The Great Mascara Hunt Project: Max Factor Lash Perfection

review by cavewoman
graphic by katie @Scentzilla
photo from gettyimages

You may remember, if you are a mascara junkie, the clamoring and buzz about a new Max Factor mascara that was launched late last year. Lash Perfection was packaged as a limited edition and was the first product to be introduced as the newly renovated line from this old, venerable company. I'll tell you a little story about Max Factor.
When I was in college, one of my professors (a nun) told us that her father was Max Factor. She wore blush and eyebrow pencil so it could be she had a nice stash of products. She told us that when she was a teenager, she went to her father and told him she was not only converting from Judaism to Catholicism, she was becoming a nun. She said he disowned her and told her he would never acknowledge having her as his daughter. Well, this all could be true, or not, but she did seem to tell lots of stories about him that were true. Factor was a revolutionary in makeup, a true legend. Sister wasn't legendary except in her eccentricities. But I digress. We are here to talk about mascara, not nuns.

Max Factor Lash Perfection is the first mascara to use little plastic bristles instead of the usual brush bristles. The clamoring and buzz had me running from store to store and finally I found and bought Lash Perfection, hoping that it would indeed live up to the hype. And it does. Mostly.

The Lash Perfection brush is hard to get used to at first. I, and other users, found that at first, we all poked ourselves in the eye when we tried the mascara! So just beware that it's easy to do this the first time. I don't know why. The bristles are amazing. They separate each lash and give a very feathery look to the lashes. Some volumizing and some lengthening can be achieved with Lash Perfection, but it's strength lies in the fact that it coats each lash individually, keeps them perfectly separated, and darkens nicely with a natural, not exaggerated effect. There is no need to comb through since there is no clumping at all. The brush coats every single lash and the effect is a full fringe. Lash Perfection tends to flake a bit at the end of the day, but not until after many hours of wear. It stays put and doesn't 'dot' the upper lids or migrate onto lower lids. No smears and no globs! It is easily removed with my Almay Non-Oily Eye Makeup Remover Pads. This is such a good mascara that I must say it's about as close to a Holy Grail as I have come, so far, in my testing.
Now, Cover Girl has introduced Exact Lash with the same brush as Lash Perfection, and rumor has it that Lancome now has one too. I'll head to the Lancome counter later this week to check that out, and I will see if I can find my Exact Lash (I know it's here somewhere) and test that one too. But I can recommend Lash Perfection without hesitation. Just be careful! And watch out for nuns who wear makeup!

Product rating, 9.

Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman