When it comes to the beauty industry, there are two major categories: foundations & mascaras. Think about it. You may very well leave your house without lipstick or even eye shadow, liner or blush, but do you ever leave without a layer of foundation (and in this case I use foundation loosely to include BB/ CC cream, concealer or full coverage foundation) or a swipe of mascara? I definitely do not! At the very least, on my laziest beauty day, I use a MAC select cover-up concealer or Benefit’s Fake Up to cover and blemishes and apply a few swipes of any given mascara to my top lashes so I don’t look dead. And yes, I mean dead. In addition to looking like a zombie, the difference in mascara vs no mascara is someone asking me how much longer I have in high school or what colleges I’m considering. Y’all, I have been out of high school almost 10 years. (whoa! That realization just hit me like a fast-moving semi.) So now you get it: of all the things in my beauty bag, the mascara category is totally my jam and today’s post is all about mascara reviews and me sharing my thoughts on the variety of types I have tried over 13 make-up wearing years.
My current obsession is also my latest find. In my many years working at Belk, I spent one year in cosmetics where I met my friend Allie. (Allie also has a fun blog you should follow here). Although, I am no longer working in cosmetics, Allie is and keeps me in the loop about all the newness and must haves from the likes of Dior, Chanel and Lauder. Enter Chanel Le Volume Mascara. This stuff is mascara gold! I’m totally obsessed with everything from the wand, application and stay power. It goes on so smoothly and never smudges, flakes or wears off. In fact you can’t even rely on old fashioned soap and water to get it off. I recommend a good eye-makeup remover like the one here to get it all off before washing your face.
Since we are talking about staying power, I’ll go to the next long-lasting mascara : Urban Decay Perversion. Perversion is kind of unlike any other mascara I have ever put on. It has the most plush wand and does an amazing job feathering out the lashes. The actual liquid is smooth and like I said, has major staying power (but slightly harder to get off than the Chanel).
I started out wearing MAC mascaras and was totally and completely loyal to the brand until last year when I started working in cosmetics. I have tried pretty much every mascara they have put out and have been completely obsessed with them all. My most recent purchase is the Extended Play Gigablack Lash. It comes in a smaller tube and is very light weight. It applies easily and also has a really great wand. The bristle portion is longer and allows you to coat more of the lash line at one time while covering and separating evenly. I don’t always wear mascara on the bottom lashes, but when I do I always use this one for the bottom and often another for the top. It’s weird but it works for me 🙂
Eyeko is a more recent discovery and was given to me by a friend. I was surprised to find it didn’t come in a traditional mascara tube, but a more squeezable tube. The Black Magic Mascara also comes with a guitar pick. It took me about half a minute of looking at it before I realized this was genius! While this one isn’t my go-to (yet) but have loved having the pick as my “little assistant”. Instead of using my finger to fan out or de-clump the lashes, the handy little black tool does it for me. Separate, block the lid or de-clump, it does it all and comes with every package! If you haven’t tried this brand yet, I highly recommend it.
Next up I’m going to go to Clinique’s Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara. I have it in 4 colors (yes! colors!) and I love them all!! I never ever would have dreamed of buying 4 of the same mascara but I did and I can honestly say I use them all regularly. The black is a great go-to and after being a total skeptic about the short bristle wand, I am a true believer! The short bristles actually separate your lashes and prevent clumping waaaayyyy better than other wands. The colors are just as cool! The pigment gets more intense the more you layer it on. You can wear it solo on your lashes or you can use it to tip the ends after a black base coat. While the color is totally noticable and does a great job of bringing out the other colors used in liners or shadows, it isn’t overwhelming. You can wear it to work and there’s a good chance no one will really ever notice you have purple or blue lashes.
Lastly, there’s Lancome. Lancome has a wide variety of mascaras that I haven’t had too much luck with over the years, but two have stuck for me : Grandiose & Hypnose. Both apply easily and have good consistency. It is easy to remove but sometimes has flaked or left a smudges in places from accidentally touch the eye area during the day. What I love about Grandiose is the bent wand. It allows you to get deep in the corner of the lash line to get a full coverage look. I know I’m not the only one that has struggled and shifted wand holding positions to hit them all just right so this is a great tool / pick if that struggle is real for you.
What are your favorites? Any new brands I should try?
Clinique Chubby Lash Fattening Mascara – Shades Shown: Two Ton Teal // Portly Plum // Massive Midnight // Jumbo Jet
Lancome Grandiose – Shades Available: Mon Regard Parisien, Violet, Sapphire, Bleu, Brun, Noir Mirifique
Leave a Reply