Rimmel London ScandalEyes Mascara

I'm normally so impressed with Rimmel London and have fallen in love with countless products of theirs: the Waterproof Exaggerate Liner, cheap £5.99 wonder bronzer, the Kate Moss collection... They are one of my favourite high street brands and almost always get it right. Almost.

I don't know why I was so coerced to buy this mascara, maybe because it was on Superdrug's 'Top Buy's' list or maybe because my friend uses it and her eyelashes are incredible. She must have brilliant genes because on trying this I was bitterly disappointed. Because of my loyalty to the brand I am inclined to blame it on the fact that I bought the waterproof formula as I generally find those to be worse than the originals. It didn't volumize my lashes nor really lengthen them. Of course, you can see a difference, but compared to other similar priced mascaras it just really wasn't worth it for me. It's a 'barely there' look, which isn't exactly what you're asking from with a mascara, is it? It retails for £8.99, and trust me its worth spending 2 or 3 pounds more for one from L'oreal (the Volume Millions Excess is great) or Maybelline (my second favourite apart from Benefit's They're Real)! I am debating giving the non-waterproof option another try though...

Bourjois Record Liner Gel

I admittedly had ambivalent feelings towards this liner at first. It's not the smoothest liquid/gel liner I've ever used (I think the consistency of the Maybelline one is a lot nicer) and that fact initially put me off. However, unlike most products which I love right from the start and get bored of, I slowly grew to love this liner. Though it was brave for Bourjois to advertise it as 48 hour lasting and waterproof, it definitely is just that. After British Airways decided to delay my already 13 hour flight to Hong Kong by a day and a half, I was forced to test their statement myself. When I looked in the mirror when I finally arrived at my hotel, my eyeliner was exactly how I had left it back in England. It also has a tiny brush that pops into the cap (no need to worry about losing/scrabbling for one ever again!) which is ideal as it enables you to make as thin a line as you want. Need I say more? This on-a-whim-buy has led me to the gel liner I can see myself using for the foreseeable future. I can't recommend this enough; try it and be converted.