Skincare Saturday: RapidBrow & RapidLash

Reviews, Skincare,

RapidBrow and RapidLash

Trying out growth serums kind of freaks me out to be perfectly honest. Like… what the heck is the product actually DOING that’s encouraging follicles to grow?? BUT, I’ve got pathetic eyebrows so I’ll gladly give natural remedies a shot!

RapidBrow and RapidLash
RapidBrow and RapidLash

I have both RapidBrow and RapidLash  to test out, and be warned, the packaging tells you to wait a LEAST a month or two before you’ll notice results. So with that in mind, I’ve been using these absolutely every single day since the beginning of March.

RapidBrow is an eyebrow enhancing serum featuring “Hexatein 2 Complex, a unique proprietary mix of six highly effective fortifying ingredients, essential proteins, vitamins and other moisturizing and conditioning ingredients to boost density, while adding shine and softness. RapidBrow is ophthalmologist tested for safety and easy use.”

RapidLash is an eyelash and eyebrow enhancing serum (although I only ever used it on my lashes) and features “Hexatein 1 Complex, a unique proprietary mix of six highly effective ingredients. Dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested, safe and easy to use.”

RapidBrow and RapidLash - applicators
RapidBrow and RapidLash – applicators

I’ve been using both products at night before I go to bed for the evening. RapidLash is the small eyeliner type brush and I’ve been painting it on as if I were applying eyeliner. RapidBrow is the spoolie brush and I’ve been combing that through my brows nightly as well. Neither of them feel “weird” or “wrong” in terms of texture or feeling on my skin, but I did notice my eyes took a little getting used to for the RapidLash. It didn’t burn or anything, but I think I got a bit in my eye (which you’re definitely encouraged NOT to do!) and it felt a bit *different*. That feeling went away after the first week.

But you’re here for results! So here’s how it looked on me after just over two months of daily use:

Before and After - Left Side
Before and After – Left Side

As you can see, I barely have a tail to my brows. I don’t pluck my brows at all and never suffered the 90s curse of overplucking back in the day, so what you see is just my natural growth (or lack thereof) over the years. I definitely see more growth on the tail of my brow (particularly the especially LONG hair at the end!) and it’s actually made a noticeable difference to me because it provides a better guide when I’m applying my eyebrow products in the morning.

Before and After - Right Side
Before and After – Right Side

My right side didn’t develop the extended tail that my left side did, but it definitely got a lot bushier right around where my arch is supposed to be. I can also see some baby hairs coming in as well on the tail.

Closer look at my lashes
Closer look at my lashes

As for eyelashes, I had no great before and after shot since they were all at varying angles that weren’t very descriptive. So I thought I’d show you what I’ve noticed the most: The lash growth serum seems to affect my lashes at different rates. The arrows are pointing to some of the exceptionally long lashes that I ended up with as a result of the serum. It’s definitely WORKING, but I didn’t seem to get consistent growth on every single eyelash. Rest assured though, it definitely looks natural!

Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara - nothing on lashes, one coat and two coats comparison
Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara – nothing on lashes, one coat and two coats comparison

The other area I noticed (which is not visible unless I have mascara on, which is why I’m showing you a shot from my Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof review) is that the lashes in the middle section got REALLY long.  I’m lifting my eyebrows a touch in the shots above, but when I’m looking face on, those middle section lashes actually HIT my eyebrows – something I’d definitely never experienced before!

Final Thoughts

I definitely feel like both RapidBrow and RapidLash are working although it seems to be a subtle change. I’ve personally  enjoyed the results so much though that I’ve continued to use these products nightly even after I finished my testing period, and I think that really says a lot since so often bloggers will get through a testing product and either just discard the product or move on to the next thing to try. But I’ve enjoyed adding these into my nighttime routine because it’s such an easy step to do. Also, bonus points to the sleek and simple packaging – I was able to bring these with me to Iceland last month since they’re so small and compact!

RapidBrow seems to be improperly labelled on Ulta’s site (lists it as RapidLash) but it can be purchased for $39.99 USD there, you can also pick up RapidLash at Ulta.com for $49.95 USD.

Kat Von D Shade + Light Quad in Rust (Review, Swatches & Look)

Makeup, Reviews, Swatches

Kat Von D Shade + Light Quad in Rust

I see the launch of the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quads as a colourful extension to her Shade + Light Eye Palette. You know… kind of like colourful addons that you can use to help flesh out the neutral look of the original palette.

Except… I was drawn to the shade range that is probably MOST like the original eyeshadow palette!

Kat Von D Shade + Light Quad in Rust
Kat Von D Shade + Light Quad in Rust

The brand new Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quads come in four different colours that speak to different tonal shades. There’s Rust (matte brownish reds – which is the one featured in this post), Sage (matte greens), Plum (matte purples) and Smoke (matte cool grays). They’re also ALL matte shades.

Kat Von D Shade + Light Quad in Rust
Kat Von D Shade + Light Quad in Rust

So the Rust quad is… well… it’s pretty freaking gorgeous. As the name suggests, it features very warm and rusty shades. The largest pan is a bit more peach, the two middle shades are varying tones of orangey-red (be still my heart) and the final shade is a perfect brow bone highlight colour for me.

Kat Von D Shade + Light Quad in Rust - Swatches
Kat Von D Shade + Light Quad in Rust – Swatches

Swatched out on my skin you can see that they are really saturated with pigment. They do verge on slightly powdery (as does the original palette), but I’ll take that over a hardpacked shadow any day. I don’t tend to struggle with powdery shadows because I feel like you’ve got even more pigment to blend with.

KVD Rust versus KVD Shade + Light Palette - swatches
KVD Rust versus KVD Shade + Light Palette – swatches

I know a lot of people are going to compare the Rust quad to the warm toned section of the original KVD palette, so I thought I’d swatch both out for you to compare yourselves. They are definitely *similar*, but not quite the same. I prefer the tones in the Rust quad personally, but if you’re looking for more colour dimension to add to your collection, the other quads (Plum, Sage) may suit you better. You cannot go wrong with the formula though – so pick whichever quad suits your fancy!

Wearing Rust
Wearing Rust

Here’s how it played out on my face. I’m wearing only the Rust quad on my eyelids, and, since I know I’ll be asked, on my lips is Maybelline’s Vibrant Mandarin and on my cheeks is Hard Candy’s Skinny Dipping.

Wearing Rust
Wearing Rust
Eye Closeup
Eye Closeup

The Contour shade (the orange) was easily the most pigmented, so I’d say start small when you apply it to your lids and then keep building it up. I ended up whacking a whole ton on when I first applied it and the colour just kept blossoming over my lid as I was blending. (Not a bad thing, just worth mentioning!)

Eye Closeup
Eye Closeup

Final Thoughts

The Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Rust is a thing of beauty. The texture of the eyeshadows is soft and powdery (which I’ll leave up to you to decide if that’s a texture you enjoy – for me, that’s a thumbs up!) which make them very easy to blend. The colours are gorgeous and work incredibly well together – you can wear this quad without needing to pull in any other shadows for a cohesive eye look. I do find the packaging is a bit bulky, but it does fit with the KVD aesthetic so I understand the reasoning for it. I also love that she stuck to matte shadows with this launch. Overall product definitely gets two thumbs up from me!

The Kat Von D Shade +Light Eye Contour Quads can be purchased on sephora.ca for $34 CAD or on sephora.com for $26 USD.

The product featured in this post was sent to me for review.