Tuesday, October 20, 2015

The Quest For The Perfect Mascara

I have spoken previously about my sad eyelashes (hence the LVL treatment that I have resorted to getting every 6 weeks!) and over the years I have been on a seemingly endless quest to find a mascara that suits my lashes. I have been told by experts that my lashes are a) short b) fair c) fine which is polite talk for the fact that I have poor eyelashes that are beyond redemption!

Having tried many different mascaras with varying degrees of success I really wanted to pass on my experience and recommend some options for anyone with the same stubborn eyelashes as me!

Let me start by saying that some years ago I found my ‘holy grail’ mascara. I purchased the Covergirl Volume Exact Mascara in waterproof and was amazed that, after curling with my beloved Shu Emura eyelash curlers, the mascara went on clump free, held the curl, gave volume and lengthened my tiny lashes. I used this mascara for many a happy year and as it was not available in the UK I stocked up when visiting the USA and purchased from Ebay if the stocks got low.

A couple years back when Mimi was in the USA I asked her to pick me up a fresh supply of my favourite mascaras. She searched high a low and could not put her hands on the Lash Exact anywhere. I did a bit of research and discovered the devastating news that my perfect mascara had been discontinued.....back to the drawing board.
 
In an attempt to find a dupe I purchased what seemed like hundreds of mascaras (some went straight in the trash after one or two uses), both high end and drugstore and some were okay but in the world of mascara okay is just not good enough!

 
I recently found an old Instagram post from when I was trying a TON of mascaras to find one that suited me! Oh dear....

Just a selection of the mascaras I tried!
 
About a year ago, completely by chance, a kind beauty blogger wrote a post in which she explained that Max Factor is to the UK beauty market what Covergirl is to the US market, that is, Max Factor is actually the sister brand of Covergirl! She also explained that many of the products are  the same or similar but with different names.
 
Off I headed to the Max Factor display! The mascara that was said to be the most like the Covergirl Volume Exact was the Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara in waterproof. I picked one up and was excited to give it a whirl! I was delighted to find that it is the perfect dupe for my holy grail Covergirl mascara and does the exact same job! I love the size and shape of the brush as it is the perfect size for my short lashes and the formula is not wet at all. It grabs all of my lashes and hold the curl in place all day. This has now become my must have mascara and I always have a back up in my make up stash just in case!

Max Factor Masterpiece

Shout out to some other mascaras that I tried during my quest and quite liked and also one that is Mimi's favourite;
 
The Chanel Inimitable Waterproof Mascara: is a really good high end mascara with a great size brush that gives good curl and separation. The waterproof version does a great job at holding a curl all day long.
 
Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof:  Mimi's favourite drugstore mascara that gives buildable volume and a really great 'false lash' look.

Maybelline Lash Sensational
Max Factor Masterpiece Transform: This is a strange looking brush but don't let that put you off! It works really well to grab all of those small lashes and gives a very defined look. For our friends who are unable to get Max Factor products this is the same as Covergirl The Supersizer available from Ulta and drugstores.

Covergirl The Supersizer
NYX The Skinny Mascara: I discovered this in Ulta while in the USA and it intrigued me! I loved it so much I bought a back up before we left! It is amazing for bottom lashes especially very fine ones like mine.


NYX The Skinny Mascara

Being a mascara junkie I am always interested to see a new mascara hit the market but more often that not I am disappointed with the results as I have such difficult eyelashes to please. If you do have similar lashes to me I can highly recommend the LVL Enhance Lash Treatment that we have reviewed in a previous post as it has really been a life saver for me and along with my Max Factor Masterpiece I can now at least fake the look of somewhat normal lashes!

 
Are you a mascara addict? Have you a favourite that I should try? I'd be delighted to hear your recommendations in the comments below.

Elle x

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