Hey everyone!
Today's post is a hefty one, so put the kettle on and get comfy. I recently starting clearing up my makeup stash and realized I was quite the hoarder. Apparently I am a huge hoarder of mascara, in particular. This was a strange discovery, since I typically use two or three at one time, maximum. Anyway, before throwing them all out I thought I should dedicate a post to all of these mascaras, good, bad, and the ones I've kind of forgotten about entirely. I'm going to give them all a rating out of 10, but keep in mind that mascara is very personal and something I dislike may be your holy grail mascara!
Just a collective picture of just a selection of the ones that needed to go...
Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes: 7.5/10
This mascara was expensive, had a very strong rose fragrance, but ultimately delivered long lashes with some decent volume at the roots. Out of all of these mascaras, this would be one of the best. Downside would have to be the price, but if you can afford to treat yourself I would!
Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam: 5/10
This Rimmel mascara did deliver some great volume at the base of the lashes, but I found that the brush was too big for my eyes and often transferred onto my lid or under my eyes. It worked really nicely on my friends Sara, who has longer lashes than me naturally and it helped to give her straighter lashes a lift and curl.
Benefit Roller Lash: 9/10
This mascara was one of my favourites and most-used of 2015. I bought it when it was first released, even after hearing mixed reviews. I did love Benefit's They're Real mascara so I thought I'd love this too and I wasn't disappointed. This mascara gives a great curl and length to lashes and the unique comb applicator really caught every lash. It's lasting power was great and I would repurchase.
Clinique High Lengths Mascara: 8.5/10
High Lengths by Clinique is a mascara similar to Roller Lash. It's designed for curling and lengthening and when I first purchased this mascara I was thrilled with the results, my lashes had never looked so long! I did find that it had a good lasting power, but the applicator made it near impossible to apply to the bottom lashes. That aside, I would repurchase, but I found it did dry out faster than a lot of these other formulas.
Covergirl Clump Crusher Waterproof: 2.5/10
This might be bad, but this mascara didn't work for me at all and thats about all the details I can remember. I know drugstore mascaras are significantly cheaper than the alternative, but $8.00 for a product I used two or three times was a huge waste of money. I wouldn't recommend. It didn't place much product on my lashes at all (and I understand that the point is that it doesn't clump) but this just didn't give me the effect I desired. It might be okay for a younger girl who doesn't want/need thick black lashes and desires a more natural look. Even then, there are better products for the job.
Givenchy Phenomen'eyes: 8.5/10
This product was a total splurge once when I was on vacation and went to a Givenchy Boutique. I have to say, I loved it. The applicator looks deadly, but it worked incredibly well to lift lashes from the base and add great volume and length. If you liked the ball at the end of the Benefit They're Real applicator, this mascara would work well for you. Great lasting power, didn't budge and worked wonders on my lower lashes as well. Only downside is the price.
Rimmel Wonderlash: 3/10
This mascara had a more watery formula which didn't coat lashes too evenly, and the wand was pointy and flimsy. I prefer a more stiff wand so I feel like I have control when being near my eye area and this was way too flimsy. It made it difficult to apply and I was afraid I'd poke my eye out every time I used it.
L'Oreal Voluminous Original: 5.5/10
This mascara I realize right away is a cult fave and people might hate me for bashing it. Honestly, for the first week I owned this mascara I was really impressed. A great all-rounder that lengthens, curls and adds volume. In Canada this mascara isn't even that cheap at over $10 and it just dried out so quickly. I usually don't mind this because it is expected, but it made the product cling very thickly to the wand and made it impossible to apply. Great at first, and it's possible my tube wasn't entirely airtight or something, but for me it wasn't worth the hype.
Benefit They're Real: 8.5/10
I've owned two full-size tubes of They're Real and a few mini's. This mascara is wonderful, long-lasting, lash defining, lengthening and volumizing. It doesn't flake or smudge and lasted just as well as if it were waterproof. The downside would be that it's quite difficult to remove. I would certainly repurchase.
Covergirl Exact Eyelights: 6/10
These mascaras were a surprise for me. I haven't had the best experience with Covergirl mascaras lately, but these were surprisingly nice. They lasted relatively well, the brushes made your lashes look nice, longer and fuller but more natural than most. The concept with these mascaras is that they come in shades to emphasize your eye colour, but I used one for hazel and blue eyes (my eyes are green) and just found that it was a softer colour and less harsh than black. Ideal for a younger girls first mascara in my opinion, or for an everyday mascara on somebody who doesn't want the intensity of a black.
Lancome Hypnose Star: 7/10
Similar to Lancome's Doll Eyes mascara, this has a heavy perfumed formula. I found it a bit distracting that I could smell my eyelashes throughout the day. I did prefer Doll Eyes over this one but liked the similar tapered point for getting to my inner and outer corners of my eye. It was nice and did the job, but nothing special and I wouldn't repurchase.
Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum: 5/10
This mascara was nice on me for the first few applications, but I found it to be wet and goopy, which resulted in smudging. My lashes don't necessarily require a drier formula, but I do find that mascara smudges quite badly on me in the summer months and I don't think it's worth the price. Disappointing for an otherwise awesome well-rounded brand.
Smashbox Primer Mascara: 6/10
This mascara primer worked really well but I found that it got significantly worse after a short while of using it, maybe 2-3 months. I know mascara has a short lifespan, but you use way less product for an eyelash primer than a mascara, so I was disappointed. The best way to apply this is to let it dry completely before layering a mascara overtop, but I think most lash primers do the same job. I'm currently using a lash primer by Clinique and find it works just as well as this one but is less messy and clumpy.
Dior Addict It-Lash: 6.5/10
Last but not least, Dior Addict It-Lash. This mascara was the most similar to Benefit's They're Real when I first used it, with an almost identical wand. I only had a sample but this mascara dried out quickly- and to the point where it was impossible to use. It didn't get clumpy like a lot of dried out mascaras, it actually was like there was nothing left in the tube at all. Somehow the mascara was so dry it wasn't even there anymore. For the price, not worth it.
I hope you enjoyed this Makeup Clearout and found this collective review helpful or at least mildly interesting! I feel very relived knowing I can now throw all of these away!
Thanks for reading!
Megan