Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof + Mascara Melt Off (Review and Demo)

Makeup, Reviews

Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara

It’s funny how things change over the years – for years and years and YEARS I wore L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black in the waterproof formula because I thought it was basically “dumb” to wear anything but waterproof mascara. I mean, the risk of getting rained on is kind of a constant, so why bother with a non-waterproof formula? Of course, nowadays, I’ve changed my tune since there’s a heck of a lot of mascara out there that doesn’t come in a waterproof formula.

However….  if your favourite formula of mascara is Too Faced‘s Better Than Sex, you can rest easy knowing they have a waterproof formula now!

Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara
Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara
Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara
Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara

First off… the packaging is pretty damn swanky. While the original Better Than Sex mascara came in a sleek pink tube, the new Better Than Sex Waterproof comes in the same style tube, except this one is pale aqua-blue with embossed water droplets. The packaging is VERY reminiscent of Alluring Aquatics collection from MAC a few years back. Am I complaining that they copied them? Hell no, I LOVE this style of packaging, and bonus points for the simulated water droplets actually making it easier to open the tube! (Sidenote, I had never actually owned a full size tube of Better Than Sex because I always managed to have them in deluxe sized samples, so I had no idea how solid and weighty these tubes of mascara felt till now!)

Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara
Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara

The brush is identical in size and shape to the original Better Than Sex. It’s an hourglass shape that works well to build volume and length. While I personally like the effect it creates on my lashes, I need to point out that I find the brush a bit cumbersome since I’m prone to getting mascara everywhere on my lids. It’s not my favourite style of brush, however I definitely make it work because I love the formula!

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

So that’s how it plays out on my lashes. I’m a one coat mascara kind of woman, and the Better Than Sex Waterproof definitely delivers in one coat. At two coats, it thickens up my lashes for sure, but I don’t find it’s totally necessary (for my tastes). It doesn’t clump up and I’ve got plenty of definition to keep me happy.

Of course, this is a waterproof formula, so I had to put it through some kind of water test. So here’s my step by step test:

Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara Demo

Step 1 - Apply mascara and allow to dry for five minutes.
Step 1 – Apply mascara and allow to dry for five minutes.
Step 2 - Spritz with water until face is completely soaked.
Step 2 – Spritz with water until face is completely soaked.
Step 3 - Rub eyelashes horizontally and rub them between fingers.
Step 3 – Rub eyelashes horizontally and rub between fingers.
Step 4 - Check for residue on fingers and smearing around lashes. There is NONE!
Step 4 – Check for residue on fingers and smearing around lashes. There is NONE!
And for good measure, here's a closeup shot of my eye so you can see how soaked it is. This was taken after I had rubbed at my eyes with my fingers.
And for good measure, here’s a closeup shot of my eye so you can see how soaked it is. This was taken after I had rubbed at my eyes with my fingers.

(If you notice that smudge on the lower lash line near the outer corner of my eye, that’s just my terrible mascara application. You can see the smudges are there in the Step 1 shot above!)

Alright, so Too Faced released a waterproof mascara… but how you gonna take that off?

Too Faced Mascara Melt Off
Too Faced Mascara Melt Off

Never fear, they’ve got an answer for that too! Their brand new Mascara Melt Off is a cleansing oil intended for waterproof mascara, but can be used on any mascara you’ve got in your stash.

Too Faced Mascara Melt Off
Too Faced Mascara Melt Off

It comes in a slim tube that’s basically like any other identical tube of mascara. However, this tube is filled with a cleansing oil that will break down your waterproof mascara. The wand is quite slim and has small grooves in it to help pick up the mascara from the tube and deposit it to your lashes.

Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Application
Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Application

The Mascara Melt Off is applied to your lashes as you would any other mascara. I coat the tops and bottoms of my lashes and let it sit about thirty seconds (maybe less). I then wipe it away with a cotton pad and… poof! Every smidge of mascara is totally gone. I’ve started using the Mascara Melt Off with both my regular mascaras and my waterproof ones just because it works so well.

Final Thoughts

Better Than Sex Waterproof – I’ve heard of people having issues with this mascara not drying down at all and transferring everywhere. I did not have these problems whatsoever as I found that it was totally dry within five minutes of application (probably less, but I wasn’t really timing it). I also found it was totally waterproof if I was running my fingers along my lashes and squeezing them between my fingers after I had doused my face in water. If you SCRUB at your eyes, then yes, you’re going to get a bit of transfer, but that’s kind of to be expected because of friction. I definitely feel it’s a waterproof formula that holds up. For daily wear I also found it to be fairly decent. I had very little flaking (which is something I’m prone to), and it was only after the 13 hour mark that I started to notice any kind of smudging. For example, I wore this to Gen Beauty this past Saturday: I applied it at 8 am, and by 11 pm I had some outer corner smudging. But you know what? That’s a LONG ASS day, so I can’t really fault a mascara for struggling after 15 hours of wear. For a normal 8-9 hour work day, I have zero issues.

Mascara Melt Off – What a neat product this one turned out to be. It does feel like an added step in my routine, but it does so well to help break down the mascara that I’m pretty happy to use it when I’m wearing a longwearing formula. It helps me avoid scrubbing around my eyes with remover, thus preserving the eye area from wear and tear. Is it necessary? Nope, totally not. Is it handy and makes it easier on me to remove tough mascara? Absolutely!

The Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof mascara can be purchased on sephora.ca for $30 CAD and on sephora.com for $23.00 USD.

Mascara Melt Off is $22 CAD on sephora.ca and $17 USD on sephora.com.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration.

Swatch Sunday: Wet n Wild – I Dream of Greenie

Makeup, Swatches
Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie
Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie

I’ve got a LOT of Wet n Wild palettes up my sleeve, so be prepared for those over the next little while! This week’s beauty is the I Dream of Greenie trio.

Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie
Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie

A word to the wise, however. While this palette is gorgeous,  it is also INCREDIBLY fragile. You can see how a lot of the powder has worn away above and I would say 50% of that is just from closing the lid and having the powder crack at that minute impact. It’s so sensitive to impact, that I actually had to throw it after I swatched it for this post. Granted, I had had the compact for several years, but it’s still worth mentioning. Beautiful colours, but incredibly fragile!

Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie Swatches

Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie - Browbone
Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie – Browbone
Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie - Crease
Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie – Crease
Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie - Eyelid
Wet n Wild I Dream of Greenie – Eyelid

So alll the way back in 2014 I created this look with these shadows:

Full details are in this blog post!

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer (Review & Swatches)

Makeup, Reviews, Swatches

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer

Bronzer has become one of my most loved products in the makeup world over the last few years. One of the very first bronzers I ever tried that actually worked on me was a Physicians Formula bronzer in the heart shaped pressed powder thingamajig. I loved that thing so much that I actually used up the entire compact rather swiftly. But as with any beauty obsessor, I started to amass more and more bronzers by different brands because I wanted to try them ALL! So Physicians Formula kind of fell by the wayside as I tried any and every brand out there.

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer

And yet here I am, right back to them. Physicians Formula suddenly released their Butter Bronzer about a month or two back and everyone went nuts. It has a beautiful gradient packaging. It has an embossed print on the powder. It smells like old timey sun tan lotion (or bleach, as I so nicely described in my recent favourites video…). I mean, we all knew we were going to be suckers for this compact, weren’t we?

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer

The Butter Bronzer comes in two shades – Light Bronze and Bronze. The one pictured in this post is the darker of the two (Bronze), although the paler (Light Bronze) shade is maybe a HAIR paler.

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer

As with most Physicians Formula compacts, the mirror is actually in the base of the product, alongside a… brush… type… thing. Well… usually it’s a brush. This time it’s some weird mushy sponge applicator that will do NO ONE any favours for application.

Unless you wanted tiger stripes.
This can definitely give you tiger stripes.

Anyway, the brush/sponge/thing is irrelevant to me as I threw it out immediately.

Comes with this weird... sponge... thing...
Comes with this weird… sponge… thing…

Like honestly. How are you going to blend bronzer with THAT *THING*?

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer - swatch
Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer – swatch

The heavy swatch above shows you that there’s a tiny bit of a sheen to the product, but overall it’s a slightly warm bronzer that blends well.

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer - on my face
Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer – on my face

On my skintone, it’s fairly subtle. I love how it blends out without much work AND it doesn’t look like I overdid it at all. In both the shot above and below, I’m wearing the bronzer on the back of my cheekbones, around my temples, and along my jaw line.

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer - on my face
Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer – on my face

It even seems to match incredibly cool-toned looks, which is a huge blessing.

Final Thoughts

Aside from that ridiculous sponge thing in the bottom of the compact, the Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer is absolutely wonderful through and through. Worth noting though: the scent of the bronzer is pretty potent and you can actually smell it through the compact. So give it a sniff in stores to see if it’s something that will bother you. I personally love the scent, but it will linger on your brushes (not through a good cleansing though!).

The colour is pale and soft, not overtly warm, but warm enough to make it look like you’re sunkissed. This does skew towards us paler folks, so I think if you’re medium-deep, this won’t work for you. (I also anticipate this not working for me when I’ve got some summer colour on my face.) I’ve been reaching for this bronzer practically every single day and I’ve almost already worn away the pattern. It’s been a long time since I’ve fallen for a bronzer so hard!

The Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer is available at various Canadian drugstores, but it can also be purchased online for Americans at Ulta.com for $14.99 USD.

Challenge Week: Too Faced Sweet Peach

Makeup, Tutorials

Too Faced Sweet Peach palette

I almost feel like posting a Challenge Week for the Too Faced Sweet Peach palette is torture at this point for some people. The hype was so real for this palette and it looks like they really didn’t have enough stock ordered for this limited edition release. I know some lucky people like myself were able to get their hands on it, but if you waited for an in store launch it seems like stock was hit and miss depending on which location you checked. I know downtown Toronto Sephoras were lucky to receive even just 2-3 palettes, but obviously that’s not enough to sustain rabid makeup lovers! Online stock has been out for WEEKS, but you may get lucky and find it in a physical store. It’s baaaaack! It’s $59 CAD at sephora.ca or $49 USD on sephora.com

REGARDLESS, I know some people got their hands on this beautiful palette and I wanted to do a Challenge Week regardless. I personally love the palette and I’m very happy to have it in my collection. If you’d like to see swatches, please see my previous Sweet Peach palette swatch post.

On to the looks!

Too Faced Sweet Peach Makeup Looks

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look1.1

Oddly, the first look I created with this palette had nothing at all to do with peach tones. I reached right for the darker shades in the palette!201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look1.2

Eyes

  1. Puree in the upper crease.
  2. Bless Her Heart on the lid.
  3. Talk Derby To Me on the outer half of the lid.
  4. White Peach on the brow bone.

I applied Maybelline‘s Lash Sensation Luscious Full Fan Effect mascara to my lashes.

Face

  • Foundation: Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum in 52 Vanilla
  • Bronzer: Joe Fresh Sand
  • Blush: MAC Gingerly
  • Highlighter: Too Faced Candlelight Warm Glow
  • Lips: MAC Mineralize Glass in The Zone

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look2.1

The second look I created was for my Sweet Peach palette tutorial look on YouTube.  For this one I wanted something definitively peachy while still showing off the versatility of this palette.

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look2.2

Eyes

  1. Georgia through the top of the crease.
  2. Candied Peach through the crease.
  3. Luscious on the lid.
  4. Summer Yum on the outer half of the lid.
  5. Tempting on the outer corner.
  6. White Peach on my brow bone.

I created a wing with the Wet N Wild Pro Line Felt Tip Eyeliner in Black, coated my lashes with Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara and applied a pair of Bombshell lashes by House of Lashes.

Face

  • Primer: Make Up For Ever Step 1 Pink Primer
  • Foundation: Maybelline Dream Velvet foundation in 10 Porcelain Ivory
  • Bronzer: Too Faced Endless Summer
  • Blush:  Tarte Charisma
  • Highlighter: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle
  • Lips: Too Faced La Creme in Bon Bon with Clinique Pop Glaze in Melon Drop Pop on top

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look3.1

I wanted EVEN MORE peach out of this palette, so I just went ham with the bright, warm shades!

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look3.2

Eyes

  1. Georgia through the top of the crease.
  2. Candied Peach through the crease.
  3. Bellini on the lid.
  4. Peach Pit on the outer half of the lid.
  5. Nectar on the inner corner.
  6. White Peach on the brow bone.

I created the wing with Kat Von D‘s Tattoo Liner in Trooper, applied Maybelline‘s Lash Sensational Luscious Full Fan Effect mascara to my lashes and poped on a pair of Au Naturale lashes by House of Lashes.

Face

  • Foundation: BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting foundation in Fair
  • Bronzer: Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
  • Blush: Smashbox Culver City Coral (Rich Coral)
  • Highlighter: Too Faced Candlelight Warm Glow
  • Lips: MAC Hibiscus

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look4.1

So we all know this palette is about peach tones, but there IS a lot of versatility for more neutral coloured looks. For this one, I wanted to wear a fairly neutral eye look with a bright lip.

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look4.2

Eyes

  1. Peaches n Cream through the top of the crease.
  2. Nectar on the lid and in the inner corner.
  3. Caramelized on the outer corner.
  4. Deletectable on the outer corner and lower lash line.

I added some of MAC‘s Reflect Bronze glitter on the inner part of my lower lash line, then lined my lashes and created a wing with QUO‘s Art of Lining Micro Tip in Brown. I coated my lashes with Maybelline‘s Lash Sensational Luscious Full Fan Effect mascara and put on a pair of Au Naturale lashes by House of Lashes.

Face

  • Foundation: MUFE Ultra HD in Y225 (stick formula)
  • Bronzer: Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer
  • Blush: Milani Coral Cove
  • Highlighter: Anastasia Beverly Hills Mimosa
  • Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Retro Coral

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look5.1

Alright, last look! I was getting a bit stumped on how to show versatility for this palette because I really just wanted to keep reaching for the peach shades. I’ve said it before, but I am not generally one to apply darker shimmery colours on the lid… and yet I ALWAYS love how it turns out! (I think, for me, I like more of a contrast between a paler lid and a dark crease.) This combination turned out to be ridiculously simple and yet quite striking.

201605_toofaced_sweetpeach_look5.2

Eyes

  1. Peaches n Cream through the crease.
  2. Cobbler on the lid.
  3. Delectable on the outer half of the lid.
  4. White Peach on the bone

I’m wearing Maybelline Lash Sensational Luscious Full Fan Effect mascara on my lashes.

Face

  • Foundation: Revlon Colorstay liquid in 150 Buff and 200 Nude mixed together
  • Bronzer: Too Faced Ross and Rachel bronzer
  • Blush: essence Autumn Peach 
  • Highlighter: Too Faced Candlelight Warm Glow
  • Lips: Sephora Collection Rouge Balm in Enchanting Blush with Subtle Peony on top