Miss Mascara

One of the most difficult piece of make up for women to buy has got to be mascara and I know this from personal experience of my own purchases and conversations with friends and family. There are so many available on the market that it can a confusing process! From drugstore to high end there are always new formulations, new brushes, new packaging and new concepts to intice us into buying the latest "perfect" mascara. however on my search I have found some near perfects and some far from perfects and I thought I would share a few with you :) (please note that i'm using images from the internet because my camera quality is unfortunately not good enough to pick up the style of the wand and packaging for you to see properly)

Lets start with my current mascara of choice, Lancome Hypnose Drama:

I heard about this mascara through various beauty forums and through word of mouth. Lancome Hypnose comes in an original form, waterproof, drama and the newest edition doll eyes. I went to the Lancome counter in Selfridges and after looking at the brush and reading about its promise of fuller, bolder, thicker lashes with an intense black colour I decided on this Hypnose Drama version. I have always been a huge fan of dramatic lashes because my lashes are quite fair and I believe that if you are going to invest a substantial amount of money in a mascara it should really transform your natural lashes. This mascara does not disappoint! 

I was unsure about the strange shape of the curved brush initially, however the brush allows you to really get to the root of the lashes and the formula is a true intense black giving you a final result of dramatic, thick lashes, as promised. The result can sometimes be a little clumpy and thick however for an evening out with a strong smokey eye I personally like this effect because it means that the lashes are not over powered by the eyeshadow as often happens with dramatic eye looks.  The mascara costs around £20 which may seem pricey if you are used to drugstore prices however this is a bargain if you are looking for an extreme lash look. If you want drama, go for this mascara!

Another mascara I have always enjoyed using is Dior Extase:

I have repurchased this mascara about 3 times because I have always loved the effect it has on my lashes.  The packaging is gorgeous as one would expect from Dior make up, but it is the tiered brush which really makes this mascara stand out. According to Dior, the inspiration for the tiered brush came from the tiered couture dresses created by the House of Dior. Whatever the reason, this brush is great at coating every side of the lashes and creating a high impact eye look. The mascara also contains black pearl pigments and metamorphosis powders which create long lasting 3D volume and expand in size up to 50% after application. Impressive words indeed but does it actually work? The effect is gorgeous, the lashes are left glossy and thick and although the mascara is a hefty £22 in price I believe that it is worth it. I would say that if you have a high mascara budget this would be the high end mascara to go for.

My last review is of YSL Volume Effect Faux Cils mascara- Noir Radical:

I have always had a love/hate relationship with this mascara. Let me tell you first why I love it. The brush is quite simple, no curves or fancy shape, just a straight medium sized brush, and yet somehow it coats lashes much better than other "normal" wands. The mascara promises a dramatic lash and it fulfils this promise and leaves you with thicker, longer, darker lashes. The Noir Radical formulation in particular contains black mineral pigments which coat the lashes in one stroke to create a true black finish. However this mascara is far from perfect. The formula is beautiful on the first few uses but after a short amount of time I find that the mascara itself has become dry and flakey. I often end up with residue and fall down below the eye after use, especially after a day at work I am often left with flaking and therefore I struggle to find an occasion where I can be sure that this mascara won't let me down. The wand itself becomes cakey and dry after only a couple of weeks and at a price of £22 I cannot allow myself to repurchase for these reasons. This mascara is stunning at first however its short shelf life leads me to believe that the Dior and Lancome are more worth investing in.

There are lots of new mascaras out at the moment and here are the next 3 I am eager to try out:

Eyeko Curvy Mascara £15

 

Revlon Grow Luscious £9.99   

YSL Luxurious Mascara Shocking Volume £22

I will let you know when I try these out and review them for you! 

P.S You may have noticed that I haven't reviewed a drugstore mascara. This is purely because I can't find one that truly compares to the high end favourites. Please leave comments of your favourite affordable mascaras because I would love to find a perfect or almost perfect mascara that doesn't break the bank! And so the search for the perfect mascara continues.......