Miss M is serious about mascara, and I mean serious. Even though she was blessed with the longest natural lashes that I have ever seen on a person, she will buy any product that promises to volumize, lengthen or enhance them. You would be hard pressed to find a mascara that she hasn’t tried.
Splurge. Diorshow New Look Mascara ($29) has a special brush head that is tapered at the end. The brush’s shape is designed to grab and lengthen all of your lashes, especially the tiny lashes hiding in the inner and outer corners.
I talked to a handful of women who tried this product and they all agreed on one thing: The product it great. That is, until the clumping starts.
Everyone I asked about the product had the same problem, a few weeks after buying the mascara, the formula began to clump. The clumps would gum up the tube, gum up the brush and gum up their lashes. We all know that mascara has a shelf life (replace mascara every three months), but it isn’t that short.
Save. A few weeks ago, Miss M was sitting in a client meeting when the woman attending the meeting called a halt to the conversation. At first, M thought that she might have said something wrong, but the reason for the pause was that the client was desperate to know what mascara she was wearing.
That mascara was Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes ($5).
Designed with a tapered brush head, the product is built to enhance every lash. Personally, I like to mix the product with my regular mascara by applying a single coat of Lots of Lashes, allowing that to dry, and then, applying a coat of volumizing mascara over it. I like Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion Mascara ($7).
And there you have it. When it comes to mascara, it is sometimes better to save than splurge.
Maybelline's Great Lash Lots of Lashes is surprisingly amazing. I am a BzzAgent (bzzagent.com – it is a program that will provide participants with free or reduced-cost items in exchange for HONEST product reviews on their site, online merchants that have the product, social media, blogs, etc) and I received this product to test. I'm a bit of a mascara novice–I only used it occasionally and rarely used black. (I really like Almay's Raisin Quartz–it was sort of a plum color, but it was not at all garish.) I played with Lots of Lashes and have come to enjoy it; it has a good formula, not too thick, and it definitely does make it easier to get to the smaller inner and outer lashes, as well as the lower lash-line. I've never splurged on mascara (it has to be replaced sooo often) so I can't say how it stacks up to the pricey competition but I love it.
A great low-price mascara is L'Oreal Volumizing. The makeup artist I go to swears by it over the pricier brands. For the summer, lash-tinting is also a fabulous way to go; it's great for vacation and is basically like waking up with mascara on every day.
I've heard some good things about lash tinting. But, is it true that it makes your eyelashes fall out quicker?
This is a great post, thank you!
But on the side – I would be incredibly pissed if someone did that to me in a meeting, especially during a presentation or a comment. Compliments are all well and good, but that is definitely not the time. Unless her presentation was on makeup. Is this just me?
I love Dior mascaras like none other, but since I've been feeling the recession in my beauty budget lately I JUST last week bought Great Lash Lots of Lashes on a whim. I'll vouch for it too- the brush doesn't feel as gentle as Dior, but the formula holds up well, minimal clumping and easy to brush out if you catch it immediately, doesn't irritate my contacts, and makes my invisible redhead lashes look GAWgeous.
@Monica – I also agree that it was inappropriate to interrupt that way. Ask after the presentation! Why are you paying soooo much attention to the presenter's lashes (fab or not) that you cannot help but gush about it? I think it is rude and kind of belittles the presenter's hard work. Just grab her afterwards and say, “I couldn't help but notice that your mascara looks great! May I ask who/what you're wearing?”
@B — I can only speak to my own experience, but I've never experienced any problems wish lashes falling out quicker after tinting.
I thought of this post after seeing this tip on mascara preservation on pinterest. (I'm with Miss M, personally.)
https://pinterest.com/pin/9640586672334548/
The best splurge mascara my friends and I have ever used in Lancome! SO worth it because it never clumps and lasts a long time.
Definitely with you on the maybelline mascara- after buying a waterproof one from The Body Shop that just would not come off (at all) I opted for lash tinting & basic mascara for my trip to Fiji. My only complaint is that in NZD this came to $26 which is ridiculous given the exchange rate is not that far apart! If only it were really a save here. I won't buy Rimmel again – that one cost $14 and was clumpy right from the start!
First off – just have to tell you how much I love this blog.
Now on to the other stuff.
I use the Dior mascara and have not had issues with it at all. I also use the primer. To me, it's totally worth the money.
I forgot to check back for the answer to my question and just remembered!
One more question: Does eyelash tinting add any kind of length or volume to your lashes? Or is it simply dying your lashes darker?
In most of your blog posts, as in this one, you use the phrase, “Personally, I…” Or something similar. This is bad writing. “Personally” and “I” are redundant. In this posting, “personally” is serving no useful linguistic purpose. Your writing would be stronger if you just started sentences with “I” rather than being redundant.