theNotice: a beauty blog

What it is: 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Ultra Lengthening Mascara, in Black Tea.

A bit about it: The Fruit Pigmented mascara is definitely pigmented with fruit extracts. How can I say this for sure? Well… it smells like blueberries. I kid you not! I’m used to mascaras smelling inky (at best,) or like motor oil (at worst.) A mascara that smells like blueberries was definitely a welcome change.

The wear: Unfortunately, this was not smudge-free. (But then again, with my lids… almost nothing is. The only mascaras I’ve ever tried that has been truly smudge-free have been my beloved tubing ones!) It holds a curl, but only if said curl was “dried in” — it takes the curl out upon application, like a lot of other soft-and-feathery mascaras. To remedy this, all you have to do is “push” your lashes for 10-20 seconds while they dry, curving them up with your finger. The effect is just lovely, but getting there’s a pain in the arse when you’re in a hurry!

Naked lashes / one coat / two coats. Click to enlarge! 

The look: Just as it claims to be, this mascara is definitely more of a lengthener than a volumizer. The formula was a little less wet than I was expecting, though, seeing as lengthening mascaras tend to be quite liquid-y. (In my books, though, this is a good thing — super-wet mascaras tend to take the curl right out of lashes, no matter what measures you go to in order to try and prevent it!)

Naked lashes / one coat / two coats. Click to enlarge! 

The finish is soft and not quite glossy, but it’s less sooty than many other mascaras that I’ve tried. (By “sooty,” I don’t mean the colour… I mean that look that most mascaras have. You know the one: ashen and super-matte.) One coat of this mascara produces natural, pretty lashes, and two really gives them some “oomph.” I wouldn’t risk three, though — we’d definitely be encroaching on spider lash territory.

Naked lashes / one coat / two coats. Click to enlarge! 

The removal: is easy. Some water, some soap, and you’re done! No need to wash your face and then slather on even more makeup remover to get rid of racoon eyes, which is nice.


The ingredients:

Organic Green Tea, Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Honey Beeswax, Contains All or some of the following Pigments: Blackberry, Blueberry, Black Tea, Grape Skin, Pomegranate, Acai Berry, Boysenberry, Blackcurrant and Raspberry, Oat Protein, Wheat Protein, Provitamin B5, Seaweed Powder, Coconut Stearic acid, Mica (for shimmer in the Blackberry and Blueberry), Cocoa Butter, Pearl Powder, Rice Powder, Cacao Powder and Powdered Coffee Beans, Lavender Honey, Extracts of Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Lavender and Golden Seal

Try it if…

• You want the prettiest packaging you could possibly find for a mascara
• You’re getting it as a gift (see: above)
• You have sensitive eyes, are going green, or would like a 100% natural mascara for any other reason — no parabens etc to be found here!
• The words “blueberry-scented mascara” are as exciting to you as they are to me ;)

Skip it if…

• You’re looking for a smudge-free mascara
• You like a really voluminous fringe

Availability: on the 100% Pure site, a full tube runs for $18 (here.) However, you can also get a mini size (here) or a trio of minis (here,) which work brilliantly for those abiding by the three-month mascara rule, or for those on the go! 

A quick comparison: out of all the mascaras I’ve tried so far, this is most similar to Fresh Supernova (review here.) However, the finish of this one is a bit more glossy, and my lashes clump together more than they do with the other. While the Fresh can’t be beat for a natural-but-better feathery lash, though, I’d pick this one over Supernova — it’s $18 to Fresh’s $25, the packaging is even prettier (!!!) and while both smudge and take the curl out of the lash initially, this one holds the curl a bit better.

A last bit of advice: don’t want to fork over $18 for a mascara? Fret not — this one’s featured in kits pretty often. Like this one (which is available just for the weekend,) or this one, or this one (which contains the tinted moisturizer that I love so much!)

A bit of a lazy day today, so here’s a chunk of the release…

Hair is your best accessory and Frédéric Fekkai wants everyone to unlock the key to great style! To show consumers how to achieve their best personal style, Frédéric Fekkai is inviting consumers to Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide on Thursday, August 26th to receive a personalized hair consultation and complimentary full sized Fekkai Advanced styling product, up to a $25 value, while supplies last.

The promotion is part of the exciting “Wear Your Hair” campaign from Fekkai and includes the chance to take home a best selling styling product. Consumers will be asked a set of brief questions regarding their hair type, daily routine and the style they want to achieve. A Fekkai team representative will be on-hand to offer a personalized consultation complete with a corresponding complimentary product to help them achieve their ultimate style! Product options include: Advanced Full Blown Volume Lifting Hairspray, Advanced Brilliant Glossing Crème, Advanced Salon Technician Color Care Anti-Fade Topcoat & Coiff Contrôle Ironless Straightening Balm. [...]

The Fekkai Style Trial is limited to one styling product per customer and is only available while supplies last.

What it is: Burt’s Bees Peppermint Foot Lotion

You fill the whole room.

No, really. You fill the whole room; at least, on my skin. Like you’re some sort of airborne infectious pathogen… or perhaps as if you’re a beautiful melody resonating from a grand piano. One spritz on one tiny, tiny bit of flesh, and you’re everywhere.

But this isn’t a bad thing — not necessarily, that is.

You might not be my cup of tea, but that’s not to say that you’re anything bad: it’s just that you’re a lovely floral, with hints of green, and neither are families that I happen to be partial to. I’ve never been a Chloe girl, and I suppose that’s why I don’t love you. You evoke the image of a strong young woman, one who is feminine and girly — but not “girly-girl.” You’re not exactly grassroots, but perhaps your parents were in their heyday. You go to the farmers’ markets on the weekend and love the feel of sand between your toes.

You are pink peony, freesia, lychee; fresh, watery (as if water spilled out of petals when you bit them,) and accessible, friendly. A little deeper I may find magnolia, lily of the valley, and rose; right here is where you find your demure, refined nature. Somewhere, there is a subtle bit of powder, but powder in softness rather than in sharp aldehydes. Finally, you reveal cedarwood, amber, and honey… or at least, your notes say you do. I understand honey and cedarwood, but my nose cannot find amber in your sparkling soft white floral existence.

To be honest, I so prefer you on a blotter than I do on my skin, where you always seem to be too sour.  But you’re devastatingly popular with your crooked grin, and paired with your your packaging (which none can rival, of course,) your scent makes you the perfect gift. It’s just that I’d never be friends with you… you pretend to be carefree and effortless, but your perfectly polished nails and two-hundred-dollar hilights aren’t fooling me.

You’re a nice girl, Chloé. You smell a bit like the idea of a wedding; floral, creamy, and (hopefully) inoffensive. Parents love you when their sons bring you home, and your boss thinks you’re quite chic, and sometimes, someone leans into your hair and asks, what is that?

But your date’s sister thinks you’re two shadows short of a palette, and your coworkers (while they love spending time with you outside of work) are tired of having to explain everything to you. Twice.

Availability: Most department stores, Sephora, FragranceNet. This lovely lady’s not hard to find at all!