I’ve tried hundreds of mascaras over the years, in the pursuit of perfect lashes and will no doubt carry on that tradition/ search as more and more new and exciting looking ones are launched on to the market! Mascara’s one of those seemingly little things that can actually make or break a whole makeup! Before now, I’ve actually finished my makeup, feeling pretty damn happy with it, only to ruin an otherwise completed eye look with a disappointing, bellow average preforming and often overly hyped mascara…UGH!
Anyway…I’m always happy to give something new a go, however, I am very picky when it comes to mascara and once I’ve found something that works for me (similar to how I feel about many other products too!), it does take a lot to turn my attention to an alternative. Apart from the trial of others in between (some good, some indifferent, some really bad!), there has been, for the last year or two, three consistent makeup bag mascara inhabitants, that I reach for time and time again and give me perfect lashes. I’ll detail each bellow, in no particular order, with a quick why I like them and how I use them.
So the first mascara is the Upward Lash Mascara in Upward Black from MAC Cosmetics (Available direct from MAC). This one is the newest launch of the three (although it has been out well over a year at this stage) and I absolutely love it! I was convinced I wasn’t going to like this one…I’m not generally the biggest fan of moulded mascara wands, however, with Upward Lash, it was love at first use!
The Upward Lash mascara has a small, moulded brush and apart from its small size, what makes it different to others, is the wand itself, it has a hollow centre. This means that a large ‘reservoir’ of mascara is retained within it and deposits, during application, a decent amount of product right down to the lash root before it’s combed through, giving a generous volume to the lashes and a dense, black lash line. With the compact size of the brush allowing you to reach even the smallest of lashes, lashes appear altogether fuller and almost multiplied, it finds lashes you didn’t think you had! This mascara also pushes the lashes up from the root. Curling and maintaining a curl (which all three of these have in common and actually manage to do, even on my pretty straight lashes!) is the main thing I personally look for in a mascara and this delivers as well as giving great volume and length, perfect! This one is a great all rounder and I use it on my top and bottom lashes, for all day wear, lash lift and a smudge proof finish.
The second of my current favourite mascaras is the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara in Black (Available at Debenhams*). This one is much hyped, I’d be very surprised if you haven’t heard of it (and probably tried it) by now, but it does live up to the hype/ Too Faced claims, I’m a big fan!
The Better Than Sex mascara has a gorgeous big, fluffy and hourglass shaped bristle brush (which I do normally favour) and this does result in a similar big, fluffy and full lash look. It’s collagen infused, so keeps the lashes hydrated and soft, doesn’t make them go crispy. This is another important feature of a good mascara for me. It lengthens, thickens and is the deepest black shade. Too Faced say it’s smudge-proof and delivers all day wear, which for the top lashes, I would completely agree with, but in my opinion (it may be just me/ my skin under the eyes etc, as I see countless others applying it on to lower lashes) it does transfer slightly from my lower lashes (which many mascaras, even the better ones, do) on to my cheek. But this is something I can overlook, partly because other than that, this is a beautiful mascara, but also because of my next choice!
That leads me seamlessly (or not…ha ha) to my final choice, another from MAC Cosmetics, the Extended Play Mascara in Endlessly Black (Available direct from MAC). Although I do use this on my top and bottom lashes, it’s my bottom lash hero mascara and I most frequently use it on my bottom lashes, along side either of my other favourites up top.
It boasts a very petite bristled brush, that is amazing for reaching every single lash and really getting in there to the root. The petite brush gives a more controlled application, one of the main reasons it’s brilliantly suited to lower lashes, as a larger brush can often smudge and you end up with more on your skin/ eye makeup than your lashes…not good! It’s formula feels lightweight and it doesn’t clump at all. It does add length and volume, but I’d say definition is it’s thing. Great for a beautiful, separated lash look. Also, the most natural of the three, if that’s what you were interested in. It’s sweat/ humidity resistant and water proof, which means it’s a great choice, not only for bottom lashes (no smudging), but for everyday wear, even to wear while you exercise or are in hotter climates. One of my favourite feature of the Extended Play Mascara is, regardless of being everything proof, it’s still effortless to remove, with no damage to your lashes (which some other waterproof/ resistant formulas can be terrible for!). It cleverly reacts to warm water, to just melt away, with no rubbing or can be removed easily with an eye makeup remover (I find Garnier Skin Naturals 2-in-1 Eye Make-Up Remover (affiliate link) works really well).
If anything changes, you’ll be the first to know, but in the mean time, these are staying put as firm favourites! Which mascaras do it for you at the moment and are there any that have slipped under my mascara radar?? Let me know!
L x
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