Makeup Monday–Mascara

I haven’t talked much about mascara in a while. At the beginning of the summer I had a bout of Pink Eye which required me to throw away all my eye makeup and start from scratch. It takes me a while to get over Pink Eye and I like to wait a few weeks before it’s gone gone before I start wearing eye makeup again to prevent contamination should there still be bacteria in my eyes. So for several weeks everyone I knew gave me a strange look when I’d show up everywhere sans eye makeup. They could tell I looked different and worse; but they couldn’t put their finger on why.

I spent my eye-makeup-free time dreaming of mascara. I got so tired of my beady little eyes.  My old favorite mascara was by Sonia Kashuk. Of course it’s been discontinued, as is the case with all great makeup. I’ve heard rumors that they’re going to bring it back but I haven’t seen it yet.

After doing lots of research, my first mascara purchase was some Japanese stuff called Heroine Make Lash and Curl. This stuff has the greatest reviews and everybody adores it.

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It’s a Japanese cheapo brand so even with shipping (off of ebay) it wasn’t too expensive. My verdict: It was horrible. HORRIBLE!  It was so wet and gooey that my lashes all stuck together in one disgusting clump. And it took forever to dry. Seriously, I put the mascara on, finished my other makeup, put my shoes on and got in my car and the mascara was still goopy. Heaven help you if you sneeze or rub your eyes before it’s dried. I have no idea–none-why people would like this mascara. The positive reviews on Makeup Alley confound me. My lashes certainly didn’t look full or lush. They just looked stubby and gross. I thought maybe some eyelashes had fallen out because of the pink eye, they looked so pitiful.

Next I turned to another positively reviewed mascara, Be Long by Clarins. I saw Clarins makeup all over Europe but it’s not as well-known here in America. I mean, I’ve seen Clarins counters around but it just doesn’t seem to be as popular as Clinique or Lancôme. So I ordered a small tube of Be Long off of ebay because it’s pretty spendy if you buy it retail. (Ebay is such a great resource for trying out makeup without having to pay a fortune.)

Clarins Be Long

My eyelashes that I thought were short and sparse? Oh my goodness! Never before have they looked so long and gorgeous. My lashes curled beautifully and the mascara didn’t clump at all. All I could do is look in the mirror and say, “Wow!”.  Sadly, Be Long is not waterproof. By the end of the day it had smudged and little tiny flakes were dotting my cheeks.  Going out in the bright sun (which is all the time here in Texas) makes my eyes water and after a while I started to look streaky like Tammy Faye talking about Jim’s infidelity.

I was just so, so, so disappointed. I’ve heard that there are products that you can apply to mascara to make it waterproof. But once you factor in expensive mascara plus an expensive waterproofer, it’s quite a lot of money just for eyelashes. While lots of people think that eyelashes are tremendously important, they’re just a row of hair so really they’re not my number one concern. If I were a blondie with pale lashes I might feel differently.

Next I decided to try Clarins waterproof mascara called Wonder Proof. While it’s very nice and one of my top picks, it’s not as great as Be Long. It’s a little clumpier and my lashes don’t look quite as long. The great thing about this mascara, though, is that is doesn’t budge.  No smudging and smearing at all. I wash my face with oil and I still have to rub hard to get this stuff off at the end of the day.

Wonder perfect

Every day when I reach for my mascara I want to grab Be Long. It just looks so fantastic. But I don’t fancy looking like a raccoon by the end of the day so I pick Wonder Perfect instead. It’s a very good mascara but it’s not my Holy Grail. I’d put it on the same level as my old favorite, Lights Camera Lashes by Tarte (which is not waterproof but a little more smudge resistant than Be Long). I’m still on the look-out. Do you have a waterproof mascara that you’re madly in love with? I might need to try it.

| Filed under IMO, Makeup and Hair

4 thoughts on “Makeup Monday–Mascara

  1. Hildie, this is serendipitous timing! My SIL sells Younique makeup and they have the COOLEST mascara that you might really like. I would wear it every day if I wasn’t allergic to basically every man-made product under the sun (seriously, I can’t even wear sunblock or use conditioner). It’s the niftiest stuff and is called Fiberlash and I can totally hook you up with a tube. She just told me last week that she wants to give away some free mascaras to internet folks and you should email me so that I can get you two together.

    I guess that it’s pricey for a mascara (but I don’t buy makeup on the regular so I’m not sure HOW pricey it is. $30 maybe?) but supposedly lasts forever and i can testify that it definitely does some amazing things for lash length. Also, I have a friend who uses it specifically because it stays on while she teaches Zumba.

    Look at me, I read like a very long billboard. I’ve been loving your blog for ages, which is the only reason I would let myself sound so enthusiastically crazed about this.

    If you want to check it out, you can google “younique karissa”. That’s how I found her site because I couldn’t find her link anywhere.

  2. Love your blog!

    I wanted to reach out to you to let you know that ebay is a hotbed for counterfeit goods. I too have purchased makeup on ebay, on the cheap, and discovered that they were counterfeit. Be careful.

  3. I love reading your blog…it makes me laugh and i learn something at the same time! Good luck on your hunt for the perfect mascara.

  4. I adore my mascara. It’s not a fancy European brand. It’s just plain old covergirl. But after going through about 15 kinds and brands, I found one that is not clumpy, makes my lashes really full and long, and it’s waterproof. Oh, and it’s under $10. It’s Covergirl Lash Exact. , Purple bottle with a blue stripe (waterproof, very black). I have tried others since getting this one and I always go back.

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