over and over but these are just the most natural looking lashes I've ever had. This style is just so flattering and I absolutely love the way they look. They are a little difficult for me to apply but I'm just used to a short band so it's just gonna take some getting used to. Check back this week as I have lots of goodies coming in the mail. 😉 Including more mink lashes from a different company as well as a eyeshadow palette that hasn't even officially released. So excited for this week in makeup!

Have a good week!!