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About a year ago, my very favorite mascara ever was discontinued. I quite literally drove around town buying up EVERY LAST AVAILABLE TUBE (all of which were on final clearance and selling for about a third of what I had been paying, which sort of made up for the whole DISCONTINUED part). But I also started to think about how, one day, I would look in the drawer and realize that I needed to find a new mascara.
That day has come, my friends.
Actually, the day came last fall, but I'm still testing new mascaras. Not so much because I can't find precisely what I'm looking for (which I can't, if you must know the truth) but because the looking is so much fun.
Because who DOESN'T love road-testing cosmetics? Oh right, lots of you. Good thing I've already done it for you! You're welcome!
Before we get to the mascaras, let me tell you a little about what I am looking for. I want a mascara that lasts all day, without smudging or flaking. When I say "all day" I mean from the time I put my makeup on (ususally about 5:15 in the morning) until I wash my face before bed (usually around 10:00 pm). I have oily skin and I wear contact lenses, both of which can contribute to raccoon eyes, particularly on a long day. For all of those reasons, I usually defauilt to waterproof mascara, but waterproof formulas can be drying and the last thing I want is for my lashes to start snapping in half. I don't think that would be very pretty at all.
I wear black mascara every day, but only on my top lashes, and never more than two coats.
Okay, let's get to the products!
Dior Diorshow BlackOut waterproof mascara, $24.00 at Sephora.
This was my first foray into high-end mascara (I usually buy drugstore brands), and I have to say I was disappointed. The color was lovely, the brush was fantastic, but the mascara was all over my face after a few hours. I suspect that the less-than-attentive staff at my local Sephora (all THREE OF THEM who tried to help me with this) did not sell me the waterproof version of this mascara; one staffer told us they were out of the waterproof BlackOut, a second was postitive that there wasn't a waterproof variation of the BlackOut (not true!), and a third insisted that the BlackOut came ONLY in waterproof (also not true!). I would try it again, in the WATERPROOF, because I have talked with so many women who love it, but for that much money, I was a little underwhelmed. Also not impressed with Sephora, but that's a whole other post.
Clinique High Impact Mascara, $14.00 at a Clinique counter near you.
I stumbled onto this one: my mother came to visit and brought me her gift-with-purchase goodies from Clinique, and I tossed the mascara in the drawer and forgot about it, and then later I thought, why not try it? I've never loved Clinique's mascaras; the brushes were always kind of small and wimpy and the mascara tended to clump on the first coat. No more, however; the High Impact comes with a full, fluffy brush that grabs every last lash, and really does make them look thick and full. The web site says to allow lashes to dry between coats, to prevent clumping, but I didn't really need more than one coat to get a fairly dramatic look. The formula is not waterproof, but does a pretty good job of lasting all day, as long as you don't do anything unusual like cry or mess with your contacts. So far, this is probably my favorite of everything I've tested.
L'Oreal Lash Out mascara with Teddy Bear brush, $7.99 at CVS.
This one was hands-down the initial winner, in large part because of the special "teddy bear brush," which is the Greatest Thing EVER. The fluffy design of the brush coats every lash and makes them look long and thick; the waterproof formula lasts all day, even during the worst of allergy season, although the not waterproof formula kind of wimps out at the end of the day. HOWEVER, no matter how careful I am about putting the lid back on the tube, the Lash Out only lasts about three weeks before it starts to dry out
