Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara Jet Black Review

Got another mascara review for you. This time I'll be reviewing Smashbox's Full Exposure Mascara in Jet Black from Sephora's Lash Stash. The Lash Stash featured two mascaras that came in full sized tubes and Full Exposure was one of them (0.38 oz). Detailed product description and results below!

Product Description from Website Reads:

Inspired by the on-set technique of layering a lengthening fiber mascara over a volumizing formula, our new studio-tested mascara exposes your longest, fullest lashes. No clumps, no flakes. Just maximum-impact, scene-stealing lashes.

    • 104% increase in lash volume
    • 32% increase in lash length
    • 34-degree increase in lash curl

Starting at the base of lashes, sweep mascara up and out. Apply a second coat for added fullness and length.

Smashbox offers a replenshiment service where you can order to have them ship you a new Full Exposure mascara every 30 days to up to every 120 days.  Pretty cool considering it's a popular mascara and lots of people like it. 

I'm going to begin describing the results with a bit of a disclaimer. This very popular mascara falls a bit flat on me and that is really unfortunate. A ton of people have given it wonderful reviews on Smashbox's website and it even came in full size glory so I was really looking forward to trying it. I'm not a Smashbox hater either. I'm a fan of their original Photo Finish foundation primer which I've talked about as a Perfect 10! product and just recently bought their Photo Finish Hydrating foundation primer for when my primer ran out. Review on that one to come later.

You can make a decision for yourself once you see the photos. And if you can help it, try before you buy!

Full Exposure's mascara is formulated to give length and volume to lashes. I got some nice length out of it, but it was disappointing that there wasn't a noteworthy boost in volume.

I will say though, it's one of the best mascaras for leaving lashes nearly clump-free. I can see why it's such a hit in the market. It's also one of better mascara that came in Lash Stash. It didn't give me a lot of volume, but from comparing photos, I can see it faired better than Korres' Volcanic Minerals and Benefit's They're Real.

I found their wand applicator harder to control than the others. As you can see, it's cone shaped with bristles bunched together and distributed evenly in groups. I found the wand as a whole, too chunky, therefore you have to be extra mindful to not press too far onto your lashes. It's pretty easy to accidentally smear product on your eyelids. The mascara comes off easily with warm water so if you do get product on your eyelids, nothing a Q-Tip couldn't fix quickly, but who wants to deal with this during the morning rush.

Smashbox's Full Exposure Mascara didn't live up to the hype for me. Tarte's mascara remains as my favorite. Then again, if one mascara looked amazing on everyone, nobody would really have a need to try other brands. Try it out if you're looking for something new. It might just be an amazing formula for you.

Sometime in early spring, I'll be putting up a mascara comparison guide once I've reviewed all of Lash Stash's products and a few other mascaras so check back, Mascara Junkies! :)


Retails for $19 USD
Where to buy: Smashbox's official website, most major online and retail cosmetics stores.

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Red Ox Inn Restaurant Review

Over the holidays, I had the pleasure to try an excellent restaurant called, the Red Ox Inn in Canada. I was under the impression that it was a steak house, but that couldn't be further from the truth. They serve, might I add, very delicious continental and European-influenced dishes.

Red Ox Inn is an initmately sitted restaurant with a maximum capacity of 30 people so a reservation is highly recommended. If you want to dine there on a Friday, Saturday, you most certainly will need a reservation. Our reservation was at 6:00PM on a Saturday evening and it was already filled with guests when we arrived. The menu selection is varied, but limited in the number of items. There are 6 different appetitizers, 8 entrees, and 4 desserts to choose from. Their wine selection is quite large relative to their menu size.

We weren't sure which were their signature dishes or what we can't go without trying so ultimately, we went to food that typically appeales to us anywhere we go.

 Firstly, I wish I had better photos to share with y'all! The restaurant is very initmate and with limited lighting in the space, the last thing I wanted to do was make my camera flash several times before we were done. I actually didn't even bring out a camera that evening. These were all taken from my phone!

 

[left to right] We started with the beef tartare where our server was thoughtful enough to have them split the dish onto two seperate plates for us. The tartare was AMAAAZING. It had caper aioli, pickled shallots, and parmesan. The tartare was marinated and seasoned to perfection. Of recent memory, this is the best tartare we've both had and is easily in our top 5 tartare list. My boyfriend ordered a bottle of Craggy Range Pinot Noir and I'll be honest to say that I'm no wine connosieur. I just know what I like and this pinot noir was not very memorable for me. It was a medium-bodied pinor noir and had a fruity, tangy taste, but the aftertaste was too tarte for my liking.

 Next to follow is our entrees. The Duck Breast with gnocchi, confit, roast carrots, goat cheese, parnips was so fabulous and sooo tender. The duck was cooked to medium perfection and once again, is the best duck we've both had in recent memory. There was nothing gamey about it and the garnish were excellent compliments to the meat's already mouth-watering taste.

 

I had the Flank Steak that came with leek and shallot bread pudding, crimini sauce, and tomato. I thoroughly enjoyed my steak. Steak is my to go-to whenever we're at a good restaurant. lol I've ordered a lot of steak and to be completely honest, I was so blown away by the duck breast that there wasn't too much about the steak that stuck with me. I did find the leek and shallot bread pudding interesting. I don't think I've ever had non-sweet bread pudding before so this was a first. I actually like leek and shallots, but did not care much for the pudding. On the contrary, I really enjoyed the brocolini. It absored so much flavor! I ate my meal in the order of a bite of steak and a bite of brocolini with some bread pudding somewhere in there. :)

 Finally, but most definitely not the least, the lovely Chocolate dessert. We were torn between this and some other dessert with a seasonal theme to it. Can't recall the exact name. Our server offered to surprise us so we left the decison up to her and she came out with the Chocolate. The Chocolate consists of chocolate brownie, caramel ganache, chocolate mousse and brown butter praline. I know it sounds heavy, but in truth, high quality chocolate is not supposed to taste overly sweet or heavy. It was the perfect chocolate dessert. The texture was smooth, light and creamy. The blend of flavors were harmonious like several instruments blending into a single note. This may or may not sound familiar but of recent memory, this is the best chocolate dessert I've had. Gosh..for this alone, I would go back to this place over and over again.

Red Ox Inn is an initmate restaurant that I whole heartedly recommend to anyone who enjoys casual fine dining. What I love about this place on top of its world-class cuisine is the quiet, relaxed atmosphere. The clientale definitely has a certain air of debonair to them, but everyone is still relaxed and casual. You can dress up (dress for labies and suit jacket for the guys) or enjoy dinner in jeans and a sweater. The staff is professional and efficient. Our server made our evening more memorable than it already was.

I also want to comment on their pricing and portions. Their food are priced very reasonably for the quality and portions you are getting. We could have just as easily ended dinner without dessert and left full and satisfied. This is a little gem that hopefully, will be around forever!

Where: 9420 91 Street, Edmonton, Alberta
http://www.theredoxinn.com

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Clarisonic Mia Review: One Month Update

Hi everyone! I'm back with my second update on the Clarisonic Mia. I meant to have this up before the holidays, but the holidays took over and soon after I went on vacation. We have a lot of material to cover so let's get right into it!

I took the following photos just after using the Mia for a month. To get a better idea of the progression I've made with Mia, checkout my two week review here.

I established a set of guidelines to evaluate the Mia with my comments below on how the gadget worked for me. Seeing that this is the 1 month review, I've adjust the ratings to reflect my confidence in the product after 1 month use. The 3 months, and 6 months will become available as the time comes.

1. Effectiveness at removing makeup - The residue makeup that remains on my face, the less random zits will pop up.

I am going to reconfirm here that the Mia does an excellent job at removing makeup and makeuup residue. I must use Mia if I put makeup on that day so I can go to sleep knowing I've done what I can to clean my skin. I no longer get annoying random zits above my brows. I'm happy to bump up my rating for this criteria to 9.5/10!

2. Cleanliness of skin immediately after use.

As good as it was the first time I talked about it. 10/10!


3. Cleaniness of skin maintained with regular use - I have an oily t-zone where zits are most likely to appear. I hope the use of Clarisonic will vastly improve these areas and reduce acne problems.

My t-zone are the most troubled areas of my skin. Buildups that lead to acne breakup are prone to happen in these areas nine out of tne times. I've also noticed that my skin goes through periods of very little to no breakouts and then it goes back to breaking out in the same areas. Nonetheless, I've seen further improvements in said areas which I'll go over in detail below.

 

 [left to right] This is my forehead by the way and apologies for the bad lighting on the photo to the left. That one was taken at the two week mark.  I've tried to make sure it is the same area on my forehead each time I take these photos so I can give you a decent comparison. Look closely to the photo on the left and you can see there are more visible bumps and red spots than the one on the right that cover a larger area. The visible bumps and red specks in the photo on the area are less and cover a smaller area. To me, this is an obvious improvement. I mean I'd prefer, like, maybe one 1 bump that's barely noticeable, but I definitely can accept these results after using Mia for a month.

[left to right] Once again, photo on the left was taken at the two week mark. Once again, poor lighting. Week two photos are all like that... :( The red patch on my cheek is still there, but it's even less notifceable now in the photo on the right. I purposely circled that area in case there's any confusion cause it look so light. Definitely a good thing though.

[left to right] And comes the most troubled area of troubled areas, above my chin! These two photos look almost identical. I had to go back to my photos folder to triple check and make sure they are indeed from week two and one month. There's no mistake here so this is simply barely noticeable improvement in the area. I feel in person, in front of the mirror that there are some slight improvements, but it's simply not enough to make a statetman on here so I'll leave it as what it is.

I'm going to give a small boost to my previous rating of 7.5/10 to 8/10. It's awesome that my forehead has less and less breakouts and that the area on my cheek and above my chin are contained. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for further improvements by the three months review.

5. Noticeably better absorption of facial products - I see the Clarisonic as an investment for my skin. I am saving money over time if I don't need as much product for the same results.

There no doubt that by now I can confirm better absorption of not only makeup, but facial moisturizers and I love that.  I'm adjusting my rating of this category from 6/10 to 8/10. 

I talked about the Mia's design flaws in my two weeks post and I've made some discovery where I think makes up for one of the flaws that was talked about. I complained that there was no visual indicator for when the gadget is low on batteries and if you didn't keep track of when it needs to charged, you could very well be forced to go one day without using it. I found that the Mia does provide indication via brush head pulses. At the end of the pre-timed one minute sessions, the Mia will pulse 1, 2 or 3 times before completely stopping. When that happens, you know it is low on batteries. The more time it pulses before shutting off, the lower the battery is getting.  If you use it until it is completely out of juice, the machine will need to be charged for at least 24 hours until the green light is solid.

In summary, Mia was one of my top 2012 skincare purchases and if things continue as it has, the Mia is steady making its way to my Perfect 10! list.

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