L'oreal Beauty Tubes Mascara

When I was in college, one of my boyfriends was badly burned and was in the ER, heavily under the influence of morphine. I’d been there at his bedside for hours, holding his hand and whispering sweet nothings to comfort him. Amid his ramblings of little men walking across the ceiling, he looked lovingly and gratefully into my eyes, crooked his finger so I would come closer and whispered in my ear, “You look like a raccoon.” Thus began my quest for the perfect mascara.

There are many I have tried that I loved in theory, because they made my lashes look amazing and thick and feathery. But by mid-afternoon, I again resembled a raccoon. I don’t like waterproof, because no matter what I have to take it off, short of turpentine, it still stays put. It’s like spackle or something. But finally I found something I really like. It’s L'oreal’s Beauty Tubes Mascara. They aren’t the first ones to employ the beauty tubes technology, but certainly the first to do it affordably. You put on the primer first, then the mascara immediately thereafter. It makes your lashes incredibly long, and literally does NOT smudge AT ALL. Like, seriously, dude, not at all. Seriously. Then you get in the shower, and with some mild soap and warm water, you can literally gently pull the mascara straight off of your lashes. These tiny, thin strings just come off right onto your finger - clean. It doesn’t hurt and nothing gets left behind. It is so much fun to remove, that I think I would wear it even if I didn’t like it. The main positive point for me really is the lack of any smudging or flaking. That being said, it can sometimes get a little sticky by the end of the day, and if you are fortunate enough to get a little cat-nap during the day, be sure to sleep on your back, or your eyelashes will fuse together into one giant wonder-lash - an eyelash that lifts weights and bullies all your other eyelashes. And nobody wants that.

My final conclusion is a mixed one - I do like it a lot, but I have also found another that I like even more, although I do have to deal a little bit with the smudging since I refuse to wear waterproof. This one is also by L'oreal, called L'oreal Double Extend Mascara. It doesn't work using the tubes technology, but it gives you beautiful, long lashes. The other day in the car, Missy turned to me and asked if I was wearing my beloved Beauty Tubes, because she said my lashes looked really good. But it wasn't the Tubes, it was the Double Extend. I can't ever decide on any given day which I will wear - ultimately my decision is made by what I'll be doing that day - do I have the time to deal with smudging or not?

Which brings me to what you've been waiting for: Our giveaway this week will be one L'oreal Beauty Tubes Mascara! We have decided to do things a little differently this time. In lieu of an e-mail entry, please just leave a comment on this post expressing your desire to enter the giveaway. Now, to reward those of you who have made it this far, we'll also be giving away a Maybelline Shiny•Licious Lipgloss - Missy's rave review from last week. We'll be taking entries via comments for the lipgloss as well, but please leave your comments on Missy's review post. Contest will run through 5:00pm CST, Thursday evening. Again, thanks to all of you for reading, and good luck!

**This giveaway is now closed! Thanks for entering!**