mascara talk — to save or splurge?
If there’s one beauty product that you should replace often, it’s mascara. We actually have living mites on our beautiful little lashes, so it’s good to change up your mascara every 3-6 months. This will help you avoid building up bacteria that can potentially lead to infection. But with so many mascaras on the market, ranging from 5 to 30 dollars, is it worth it to pay the extra? Or not because it’s something you have to replace so often? I decided to take a look for myself.
I picked three different mascaras all ranging somewhere along the price scale. First we’ve got the classic Maybelline’s Great Lash, followed by L’Oreal’s Voluminous False Fiber Lash, and lastly, Mac’s new Haute & Naughty too black lash.
Let’s start with the cheapest, Maybelline’s Great Lash, retailing in at a mere five bucks. The classic little pink case that your big sister was allowed to have before you. It’s got a custom curl brush to glide on the product smoothly. Shaped brushes seem to help life and curl lashes for thickness. The ingredients include water, beeswax, shellac as well as some other common chemicals. It doesn’t give great volume, but the custom curl brush is easy to use. I’d recommend it for anyone just starting out or not looking to spend a lot.
Next we have L’Oreal’s Voluminous False Fiber Lash. Retailing at a little over 9 dollars, it’s a bit of a price jump. Based off my own test run, and some research, this mascara seems to clump a lot. The brush is pretty ordinary and doesn’t seem to do anything special in regards to it’s volumizing claims. Ingredients include water, beeswax, and surfactants such as potassium cetyl phosphate. The upside to the ingredients in this mascara is that it doesn’t seem to have shellac, which is usually derived from animals and a common allergen for some people. The package says it’s allergy tested. So if you’ve got an allergy it’s probably worth the price jump to get something that won’t irritate you.
Lastly we have Mac’s new Haute & Naughty Too Black Lash. Retailing at a little over 20 dollars, I picked up this product last week and was intrigued by the dual lash system. It has a pink brush for a lighter look and a sparkly purple brush for a heavier coat of the product. The dual system is easy to use, and does look different upon application. The product goes on really well and doesn’t clump. As far as ingredients go, in addition to having water and similar binding chemicals like the others, the Mac mascara contains Panthenol and Acacia Senegal gum. The Panthenol is a provitamin of B5 and usually appears in hair moisturizers and humectants due to its ability to bind to the shaft and create a seal. The Acacia Senegal gum is a natural gum derived from the sap of the acacia tree. It’s used as an adhesive for pigments in many makeup products. Sounds good right?! The downside? In the entirety of this mascara, these two probably take up around 1% or less of it’s total composition. Chemically, that’s not enough to do much of anything.
Conclusion? If we’re talking about the science, these products are virtually the same. So initially you’d say why pay more for the same chemical compound? But what I think you’re paying for when it comes to mascara is the brush. The application process and shape of the bristles has a lot to do with how the product goes on. I think it’s worth paying extra for a better applicator because the end result will be more desirable. It’s especially important to take the small price increase if you know you have allergies.
In the end, it’s up to you. Chemically, you’re not really getting anything different. So if you know how to make miracles with a five dollar brush, then by all means, work your magic mama!
xx
pearl necklace by Lex & Mila
black sheer block dress by Lex & Mila
Great explanation. Though I think the ingredients do matter. I bought this “organic” mascara from Barney’s NYC. Very pricey, but my lashes don’t fall out as easily as they use to & they stay thicker. Same with dior’s mascara!
I have dior’s mascara & while i love the product… I HATE the brush
I literally have all of those (and more). I love finding the BEST and I happen to really love Haute and Naughty, as well as DiorShow and Benefit’s new mascara! will you be doing a favorite eyeliner soon??
XO Sahra
EffortlessCool
my ex’s bff’s gf worked at a drugstore and she always gave me free mascaras… i remember she gave me a bunch of packs of l’oreal’s mascara (the one you reviewed)… honestly, i found it dry and it did not do anything to my lashes. i was glad i didn’t pay for it haha
i used to use benefit mascara but ever since i tried diorshow, i’m in love. i use the one in the blue tube (diorshow) if i want more natural and volumized lashes and i use the one in the silver tube (diorshow iconic) for super long lashes… it actually makes my lashes look like fake lashes!!! diorshow iconic is really good because it doesn’t clump and it doesn’t smudge.
mac’s opulash optimum black was a favourite for years too. it is similar to diorshow (blue tube) but i think it’s cheaper
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YES! Honestly that’s the one I recommend the least!! L’oreal is lame!
I actually have Diorshow too! And while I love the product… I find the brush to be a bit weak and small? Don’t you agree. maybe that’s because i’m used to mac and bad gal lash…
I love great lash by Maybelline and for the price it is the best mascara you can get on the market . Though, I must admit I have recently become a mascara wearer of Napoleons Mascara. It is on the higher end about $25 but it goes back to what you mentioned and that is I think your right that you pay more for the application of the brush. Napoleon Mascara brush does work great and makes your lashes look so long that there’s no considering wearing fake eye lashes ever again if you own this product.
Lancome Hypnose Drama <3 even though the brush is really difficult to use. I tried diorshow but I feel like switching back to Lancome, I love my eyelashes to be very dramatic.
Your hair is really white now!!! Aveda is just the best, I'm sure that with any other colour your hair would be way too damaged by now :) Looks amazing!
I’ve never tried Lancome! How much does it run for?
No idea how much it is in the US, but here it’s about the same league as dior and mac… You should deffo try it, it’s awesome!
Another option, which I have tried out, is lash extensions (a good friend of mine knows how to do them, so I get them for free, yay!). Basically it’s just glueing one fake lash to each and every single lash on your own eye (only to upper lids though). There’s this special glue for doing that and it takes approx. 2-2,5 hours for application. Taking care of them is supah easy, you just need to brush them once a day with a little comb and avoid sleeping with your face in the pillow :D They fall out with your own lashes, so throughout two weeks they look nice, then the technician should replace the outgrown ones and apply new, but it takes about an hour then, since you already have most of the lashes left. You can choose whether you want to elongate the lashes & let the technician apply longer ones (though longer than 13mm is not advised, imho it looks ridiculous then) or add some volume by applying shorter ones… I think they’re pretty nice, you look good without any makeup at all then aswell, since lashes really add a lot to a girl (though when I g out, I do add some accent to the lower lashes with my Lancome Doll Eyes mascara, love that thing!).
Haha, OMG, I’m like an expert on lash extensions :D It’s a pretty common thing in Estonia and Finland by now, don’t know about other countries though…
Doesn’t it rip out your lashes in the long run?
I think it really depends… I have naturally nice lashes, so even when I had a little break from the extensions, people thought I still had them on. Yet a friend of mine who has them aswell keeps having trouble with them, since they fall off so quickly with her own lashes… I think the most reasonable way here is just to take breaks from having them, after say five months, let them just fall out & give a few weeks time for your own lashes to breathe. And you deffinetly need a good technician applying them, I’ve seen some pretty bad work around, like multiple fake lashes glued to just one natural lash, now that’s just wrong and too heavy for your own lash!
I just got mine done & they look superb, no need for any make up in the eye area tonight, since they look stunning on their own <3
LOVED this review, love the scientific element to it the most.
thank you, i’m big into chemistry so i’ve found it pretty easy to read and research product labels
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