Rimmel Glam Eyes Day 2 Night Mascara

Rimmel has recently introduced their own flavor of a 2 in 1 mascara, with which you can create two dramatically different lash looks with one bottle of mascara. It's all in the cap, It's actually a double cap, one is the length cap, and the other is the volume cap. It's available in two different shades 001 Black and 003 Extreme Black. And is available at almost any retailer that sells make-up.

Rimmel advertises the two different looks as "Day" and "Night", the length being for the day, and the volume for the night. I was excited for this product because sometimes, I would like length over volume and vice versa, but wouldn't always like to use a different mascara.

Rimmel has advertised that the Length brush makes your lashes 75% longer. The mascara does seem to make my lashes appear longer, I wouldn't say that they are 75%. However the outcome is very satisfactory.

Rimmel says that the Volume brush thickens your lashes up to 12 times their normal thickness. After a few coats of the mascara, I found my lashes to be thickened to a satisfactory level, but not 12 times their normal thickness.

I have found myself using the volume cap more then the length cap when I use this mascara. It all really depends on what exact look you are looking for.

It is fairly inexpensive ranging anywhere from $6-8 depending on where you purchase it at. I would say it's a good buy if you are looking to simplify your daily routine of mascara.

Grade
Ease of Use: A
Performs as advertised:  D
Cost to benefit ratio: A
Overall: B

Heat Protection 101

Most of us use hair dryers, flat irons, and curling irons on our hair. Most of us also skip using a heat protecting product prior. Why is this so important you ask? Well, I will tell you:

1. Thermal stylers (Such as blow driers, flat irons and curling irons) cause thermal damage to your hair.
2. Some also help protect against breakage from the thermal stylers and brushing. 
3. Some also help protect already damaged hair and help repair it.
4. Most have UV protection too.

Yes, UV rays, can cause damage to your hair, if you send enough time exposed to them. So just like protecting your skin, you want to protect your hair as well.

There are many different heat protectants out there from different companies, in a variety of price ranges, so you are bound to find one to fit your budget. Some are also geared towards a specific type of hair or hair difficulty, and have other great benefits. Even if you don't use product in your hair, I highly suggest using one of these, you will notice a difference.

My all time favorite is Aveda's Brilliant Damage Control. It's good for all hair types, protects against thermal damage, reduces breakage from brushing, and also protects against UV rays and is also a great detangler. It cost's  $15 and can be purchased online or through any Aveda retailer.

Another is Suave Professionals Heat Protection Spray, price varies from store to store, but it can be found at most retail stores such as K-Mart, Target, CVS, and of course online at any of the same or suaves website. This one protects against heat damage only.

Bedhead has Some Like It Hot Serum, which smooths hair without weighing it down, adds shine, protects your color, and fights humidity, along with providing heat protection. This one also varies in price and can be found at authorized Bedhead retailers, or online.

Most are very easy to use by spraying on damp, towel-dried hair or using a small amount and working into hair and then blow drying and styling as desired. 

Any one of these will be a great improvement to your styling process, you will love the way your hair looks and feels after using it.

Kat Von D Tattoo Concealer

Recently I have ran into some situations where I have needed to cover up a couple of my tattoos. So I did some research and after talking to a friend of mine, I checked out Kat Von D's Tattoo Concealer.

What it is: a heavy duty, highly pigmented, transfer & water resistant, multitasking concealer. It is advertised to hide tattoos, dark circles, and blemishes. Available in 8 different shades, such as: Porcelain, Sand, Light, Medium, Tan, Almond, Caramel, and Cocoa at Sephora for $25.

The website advertises a "4 step process" to apply the product - but the reality proved to be a little more complicated.

What I did to cover up my tattoo:

1. Applied eyeshadow primer to the area (you could also use a face primer)
2. Applied a coat of the tattoo concealer, allowing time for it to dry
3. Applied another coat and blended the edges to match the tone with my skin (use a shade that resembles your skin tone) and allowed it to dry
4. Applied two additional coats only on the body of the tattoo, allowing time to dry between each
5. Applied powder foundation to the whole area to help blend the color


To speed up the process, I dried the coats by using my hairdryer on "Cool" for exactly one minute on each coat. Be sure to purchase a brush that you will use exclusively with this product, as I found it very difficult to remove the product from the brush after I was finished. It took me 4 coats of the concealer, and 1 coat of primer/foundation at the start/finish of the process, but your mileage may vary depending on the color/size of the area you're covering.


Here's what I started with:

And here's how it turned out after the covering process:

Applying this product kind of sucks so I wouldn't suggest this to someone who needs to cover their tattoo everyday. It lasted a sufficient amount of time, about 6 hours, before my ink started peeking through.

I have also used it under my eyes, because I sometimes get very dark circles, and it works wonderful to hide those, and I only had to use one coat, along with my normal powder foundation.


Grade
Ease of use: D
Performs as advertised: B
Cost to benefit ratio: C
Overall: C