Mascara Comparison/Reviews

As mascara is one of the most basic and important make-up products, and since I’ve tried so many over the years, I thought I would write a post comparing some of the ones I have tried over the last couple of years, some of which I liked and some that I didn’t. Here are all the mascaras I’ll be reviewing:

From Left to Right:

1. Maybelline New York the Colossal Volum Express Waterproof in Classic Black
2. Covergirl Fantastic Lash Waterproof in Very Black
3. Maybelline New York Define-A-Lash Mascara Waterproof in Very Black
4. Covergirl Lashblast Fusion Water Resistant in Black
5. Urban Decay Waterproof Big Fatty Mascara
6. Sephora Mascara Lash Plumper
7. Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes! 4-in-1 Waterproof Mascara
8. L’Oreal Waterproof Voluminous Million Lashes in Blackest Black

Maybelline New York the Colossal Volum Express Waterproof in Classic Black

This mascara is pretty old, however, it’s also not empty, which seems to prove that it wasn’t a favourite of mine. While the brush on this one looks nice, and somewhat like the Urban Decay Big Fatty brush, however the bristles are much stiffer. Not my favourite brush, for sure. The formula is also lacking a bit; while this one lives up to its waterproof promise, I wouldn’t say it’s long-lasting, and I found that it was prone to flaking by the end of the day. If you don’t need it to last all day, however, it will be waterproof, and does do a bit of volumizing.

Rating: 6/10

Covergirl Fantastic Lash Waterproof in Very Black

Unlike the last one, this mascara is almost completely empty, as I quite liked it. The brush on this one isn’t as big as the last one, but it is softer and denser, which I like a lot better. I don’t remember having much of a problem with flaking from this mascara, and it is also true to its waterproof label. I think my biggest problem with this mascara is that it isn’t as volumizing as I like, since I love mascaras that really fill out my pale lashes.

Rating: 7.5/10

Maybelline New York Define-A-Lash Mascara Waterproof in Very Black

I only used this mascara for a little while and, if I remember correctly, it was this mascara (and the arrival of Sephora in my mall) that prompted me to try a more expensive mascara (Urban Decay’s Big Fatty, which I’ll talk about later). First of all, I completely hate this brush. I’m not big on the rubber brushes, and this one in particular has a very bouncy brush with tiny, spiky, widely spaced little bristles. Of course, I gave it a go anyways, since I spent the money on it, but the product itself wasn’t good enough to make up for the brush’s issues.  It is waterproof, but (as I should have guessed from the mascara’s name) it is not volumizing, and focuses, as one might guess, on lash definition. I wouldn’t recommend this one, unless you like the horrid, bouncy rubber brushes.

Rating: 5/10 (not worse, because the mascara might be alright with a better brush).

Covergirl Lashblast Fusion Water Resistant in Black

This mascara was given to me by my sister after I was complaining one day about my Tarte mascara (which I will explain later), and it is the first drugstore brand mascara that I used since I bought my first Urban Decay one about two years ago. I’ve since had to replace it, as it is virtually empty. I actually really liked this mascara, even despite the rubber brush. The difference between this and the Maybelline one above is that the wand has much less give, and the bristles are closer together and softer.  This mascara is meant to be both volumizing and lengthening, and does both pretty well. Aside from the colour (which is a little too soft for me. I prefer a blacker black), my only real problem with this is its staying power, as it isn’t up to lasting through a whole day. Still, a good, simple mascara. I might buy this one again.

Rating: 7.5/10

Urban Decay Waterproof Big Fatty Mascara

I’ve gone through a few tubes of this mascara, and words hardly express how disappointed I was when Urban Decay discontinued it just as I was running out of my last tube. This mascara is just about everything I ever wanted mascara to be. It had a big, beautiful brush, with dense bristles which really helped its volumizing powers. It is perfectly waterproof, and lasts all day (and sometimes to the next morning). It’s really volumizing, and almost never clumps. I wish more than anything that they would bring it back.

Rating: 9/10 (why not 10? Because it can’t be perfect if it no longer exists.)

Sephora Mascara Lash Plumper

This is a mini version of Sephora’s volumizing mascara that was part of the Beauty Insider birthday gift last year. I have barely used it, for a few reasons. The first is that this mascara isn’t waterproof, and I don’t like the idea of getting some dust in my eye or watching a sad movie and ending up with black lines all over my face, so I like to stay away from non-waterproof mascaras on principle. Also, as such, this mascara doesn’t last very long. While the brush on it is alright (and not made of rubber!), the mascara itself tends to be very flaky, and also doesn’t do very much volumizing. If this was meant to make me want to buy mascaras from Sephora’s own brand, it was a failed attempt.

Rating: 5/10

Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes! 4-in-1 Waterproof Mascara

I used this mascara less than 5 times, and then let it sit in my makeup bag for a couple weeks before finally offering it to my sister, so as not to waste it. Anyways, this was bought as a potential replacement for my Big Fatty mascara, and it completely failed me! The product itself is too thin, goes on very thickly, and somehow manages to always clump, not to mention how it would often make my lashes stick together even hours after putting it on if I so much as touched my eyes. The brush, also, is lame… it’s thin, too dense, and kind of messy. There is nothing good about this mascara. (Although to be fair, my sister likes it just fine.)

Rating: 1/10

L’Oreal Waterproof Voluminous Million Lashes in Blackest Black

This is the mascara I am currently using. I bought it because Aleeza (http://stylishandliterate.com), one of my favourite bloggers and Youtubers, has said a few times that this is her favourite mascara. I’m really liking it, even with it’s rubber brush. While it isn’t as awesome as Urban Decay Big Fatty, it’s a good, long lasting, volumizing, waterproof mascara. It lasts longer than the CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion that I had before, and is very waterproof, as a couple days ago, one of my eyes was being super irritated and watery, but this mascara didn’t budge. I would definitely recommend this one.

Rating: 8/10

***

So there’s my mass review of the mascaras that I have used over, probably, the last 3 or 4 years. I hope that this has been helpful to you in some way, or at least somewhat interesting. My November Glymm box post should be coming up soon, as well, probably within the next couple of days!

Have you tried any of the mascaras I mentioned here? Agree with my review? Disagree? Let me know!