Bargain Beauty Find: Cargo Lash Activator Review

A little while ago I noticed that having stopped using Rapidlash some months ago my eyelashes have gone back to their original lenght (ie they are very short), so when I noticed a shelf with reduced products in Boots, I decided to try out Cargo Last Activator mascara.

Unlike Rapidlash this is not a serum, but an actual black mascara that you can use on its own or under your regular mascara. It is supposed to "promote lash vitality", which I understand as help make your lashes longer and stronger.

I have been using it in conjunction with Rapidlash, on its own without another mascara on top. It has a long wand with a very flexible brush head and plastic spikes. They separate my lashes well. The formula is a little show drying and it smudges on me if there is much humidity in the air, I often have to wipe it from under my eyes. It's not too bad, but certainly not as good as my favourite mascaras from Guerlain (Le 2 and Noir G) and Givenchy (Phenom'eyes). It's an okay formula, but doesn't curl my lashes at all, and it doesn't really make them look very full or long. Okay, I know, it's not a miracle worker, but still.

I can't really comment on whether it has helped with the growth of my lashes as I've only been using it for about 3 weeks and I'm using it with Rapidlash, but my lashes haven't been falling out and they do look a little longer than when I started using it.

I was very lucky to have picked this up for £2.50 because it actually retails for £20 (it was up on the Boots website when I last looked but it isn't right now), but maybe that particular branch was not carrying the Cargo line anymore. To be honest, I'd say it's a good mascara for £2.50, but not for £20. I certainly wouldn't pay full price for it. If I wanted to spend £20 on a mascara I'd buy a Givenchy Phenomen'eyes mascara or a refill for my Guerlain Noir G mascara.

I haven't included any pictures of me wearing this on my lashes, but basically every eye look I've done in the past 2 weeks will have featured it, so take a look at my previous posts.

See more pictures after the jump!

Where Did My Eyelashes Go, RapidLash?

So a couple of months ago I wrote a post on how great my eyelashes were looking after 3 months of using Rapidlash. Sadly, that was in the past. I noticed a few weeks ago while taking off my make up at night that my nice long eyelashes started to fall out. Some nights as many as 4-5 ended up in the sink to my horror. And this is how my eyelashes are looking now (well on the 18th February to be precise):

While they are still longer and thicker than they were when I initially started using RapidLash, they are nowehere near how they were after 3 months of usage. Here it is for comparison:

I know eyelashes fall out and re-grow all the time, but I was expecting to see so many fall out at once. I also found that more fell out from my right eye than left one, so my eyelashes are looking a bit silly at the moment. Not a massive difference, but I can definitely see it. So why did it happen? I have no idea. I'm also not sure if I should continue using RapidLash or not. At one point I was scared all my eyelashes will fall out, although luckily they didn't and I noticed I had lots of new stumpy ones instead of the long ones. But the thing is, I don't really want to end up with wonky eyelashes in another 3-4 months' time. Also having to fork out £41 on a tube that gave me longer eyelashes for a few months, just to be back to square 1 (okay, 2), is not really great. I thought once I've achieved a nice length and thickness, I can maintain it with 2-3 applications a week, but now I have to do it daily again to re-grow my new stumpy lashes. While I'm not keen on going back to my original lashes (they do look tiny in the comparison photos), I'm also not happy to have to go through losing and re-growing my lashes every 4-5 months. Sigh.

Has this happened to anyone else? Let me know in the comments!

See more photos after the jump!

2011's Favourite Products: Part 4 - Skincare

This is the last part of my favourites post for this year, and this one contains skincare. As I'm getting older and wearing more make up than a few years ago, I'm trying to take care of my skin better. I used to go to bed without taking off my mascara and used not to own any make up remover just a few years ago (I know, shock horror!), and I also didn't use any face creams at all. Of course that was a while ago and now my bathroom cabinet is full of skincare products. So let's see which ones I really liked this year. By the way I have reviewed most of these products before, so I will link them to the more detailed reviews.

First off, make up remover. My go to make up remover used to be Estee Lauder's Gentle Eye Make Up Remover, but I have discovered an even better one which is Clinique Take The Day Off Make Up Remover and I can happily say this is my new favourite. The Estee Lauder one doesn't remove waterproof mascara and neither does this, but it removes regular make up much more quickly. I use Lancome Bi-Facil for waterproof mascara that I only wear very occasionally, so for my everyday needs this is perfect.

Keep reading to find out which other skincare products I loved this year!

The RapidLash Challenge 3 Months On - This Stuff Actually Works!

Okay, I take it back, this stuff does actually work. I can now see real difference in my lashes after 3 months of RapidLash use. Not only my eyelashes are significantly longer that they were, but also thicker, so they show up more, especially my lower lashes. Although I'm pretty sure I'd never want to leave the house without mascara because I still don't have a proper full, luscious lashline and I don't think I'll ever have, plus my lashes are quite light and don't frame my eyes properly. I think maybe if I had then tinted, I would be okay with going mascaraless, but otherwise I will still stick to wearing mascara every day. I am happy with the results though.

I do have one criticism, the name RapidLash is really quite misleading and has actually made me be disappointed early on in the process. If it takes 3 months to see proper results, then this product is not rapid. I'd call it Moderately-QuickLash, but I do realise it doesn't have the same ring to it. I do also need to add that for the past 4 weeks I've also been using L'Oreal Lash Renewal Serum in conjunction with RapidLash, but to be fair I don't think the improvement is do to the L'Oreal serum because I have used that in the past and it didn't do anything for me. But since I still have half a tube left I thought I'd try it with RapidLash.

I still have some left in the RapidLash tube, not sure how long it will last, and I'm also not sure if I will repurchase it. Do you actually have to keep using it to maintain the length of your lashes? I will buy it if I have to, but I might reduce usage to every other day since it costs £41 and that is quite a lot of money.

Okay, you wanna see the astonishing results (well, sort of)? Keep reading after the jump!

The RapidLash Challenge Day 56 - The Results

8 weeks ago I started using RapidLash in a bid to try and get my thin, short, sparse eyelashes look better, and here are the results so far. I was hoping to end up with lashes that would look okay without mascara, because at the moment I always wear mascara as my eyes have no definition without them. I wasn't expecting to have lashes that look like I'm wearing loads of mascara, just long and thick enough not to scare young children or be asked if I feel okay because I look ill if I don't wear any.

The result? I can certainly see that my lashes are longer, this is especially apparent when I'm wearing mascara. However, when not wearing mascara, my eyes still lack the definition that I was hoping for. Yes, my lashes are a bit longer, but they are still thin and sparse and not that visible naked. I still wouldn't leave the house without wearing mascara, and to be honest, I don't think I ever will.

So yes, there is some improvement, but in my opinion it is not £41 worth of improvement. My lower lashline is stilll barely there, despite using RapidLash on the lower lashes too. I will continue using the product because I would be mad to throw it out at that price, and will report back in another 4 weeks or so. But for now I would say it's not worth the money, at least not for me.

Keep reading to see lots of comparison pictures after the jump!

The RapidLash Challenge Day 29

It's been 4 weeks since I started using Rapidlash, a lash enhancing serum, and I have some pictures to show you. Unfortunately there has been almost no visible improvements to my lashes (I can see some longer lashes, but that's all), although it did say on the instructions that you're supposed to see improvements after about 8 weeks (and that leaves me with the question, why is Rapidlash called Rapidlash, since there is nothing rapid about it, but anyway). So far I am still sceptical, but haven't given up hope that one day I will have nice, long, lush eyelashes.

I'm not posting comparison pictures this time as I said there's no point, but if you want to see what my lashes looked like originally, check out this post. I will however do a proper comparison post in another 4 weeks time. For now, see how my lashes are looking after 4 weeks of using Rapidlash after the jump!

The RapidLash Challenge Day 1

Thanks (or no thanks, we'll see) to Claire at Eyelining Obsessions I've decided to spend silly money on a lash enhancing serum. You see I have tiny, thin, short, nothing little eyelashes. I wear mascara and eyeliner all the time, because my eyes don't have any definition. So since Claire mentioned that RapidLash has worked very well for her, I thought I'd give it a go myself. I'm not expecting miracles, but it would be nice if I could have a tiny bit longer and thicker eyelashes. I will always want to wear mascara, I can't see such a dramatic result happening that I wouldn't, but nice long thick lashes would be lovely.

I am starting an 8 week challenge (according to RapidLash that's when you can expect to see improvements), and I have taken photos of my bare eyelashes to compare with in a few weeks time to see if there are any changes. In the meantime, let me know in the comments if you have used RapidLash, or any other lash enhancing products and how they worked out (or not as it may be the case) for you!

See some naked pictures of my eyes after the jump. You have been warned though, proceed with caution, my eyes are not a pretty sight without make up!