Strawberry Flavored Disappointment

So we were at Walmart in the checkout line when I saw these cute little packages with cows on them and the phrase, "got milk?" I asked Dom what they were and the checkout girl over heard us and replied excitedly, "Oh, those are straws that flavor your milk!"

What? Hold, please. I will drink anything out of a straw. You could combine battery acid and purple Kool-Aid (which I hate) into a cocktail with bugs frozen inside of ice cubes, and if you put a crazy straw in it chances are high that I would drink it. Straws just make everything taste better, particularly drinks that you wouldn't normally drink through a straw, like milk. Add to this already magical straw ability to make everything taste better the power of flavoring and you have a very excited Lana.

Unfortunately, some things really are too good to be true and this is one of them. The packaging is cute and each one contains about 4 or 5 straws.

The straws themselves are clear with little sugary balls inside of them. As far as I know, there are only chocolate and strawberry flavoring. I LOVE strawberry milk, so I chose that flavor. The straws are pinched in at each end so the little balls can't escape. You just place them into the milk and drink normally.

For about 1.3 seconds, I was in strawberry heaven. Then there was only disappointment and sadness. Drinking through these straws goes like this: *sip* WOW! My mouth is experiencing an explosion of strawberry glory... oh... no... wait, now it's just milk. How depressing.

This was one of those products I so dearly wanted to love, but alas, it doesn't work very well at all. The beads evaporate after just a few sips, too. The worst part is, it kind of sucks as a normal straw. Oh, well. At $1.99 it's no great loss, but I definitely wouldn't say it was worth it.

Hello, world! For my first post, I thought I'd start off talking about my new obsession as of late: false eyelashes. I wore falsies quite often years ago, and back then I used Revlon and KISS lashes almost exclusively. I don't remember particularly positive experiences with either brand, so this time around I decided to try something different.

I've seen some positive reviews of false lashes purchased from eBay both on Youtube and in the blogosphere so, being the cheapskate that I am, I decided to try it out. I like buying recurrent-use products in bulk when possible, and I was amazed at some of the steals available through online suppliers! You can buy 50 sets of lashes for well under $10, but I decided to try them out in a smaller quantity. 

I found a set of 10 lashes for $1.77 from an online seller on eBay with FREE shipping! Free is my favorite word, so even though I was doubtful about the quality, I decided to give it a shot. After all, that's a lot of lashes for less than the cost of doing a load of laundry! Fortunately, I was not disappointed. 

The seller I chose is located in China, but they ship internationally (US only, sorry Canadians! I know there are other similar sellers who ship to the UK and Canada, though! :) I purchased these lashes in the more modest 121 style, though I'd like to try out some of the bolder lashes next time:

http://ow.ly/gfzzS 

As you can see, the box has Chinese writing and I haven't a clue what it says, so if anyone knows the brand, please tell me in the comments! My first impression of the lashes was that they were, indeed, a very simple style, which suits me fine. The quality is fairly decent. They're definitely synthetic and the texture is a bit stiff, but it really doesn't matter once they're on. 

TIP: Each lash does come with a bit of extra plastic strip on each end to keep them in the box, so you'll want to snip those off with some nail scissors before applying.

I purchased the Salon Perfect Perfect Strip Eyelash Adhesive to apply them as the lashes don't come with any adhesive. I was in a rush since Dom wasn't feeling well and we were eager to get home, so I just grabbed the first, cheapest product I saw and I really got lucky! For $2.98 at Walmart (I'm sure you can find this brand at CVS or any regular drugstore, too) this adhesive is very high quality! 

It's a creamy opaque white liquid which had me worried at first. I've had bad experiences with white adhesive drying poorly and leaving behind tacky residue, but this stuff works like a dream. It dries completely clear, it isn't overly tacky and so far it's held the lashes on extremely well. It works great and, at the price, it's a steal! I'll definitely be purchasing again.

Here's a quick before picture to show what my lashes look with mascara only:

As you can see, they're pretty long/thick as it is. However, falsies give that added fullness for a dolly look that no mascara can match. I've learned that the hard way. Here's what my lashes looked like after, with falsies, eyeliner and mascara from the same day as the above photo:

 UGH, the one closed-eye shot I got and the tip of one of the lashes wasn't glued. Oh well! That was my problem, not applying glue to that one edge and had nothing to do with the lashes. It was an easy fix. : )

I really like the effect the lashes give to the overall look. They're very subtle but definitely give the eyes some added "oomph". Even my fiancee, who is very skeptical of all my girly makeup and beauty regimens, noticed the difference. "Wait, are you wearing those lashes? Wow, they actually look really natural!" 

As she pointed out, the lashes are as long as my natural ones already, so if you have shorter lashes, you'll notice a difference in length but for us long lashed gals, not so much. They are quite a boost in volume, though! The curl is nice, too. I didn't even have to use a curler on them to get them to follow the shape of my natural lashes.

For $1.77, no complaints here! I definitely want to try out some more styles and maybe branch out into a few drugstore brands. I've heard good things about ModLash, Ardell and Dolly Wink, though I believe those are a good deal more expensive. Who knows, with such positive results, maybe I'll be adventurous!

Have you purchased false lashes from eBay or another online seller? Any positive (or negative) experiences or recommendations? Let me know in the comments!

~xoXkissesXox~
  
Lana