I am a self-proclaimed mascara addict. Out of any type of beauty product, I gravitate toward mascara the most. I legit have like 30 tubes (most are the travel sized ones at least) open / in rotation right now. It’s ridiculous. Almost every blogger I know and then some seems to absolutely rave about Benefit’s They’re Real… and I’m just sitting over here wondering what it is that they like about it because it suits me so poorly. I feel like even more so than lipstick or eyeshadows, mascara is super subjective as far as favorites go.
The nice thing about going through so much mascara, is I know which types of wands and formulas I prefer now. I tend to avoid plastic bristles or combs, opting for more natural wands that separate lashes better. As an eye rubber, I should not be allowed to wear wet formulas. I end up looking like a raccoon by the end of the day. Or that girl from The Ring. So out of the many, many, I’ve tried, here are my top 5 favorite mascaras.
I’m starting off with my Holy Grail, the Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara. This is probably the first higher end mascara I’d ever bought, and I fell in love with it right away. It was the only mascara I used for like two years, until I started to wonder if there was anything better available. However, no matter how many more I try, I keep coming back to this one. It has everything I long for in a mascara: it lengthens, separates, it’s volumizing, doesn’t transfer to my eyelids, clump together, or flake off. And at the end of the day, it washes off nicely with your usual cleanser.
No parabens, no sulfates, nourishing argan oil, strengthening bamboo, super dark pigment? What’s not to like! The Josie Maran Black Oil Mascara is packed full of conditioning ingredients and I never feel like it diminishes the natural state of my lashes. In terms of results, I’d say this is really similar to the Tarte, but I do find towards the end of the day it flakes a little bit more. That being said, that is the only downfall I can find with it.
I got this sample of Jane Iredale Longest Lash Mascara in one of my Sample Society boxes a few months ago, and it is by far the best subtle mascara I’ve ever used. The others make it kind of obvious that you’re wearing mascara, but while this formula is quite buildable, if you only do a coat or two it’s much more a ‘your lashes but better’ look. It also doesn’t get that rigid feeling, so your lashes are still flexible. IE, if you touch them you don’t get mascara flaking all over your face. I also love that the tube opening is slightly smaller that the brush bristles, so it removes all of the excess formula from the wand while you open it.
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you might recognize this from my favorites a few months ago (read here). Now I usually don’t wear waterproof formulas as much because they are such a pain in the ass to remove. But it’s always good to have at least one in your arsenal for when you need it. The Guerlain Maxi Lash certainly delivers. Not only does it have an amazing wand that really grabs ahold of even the tiniest of lashes, it also smells wonderful, keeps a curl, and the staying power = phenomenal. I’ve gone wake boarding, hot tubbing, and watched Haachi (if you haven’t seen this movie, don’t. It’s the saddest thing you will ever see) without it moving. It is a bit wet of a formula at first, so I use it more two weeks or so after opening it when it’s a bit drier.
The only drugstore mascara I’ve bought in a while that I’ve even liked. L’Oreal Extra Volume Collagen Waterproof Mascara (woooah that’s a mouthful) is also the exception to not liking plastic bristles. Unlike most of the plastic wands I’ve used, the bristles on this one are much more compact together and do a really great job of separating and coating each lash. No clumping = happy me. It doesn’t curl as well as the others, so make sure to use your eyelash curler first and not just rely on the formula. Overall, this does a great job of making your lashes look a little fuller, and longer.
Shop this post: Tarte Gifted Mascara, Josie Maran Black Oil Mascara, the Jane Iredale Longest Lash Mascara, Guerlain Maxi Lash, L’Oreal Extra Volume Collagen Waterproof Mascara.
Even with these top 5, I’m always looking for new ones to try out. What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments below ↓↓↓
♡Em
