Mascara Madness!

Hey Beauties!

Mascara! It plumps, lengthens, colors and makes your eyes look alive! It comes with all kinds of brushes: skinny, fat, round, vibrating, rubber, plastic or bristled. It can cost $5 or it can cost $50. It is a makeup must-have!! The biggest problem is find the perfect one (or more!)...piece of cake! Riiiight. Mascara, like all makeup, is very subjective, and this blog is strictly my humble opinion, so you may totally disagree with me and your best friend as to which is perfect...add your views to the comments below!

I have a small pile of mascaras here, both purchased and samples, so I did some mini reviews of them using the same criteria for each (how scientific of me!).

First I'll list the name, the type of brush, waterproof or regular formula, color, and volumizing, lengthening or curling formula. Then I will rate each one based on the following qualities:

Did it stay put (STAY PUT) all day?

Was it clumpy (CLUMP) going on and require combing out?

Did it keep my lashes curled (CURL) or straighten them out?

Did it volumize/lengthen/curl (PERFORMANCE) per the advertising claims?

How easily is it (REMOVE) removed?

I'll also include NOTES about my experience.

Ready, set, GO!

Bare Escentuals Buxom Lash: Large diameter rubber bristle brush, regular formula, black, volumizing formula.

STAY PUT? A

CLUMP? A+

CURL? B

PERFORMANCE? A

REMOVE? A

NOTES: This mascara would be my favorite non-waterproof. I totally love the big fine bristled rubber brush...I never have to de-clump. It does undo the curl in my lashes just a bit, but not totally.

Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara: Curved, tapered traditional bristle brush, regular formula, black, curling formula.

STAY PUT? A

CLUMP? C

CURL? B

PERFORMANCE? C

REMOVE? B

NOTES: I tested the curling performance by curling the lashes of one eye and not the other before applying the mascara. The pre-curled lashes only lost a small amount of curl and they stayed that way all day. The uncurled lashes didn't curl much and only unevenly. I would say that if you want curled lashes, buy a Shu Uemura lash curler at Sephora.com. This mascara sort of came off in crumbs...and not all at once, so even though it wasn't waterproof, I had to use eye makeup remover to get the remainder off. I didn't get a lot of clumps, but I did comb out the lashes to make them look better.

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara: Large diameter, tapered traditional brush, regular formula, Black, volumizing formula.

STAY PUT? A

CLUMP? F

CURL? F

PERFORMANCE? D

REMOVE? B

NOTES: I'm not exactly sure what volume and lifting mascara is supposed to do, but it made a clumpy mess of my lashes and straightened out my lashes completely. Yuck.

Benefit Bad Gal: Large tapered traditional bristle brush, regular formula, plum, volumizing.

STAY PUT? A

CLUMP? B

CURL? B

PERFORMANCE? B

REMOVE? B

NOTES: I got this because I wanted to try out a plum mascara to see if it would make my eye color pop. It didn't exactly do that, but it is dark enough for my lashes. Being a large traditional brush, it didn't surprise me that it clumped a bit, but it did some volumizing, didn't obliterate the curl and was easy enough to remove. I like to use it once in a while for the plum color, but it isn't a formula to use everyday. Meh...

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Vibrating Mascara: Narrow plastic bristle battery powered vibrating brush, regular formula, blackest black, defining formula.

STAY PUT? B

CLUMP? B

CURL? F

PERFORMANCE? D

REMOVE? B

NOTES: Is it really necessary to have a vibrating mascara wand?? I mean, isn't wiggling the brush back and forth manually enough? I guess somebody thought it wasn't. Well, save your money on this one. The plastic brush is one of the worst type of brushes second only to the comb versions. The color is fine, but it started to flake late in the day, didn't define much and I still can't figure out what good the vibrating is. Only the last third of the brush vibrates anyway. Pass.

Smashbox Lash DNA Mascara: Very large twisted double-helix style traditional bristle brush, regular formula, jet black color, lengthening/defining.

STAY PUT? C

CLUMP? F

CURL? F

PERFORMANCE? F

REMOVE? A

NOTES: This has the biggest mascara brush I've ever seen, and I use Lash Blast! It is also the worst brush I've ever used. It is so big that it is impossible to get to the lashes at the corners without smearing it on your face...it is awful to maneuver! Also related to the brush, it clumps everywhere, completely straightened my lashes, and certainly didn't lengthen or define anything. I love love love Smashbox, but I hate hate hate this mascara. Sorry.

Cover Girl Lash Blast: Large diameter rubber bristle brush, waterproof, Very Black, volumizing formula.

STAY PUT? A+

CLUMP? A+

CURL? A+

PERFORMANCE? A

REMOVE? B

NOTES: This is my HG mascara! It makes my lashes very black, very full, keeps them curled and stays put all day (and all night if you forget to take it off!!). It does require waterproof eye makeup remover, but I've found 2 brands that whisk it right off: Mary Kay Non-Oily Eye Makeup Remover and Make Up For Ever Sens' Eyes Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover.

Cover Girl Lash Blast Length: Long narrow rubber bristle brush, regular formula, very black, lengthening formula.

STAY PUT? A

CLUMP? A+

CURL? B

PERFORMANCE? A

REMOVE? A

NOTES: This is a brand new addition to the Lash Blast family, and it lives up to its pedigree. It does for length what Lash Blast does for volume. It is a regular formula, so the curl relaxed a bit more than I would like, but it really made my lashes LONG! It comes off just fine and never clumps. I have a new secret: I curl my lashes, use Lash Blast Length, then top it with Lash Blast Waterproof...woohoo! My lashes look like falsies!!

Smashbox Bionic: Medium sized tapered traditional bristle brush, regular formula, black violet, lengthening/volumizing formula.

STAY PUT? A

CLUMP? A-

CURL? B

PERFORMANCE? A

REMOVE? A

NOTES: I like the color of this mascara...deep purple, dark enough for my dark lashes. It didn't flake until late in the day, didn't clump much, but it also didn't do much for my lashes either. No extra length and not much volumizing. Kinda mediocre, but I will use it for casual wear.

There are hundreds of mascaras out there, so this is just a drop in the bucket. I didn't get smudging from any of them, but I keep my eye area oil free which keeps that from happening. If you have comments about the mascaras listed here, or anything else in fact, be sure to add them below!! I'd love to hear what you think!

Until next time, Stay Beautiful!

Suz