Review - Lancôme Grandiôse mascara

 First of all, bare with me on this one. This is my first attempt at a review-style-piece :)

One of the things I love about makeup is its' ability to accentuate (and correct) one's features. One of my best features (if I do say so myself :)) are my eyes/eyelashes. When I was younger, they were really long (straight, but long), blond and quite thick. Almost every mascara did the trick of making them ... well, nice and prominent. But now, after being a little bit older and having a bit of challenges with thyroid disease and other stuff, they are not as thick and long, but most of all, it takes a special mascara to "oomph" them up. I am also almost incapable of not messing up other places that are not my lashes when applying mascara. Also, my lids are, how can I say, a bit thicker at the lash line. (And after this loooong introduction here is the review itself...)







And for all these reasons I really appreciate that the wand on Grandiôse mascara is quite small, so that I can reach all the lashes without completely ruining the before-hand applied eyeshadow.

So, the packaging. At its' price tag it better be good. Well, I like it, it's elegant, with the rose and differently designed tube. But then again, it's Lancôme and French and oh-la-la :) (But if I were to pick my favorite design of all the mascaras that I've ever owned, it's the Physicians Formula Sexy Booster Va Va Voom Volume Mascara. But that one didn't do much for my lashes, regarding volume).

So, I decided I would let pictures do the talking, so here are some pictures

My eye(lashe)s without any mascara

Another picture without anything on

One coat

One coat of mascara - closed

Two coats

Two coats, closed

Two coats, again (with me trying not to look into camera ;)

I would love it, if there were a waterproof version of this mascara, but I tried working out and wearing this mascara and it held pretty nicely. The black color could be found in my undereye area, but for a non-waterproof formula it's pretty great. 

After about 10 hours wear and an 1hour workout.

So, why do  I like it? Because I really like the small wand and the volume it gives. The first time I aplied it, I thought "Yes, my lashes are back! :)" It also holds a curl pretty well, and is long lasting. The only thing I don't like, is the price. It is around 30 € mark. It is also available here, in our pretty little Slovenia, which is a plus. 

Would I buy again? Well, this mascara isn't particulary new, but not one of their first mascaras either, and Lancôme has since released the Grandiôse Extreme mascara. And if it's as good as this one, I am very, very interested in it. So I would say Yes, of course, but before I would really like to try the Extreme version (when I will splurge or save the money).

So, dear reader, are you a mascara lover? Do you have specific demands for your favorite mascara? 

Thank you for reading, 

Ivy 

The problem ... with problematic skin

I'm not really completely sure what I want to say about skin with acne and acne scars. After all, I am not an adolescent anymore, so these things shouldn't bother me as much anymore. But they do (sometimes). And by these things I mean people commenting my skin in an inappropriate way. Yes, it happens. Usually those people are promoters of some kind of cosmetics. But once a guy came out to me and said that my skin would be so much better if I eliminated meat from my diet. And children sometimes stare at my skin and than innocently ask me about these red dots on my face. This I actually don't mind as much anymore, because they are children and they are just curious. OK, back to the promoters, there are those who inform me, that my skin has large pores and is oily and that this cream will really really help me. So I nod and smile and take a sample - because I looooove samples (I mean, c'mon, how could you not, it's free stuff :D). Because I know that it's their job and they are usually pretty nice. And they usually say stuff like "problematic skin",  or as mentioned "oily skin",  "large pores" etc. But not so long ago, one specimen of a promoter straight up told me, that my skin is terrible. Listen, I am not pretending that my skin is crystal clear. I have a mirror. :) But it was just her style and usage of the word "terrible" that really ... well.. hurt me. I know that they are just words, and that I should be confident enough to not let it bother me. But it did. And I imagined that if the same person was talking to a teenager, that would be even more damaging.

Did I do anything about it, you ask? Well, I complained to the company. And I didn't buy anything from them. And talked about it thoroughly with my dear family & friends.

What am I doing about my skin? I try to take care of it the best way I can. Sometimes I'm a bit sloppy, I admit. I have polycystic ovary syndrome and the treatment that worked best for me so far were birth control pills. But since I decided to take a break from those, the number of my cystic acne has increased immensely. And I am trying to love myself unconditionally. It doesn't always work, but it is the goal. It helps that I have a man that loves me without any makeup on and I feel comfortable around him. It helps that I do realize that there are muuuuuch worse things in this world to happen to you. It helps that I know that I am so much more than my skin. It helps that (thanks to my inability to wake up earlier in the morning) I was able to go out, to work, among people without a scratch of concealer and/or foundation and feel fairly confident. Will this post help? Well, I don't exactly know, but I just felt that I had to post it :)

Thanks for reading :)