Best Product Reviews

So I was going over my list of my favourite makeup gurus and I realized that the list is fair game when it comes to makeup tutorials, but its different for hauls and reviews.

I thought I'd do a quick list of my favourite YouTube product reviewers:

1. Lollipop26

She is definately the best makeup guru for reviews. Laura seems extremely sweet but she is very honest about all her reviews. There is no being nice to any brand or product for the sake of anything else but quality and performance. I respect her SO much for that. She tends to do more "products I regret buying" and "dont believe the hype" videos which may seem like bashing to some, but not to me. I appreciate videos where people talk about the products that dont work for them because you get to know WHY some products work/dont work for people. Everyone has different skin and every product doesnt turn out the same or look the same on everyone. Its nice to know why it might not work as well as why it may work. Often when its a good product you only hear about how amazingly life-changing it is. I want more details though, lol! Laura gives the full picture. She also gives the full picture when she raves about products, says exactly why they work and what they do. Love, love, loveee!

2. JuicyStar07

Blair also does great reviews. She is very thorough in trying them out; she's mentioned many times that she waited to use products for at least a week, sometimes more, before she did a video on what she thought. I really appreciate that because as a makeup guru, these girls have SO much makeup and they really dont need to put an extreme amount of effort into their reviews but Blair does. I feel like I can trust her judgment of products because of this. Also, and this is for anyone with similar skin, her reviews are perfect for me because we have a similar skin type. She has oily/combination, acne-prone skin and so do I. While I know that this isnt a reason for everyone to watch her reviews, its a personal one thats REALLY important for me. I also understand that despite having similar skin types products may still react differently on our skin but I can at least rely on her advice better than from people who have dry or normal skin. Love, love, loveee Blair and her sincerity!

3. MakeupGeekTV

Many of the reasons Marlena is a good reviewer are the same reasons why she's a great makeup guru. She's sweet yet honest about it. There's no bashing on her channel but she, as with all things, is extremely concerned with being informative for her audience so that they can get the most from every video. You get the sense that she genuinely cares about people who watch her videos and makes a conscious effort not to cheat them out of the real honest truth with any product. She's also very unbiased towards products in the sense that she tries all things. She wont not try Victoria Secret products because they are not generally a makeup line, or try a new makeup brand that no ones heard of. She tries and reviews all sorts of products from all sorts of companies and gives great reviews. She's not afraid to say the truth about the quality of products and how much she likes something which makes me trust what she says!

4. Temptalia

Christine has the most informative website I have yet seen from a makeup guru. Its a lot more professional than the other ones and it seems like more of a business than a personal blog. She tends to say "we" a lot when she's talking about stuff so it seems like she has a team of people who support and help her. So she's a great reviewer because of all the information she has. I feel like I'm getting extremely intelligent, detailed facts as well as opinions about products. She has as much information as there is possibly out there on products, plus she has everything thats coming up, everything that came out. Honestly, her website is amazing. If not her channel, I would say her website is the best one to check out for beauty/makeup related information. She's also very sweet, as all of them are, but very to the point which I appreciate as well.

5. Lisasz09

I recently came across Lisa and I havent really noticed her makeup tutorials (I'm not sure if she even does them!) but she does great reviews. That's basically what I watch from her. She's very detailed, very honest. I like her for the same reason as I mentioned with others; she tries the products thoroughly before she gives a review and is very detailed and informative about the products when she does do a review. I also like with her that she is exposed to very different brands than you typically hear about so if your looking for something and your not satisfied with all the "pop" brands she gives lots of great advice on alternatives.

So I really appreciate all of these ladies for their reviews because they allow me to make educated choices in the beauty products I purchase. We're not all makeup gurus or on YouTube getting lots of free products so I like that I can really find out what the pros and cons of different brands, products, beauty-related items are before I go spend money on them.

Thanks to all of them!

Product Review: Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain

Wow! I'm SO disappointed :(.

I have heard SOOO much about tarte being organic and amazing regardless of it not using the same ingredients as other cosmetic companies. Andddd, oh the packaging. The most gorgeous mascara bottle I have ever seen. So pretty, so pretty I could just open and close it all day.

But whats a pretty face with no brain/or a beautiful bottle with no voom. I dont know what to do with it. I got it with the Sephora's Favourites box of mascaras. Thank God I didnt buy a full bottle. Lurve Sephora for putting those out and letting us all check out amazing mascaras (many of the others are phenomenal, I promise!)

(Slight Sidetrack Alert!)

I expected the worst mascara in that box to be the Sephora brand. No offense to Sephora, they are amazing providers of life-changing makeup, but their own stuff is still kind of meh. Yes, that's right, someone had to say it, its meh. However, I want to chew up my own words (yes the meh) because their mascara is amazing. It's better than the Loreal Voluminous Mascara (which a lotta people swear by as the best mascara of all). I'll be honest, I'm new to makeup. I havent tried a gzillion mascaras yet, but Sephora's blew, my, mind. Lurve it! Check it out:)

So yeah, tarte. Oh my tarte. Oooh tarte. What to do with your pretty bottle. I've decided I want to open up another mascara from the box. My strategy (and logic behind buying it) was that I would be able to use one for 3 months each meaning I would have 30 months of mascara for $50 (Canadian). Pretty awesome logic, right? Not sure it's going to work out that way though.

So now the sort-of-come-on-already problem. Which mascara do I open with this. I dont honestly want to wear this mascara even one more day. I'm probably going to slick it on for day trips to parks and outdoor events when no one will care or notice (even though it'll bug me). But I cant possibly wear this to formal events or to work or school.

I also dont want to waste another mascara product by opening it and not actually using it for 3 months because I was actually able to do that with the Sephora one and it worked amazing for me. In fact, I'm regretting throwing it away right now. Sigh!

OMG, so I just found the description for this mascara which kind of explains it:

TARTE 4 Day Stay Lash Stain (Black)

Keep lashes looking naturally tinted for 4 days without reapplying. PolyFlex technology blends mineral pigments and provitamin B5 to envelop lashes in long-lasting pigment while keeping them soft and flexible."

Okay, so that explains why so much makeup remover made no impact on taking this stuff off. And obviously, you cannot reapply this stuff without creating spider legs (which is kind of what I get in the first place as well, but it worsens with reapplication). In all fairness, the mascara looks better over time. A while after having applied it, it started looking better (but its all length and no volume). If they promise it wont come off for 4 days, I guess the fact that makeup remover had a hard time taking it off is proof that it definitely is able to do that.

Okay, listing time:

Pros:

1. Gives extreme length

2. Beautiful bottle

3. Organic ingredients

4. Long-lasting

Cons:

1. Does not volumize

2. Hard to remove

3. Does not keep lashes soft

4. Expensive

Take from this what you will. I am no expert. I am just a girl learning about and growing with makeup. I do this for fun, as a hobby. I am in no way suggesting that my opinions are facts or should be taken seriously. Enjoy my experience as I share it.