The Great Mascara Hunt: 4th Week Wrap-Up

Mascara Madness winding down:

picture from getty images: Japan's cosmetic giant Shiseido researcher Hideki Takahashi, known as "Dr. Eyelashes" Note to blogdorf readers: I keep humming the Kiss song "Calling Dr Love". , and his fellow worker try to apply mascara to his eyelashes at his laboratory in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo, 30 July 2003. Mascara development is challenging work for Takahashi all the more because Japan's mascara market is booming. Sales grew to an estimated 43.2 billion yen in the business year ended in March from 19.5 billion yen five years ago.

Emily sent me some great reviews of mascaras. The first one Physician's Formula Lash-in-a-Tube Full Coverage Cream Mascara.

She writes: I tried Lash-in-a-Tube Full Coverage Cream Mascara. I'd heard that it was a cult favorite, and I've always been interested in trying cream mascaras. I figured that at about $6.00, it was worth it.
Physician's Formula promises "big, lush lashes" with this formula. It certainly didn't make my lashes any bigger or lusher, but it did make them seem a little longer and fuller. I noticed some lift, even though it didn't last all day.
Here's my big revelation from using this product: the packaging sucks. I ended up breaking the cap after trying to close it tightly. This also happened with another Physician's Formula mascara, but I'm not sure it's still in production, so we'll leave it unnamed for now. The crack in the cap meant enough air got in to dry the mascara out and I couldn't use it after a month and a half.
So I'll give this mascara a 7 for the actual product and a 2 for the packaging. I'd give it lower, but I still think the tube is cool.

I've also tried Max Factor 2000 Calorie Straight Brush Mascara in 101 Rich Black. This is another cult classic that I've heard Mally Roncal rave about. According to maxfactor.com, it "volumizes lashes up to 200%." Unable and unwilling to believe that, I gave it a try to see what it really did.
Again, I wasn't impressed. I love dramatic lashes, and this mascara promised plenty of drama, but little of it transferred to my lashes. It's a very dense formula, and I spent probably a minute or two each morning trying to get all the excess formula off the brush. If I didn't, I ended up with spider lashes after just one coat. Even after cleaning the brush off first, I still ended up getting lumps on my lashes. This mascara does volumize - it just doesn't do a great job of it. It also doesn't provide any lift. I'll give it a 4 for performance.

From Revlon, I've tried Lash Fantasy Primer & Mascara in Blackened Brown. This is yet another volumizing mascara that I haven't liked. Revlon promises this mascara gives "5x the impact." I say it gives five times the hassle.
I'm not an expert in mascara primers, but I know that this one really doesn't do the trick. The primer went on clumpy, no matter what I did, and it didn't help volumize or lengthen. Once I put the mascara on, my lashes looked completely natural - not what I'd expect with this product. However, I can't tell if this is a result of using a brown mascara or the product itself.
After a few uses, I got tired of dealing with the primer. I started using the mascara by itself. I found it liked the product more this way. The mascara doesn't clump and leaves very natural, defined lashes.
I'm going to rate this primer a 2 and the mascara an 8.

Despite my unhappiness with these mascaras, there is one I tried that I really loved, L'Oreal's Lash Architect in Blackest Black. This mascara probably has the most dense formula of any mascara I've tried. Although it took a lot of time to get all the excess mascara off the brush, I found that the extra time was worth it. This mascara didn't clump or give me spider lashes. It did provide an amazing lengthening effect and some volume. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I couldn't believe that one coat of mascara had made my lashes look that intense. I found some smudging throughout the day and it took a little effort to get all the mascara off at night, but I consider those things unimportant compared to how dramatic my lashes looked with this. I'm going to give this product a 9 with the caveat that if you're after natural lashes or an easy, fuss-free formula, this is not for you.

I love Emilys reviews and hope she considers starting a beauty blog. We need her!!!!

Beautiful Makeup Search reviewed L'Oreal's Voluminous. I would venture this is the top drugstore mascara out there just based on our fellow bloggers reviews. BMS states that it gave her thick lashes with just one coat. No clumps or mess. There is a drawback: No length

It scored 7 out of 10 http://beautifulmakeupsearch.squarespace.com/

Beauty Blogging Junkie reviewed Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara, Guerlain Divinora Supercils Mascara and Jane Fanclub Waterproof. Which one is her favorite? Which one gives her a kicky curl? Find out at: http://beautybloggingjunkie.blogspot.com/

Tbone from Brain Trapped in Girl's Body set off to NYC Barneys to investigate the Serge Lutens mascara. What is a $50 mascara like? Is Serge off his rocker? What rating is "crap"---is that 1 or 2?

Check out the answers at: http://braintrappedingirlsbody.blogspot.com/

Blogrenee discussed the wildly popular Dior's Diorshow. She states that is highly pigmented and thick and dense in volume. It gave a little curl but did not lengthen her lashes. No rating but I would guess there are points taken off for clumping issues.

http://blogrenee.com/?p=327#more-327

Fighting Mad Mary at The Customer is Always Right wrote about a cult favorite called Mirenesse Secret Weapon Mascara. It has great staying power. It does not smudge or smear. Mary has even slept with the mascara on and it has not budged. It did not even leave a mess on the pillows. Drawbacks are similiar to Kiss Me. There is no curling or lengthening action.

It rated a 8 and is available at cosmeticMall.com

http://whereisgoodservice.blogspot.com/

Capital Hill Barbie also wrote about Voluminous by L'Oreal. She tested the original and full definition versions. She was impressed with the darkening effect and staying power of full definition. It is hard to remove but rated a very solid 7.75

And she brings up a very serious question: Why the heck is Great Lash so popular?

http://caphillbarbie.blogspot.com/

EbeautyDaily inspired me to buy the Shu Uemura's Basic Mascara. I agree 100% with her review. It keeps lashes curled with no flakes. Very impressive and well worth the $27 price tag.

She also reviewed Sherani mascara. It performs like high end mascara with a great $4-$5 price tag. Gotta love that!

http://www.ebeautydaily.com/ no ratings available

The Daily Obsession did a review on Estee Lauder's Lash XL. It delivered on its promise for "extremely long, way-out-there lashes that defy reality" but failed when it came seperating or thickening the lashes. There was clumps, flakes and some smudging action. It did not rate well with a 4.5 rating. Still...lashes that defy reality is very attractive. See how easy it can be to hook me? http://thedailyobsession.wordpress.com/

Koneko's Mostly Beauty Diary wrote a review for the discontinued slightly infamous mascara by Stephane Marais Mascara. If you ever read makeupalley you know that there has been much sorrow since Mr Marais has closed shop. Legend has it....it is the best mascara ever produced. Reading this review made me wish I had grabbed one when I was at Barneys. Alas I had no vision of the future. Now I must suffer knowing that this "could have been the one".

Read about Koneko's lost love at: http://beautydiary.blogspot.com/

The Non-Blonde reviewed Lancome's Hypnose. It has great consistency, does not leave mess with clumps or smudges, kept a curl and gave added length. However it failed when it came to thickness and volume. This is one of the main promises of the mascara. Here is the promise from the Lancome site:

Custom Volume Mascara- Dare to go up to 6 times the volume. With each stroke, the patented POWERFULL™ brush intensifies lashes from root to tip. Exclusive, fluid SoftSculpt ™ formula, enriched with Vitamin B5, wraps lashes one luxurious layer at a time without smearing, smudging or clumping."

No rating but I am guessing it fared well. She stated that it might give her beloved Clinque High Impact a "run for its money".

She Finds has reviewed a Kevyn Aucoin's Curling mascara(gives dramatic curl), L'Oreal Voluminous Original, L'Oreal Double Extend(a primer+mascara), Dr.Hauschka Mascara(very promising with natural ingredients) and Sephora's waterproof mascara.

Check out the reviews and site at: http://shefinds.com/lashes.htm

Sweet Diva reviewed Sonia Kashuk’s Lashify Mascara. The SK mascara received high marks for its packaging and overall performance. However....there might be some potential disasters during application. I have to say I will remember the safety pin trick for future sticky situations. This one scored a very impressive 9 and will be put on my future buy list...just based on this review.

The other mascara Sweet Diva reviewed is MAC's ProLash. Gloss.com states the virtues of Pro Lash as “lengthening, thickening, non-flaking, non-smudging…totally hard-wearing. Sassy and lush. Works on the catwalk, soups up the sidewalk."

Any ideas on what "soups up the sidewalks" means?

If it means smudges....then it has that in spades. It rated a four due to the excessive souping and difficulty in removal. http://sweet-diva.blogspot.com/

I truly hope I did not miss anybody this week! If I did...you know the drill. Just email me! Only 1 day left for mascara month! Lets go out with a bang!