Modesty Brown: budget

A couple of weeks ago I popped into Boots on a mission to buy a new mascara and concealer. My intention was to pick up old faithful Max Factor Masterpiece Max and the Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer but neither was available in the shades I needed. This threw me somewhat, I'm terrible at making decisions in store especially when I'm accompanied by the whole family (I'm sure you can imagine how much my husband and 3 children love browsing the makeup aisles!). So, in my haste to pick something and get out of there, I bought Maybelline The Falsies Flared in Black and the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer in Light 2.

Buying in a rush is usually a recipe for disaster but I'm very pleased to report that both of these products have been good budget finds. I was especially pleased about the Maybelline The Falsies Flared as the packaging prevented me from checking the wand first.

The brush is quite large but not so big that I end up with blobs everywhere, it also has slighty curved 'banana' shape. What I particularly like about this mascara is that it's very black and does a good job of winging the lashes out on the outer corner of my eyes. I have small eyes and puny lashes, so the winging out is good for making my eyes appear bigger. My lashes don't feel as flexible as they do with something like Hourglass Film Noir but the formula isn't brittle or flaky either.

I do have one minor grumble and that is the fragrance. I seem to recall my Maybelline Lash Stiletto was similarly scented. It's not an especially nice scent and my nose says nappy cream for some reason. Personally, I dislike the practise of adding fragrance to products like mascara as it is likely to mask the smell of contamination. Anyway, moving on...

I tend not to look at the Collection stand very often. Collection 2000, as it was, is a brand that I associate with my teenage years and not my 30-something self. However, I've seen this concealer used on Pixiwoo videos a few times and I was intrigued to see how I'd get on with it. It comes in a selection of four shades and I chose Light 2.

It has a doe-foot applicator which I use to dot the concealer on and then pat it in with my fingers. It has a liquid consistency not dissimilar to MAC Select Moisturecover and I find it easy to blend. It gives good undereye coverage, especially if I push it gently into the skin rather than rub from side to side. I also use this around my nose to cover winter redness. I don't find it lasts all day despite the 16 hour claims however, I do think it lasts better than some of my other concealers and I haven't noticed any creasing.