Mascara is my most important beauty product, and I try nearly every new one that comes out. One of the benefits of being blonde is having sparse blonde hair on my legs and face - no mustache worries here. However, having blonde, thin eyelashes is a big negative. I don't go anywhere without mascara and if you ever catch me wearing sunglasses inside, it's because I have on no mascara. I'm just vain that way.
I was recently lured in by the media blitz of advertising being conducted by Maybelline for their new mascara, Lash Stiletto. It was billed as an extreme lash lengthening and black patent shine mascara and I went right out and snapped it up. Then, I was asked to "Try It" for my local news station, 10 Connects.
Yes, I know I should have been using eye cream all these years. Also, if my eye appears bloodshot in the closeup it's not because the camera man and I were knocking back shots to get through the pain of trying to get some usable film on me, it's from scrubbing off and re-applying 4 different mascaras for the comparison. I'm pretty sure he drove straight to a bar after the shoot, though.
Lash Stiletto was such a thumbs down for me that I gave my tube to my friend who doesn't wear mascara - I know, bad to share mascara, blah, blah, blah - because it really is like not wearing mascara. It is difficult being friends with someone so gorgeous who doesn't need mascara. So annoying. Anyway, she loved it because, as I thought it might, it gave her great lash length without any clumps whatsoever and just made her look more polished without making her feel she was wearing a heavy-duty mascara.
For the "Try It" segment I was asked to test the Lash Stiletto against a few other mascaras. I chose the iconic Maybelline Great Lash Blackest Black in the pink and green tube, Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black, and Lancome Hypnose in Black.
You know my opinion of Lash Stiletto. It didn't work for me because I need thickening and volumizing (redundancy alert?). It's great for lengthening and the formulation is absolutely clump-free. It is very easy to apply and has reasonable staying power. It is $7.50 at drugstores.
Great Lash is a mascara I tried back in High School. It was at the top of makeup artist's lists then, and there it remains. I stopped using it at some point because we all move on to new things, but I'm using it again. In addition to it being the bargain of the century - I got a 2-pack for $3.99 - it really works and stays put. It's a little hard to apply without making mistakes because of the formulation, but once it dries, lovely. I even found it to be shinier than Stiletto. Hmm.
I've used Loreal Voluminous for years. They have a carbon black formulation now. Carbon Black is the new black in case you were wondering. Voluminous makes my lashes voluminous, so there's that. For around $7.50 at the drugstore, it does everything I need it to do.
Finally, Lancome Hypnose, another mascara in my bag. This mascara is practically identical to Voluminous in the way it works for me and it took this comparison for me to figure this out. It smells a little fancier and the tube is definitely sexier, but Hypnose is Voluminous for 3 times the price - $24.
Why pay more for Hypnose? I guess it's similar to the way I feel about lipstick packaging. Do I pay a little more for a beautifully designed lipstick case that people see me using? Sure. It makes the whole art of applying lipstick more of a treat. Perhaps it is time to give up on Hypnose after all these years since no one ever sees me applying mascara, generally, except for today at 4 PM on the local news. It's the financially responsible thing to do.
So which mascara is the winner? For my money, Voluminous or Great Lash. But, maybe something new will be out soon... What's in your bag? I have some CVS bucks burning a hole in my pocket.
Photo credit: Star Dust
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