Haven’t found your lashes’ match made in heaven? You’re in the right place.
Calling all make-up maniacs or those who merely dabble in getting dolled up! If you tend to get indecisive when investing in make-up products, Sephora is swooping in with a life-saving solution.
Their latest ‘Lashstash To Go‘ kit offers you samples of five of their most popular luxury mascaras. It also supplies you with a voucher to redeem at any Sephora location for a full-size version of your favorite mascara completely free of charge. So, after you test each of them out and see which works best, you can head to your local Sephora and pick up a $25-$30 mascara without having to pay a penny (and you get to keep all of the samples — talk about a win).
Obviously, when I saw this deal, I couldn’t pass it up. Lucky for you all, I’ve been keeping close tabs on my thoughts about each mascara, and I’m ready to share which ones rocked, flopped, or fell somewhere in the middle. Before we begin, I want to preface that I am by no means a make-up product professional, and these are just my opinions from how the mascaras worked on my lashes.
Shall we jump into the assessment?
Coming in at last place is Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Lash Brag Volumizing Mascara in the color ‘Jet Black’. Anastasia Beverly Hills has made their known incredibly well-known in the beauty industry. Their vast array of highlighters and brow products are raved about across the globe, so though they’re stepping outside of their usual territory with this mascara, I still expected great things.
I have to be honest though, I was a bit disappointed. It did better than most drugstore mascaras, however, my problem was the product’s longevity. It went on beautifully, easily, and gave my lashes a lot of thickness, but didn’t give them the length-boost I was expecting. When I came home at the end of the day, the product had worn off a considerable amount, making it look like I had barely put a coat on as opposed to the three I had in the morning.
The product is cruelty-free and made with no harmful parabens, which is much appreciated, but if you’re looking to wear it all day, it may not give you the lasting dramatic effect you’re looking for.
Next up is Milk’s KUSH High Volumizing Mascara in the color black. When this product was released it was all the rage among makeup lovers. Between being made with cannabis oil, something rarely seen in beauty products, and being completely vegan, cruelty-free, and paraben-free, I wasn’t the only one excited to see what all the hype was about.
However, this mascara comes in fourth for a bit of an odd reason: the amount of fallout I faced after wearing it all day. When applying the mascara, I loved it. It isn’t too dramatic, but really lengthens your lashes and looks super pretty without being overwhelming.
Though, after a long day of Zoom work, I found the product had smudged a ton under my eyes. Because I looked a bit like a raccoon when facing my reflection at the end of the day, I had to put this product in fourth. It has a nice formula, is beautiful when applied, but it decided to stick to my under-eyes instead of my lashes. Maybe if I put a setting powder under my eyes the result would’ve been different, but for my initial review, she comes in second to last.
Lancôme is known for being one of the most luxury makeup brands to exist, so I knew there was no way I could be disappointed when trying their Monsieur Big Volumizing Mascara in black. Obviously, it couldn’t be bad if Zendaya is promoting it like in the Instagram video above, so how did it end up in third place? I’ll tell you.
If you’re seasoned in the art of mascara application, you know we all face one dreaded fear: clumping. Having clumpy mascara is never the move, especially if you’re someone who likes to apply a couple of coats like myself, and Lancôme, unfortunately, didn’t pass the clump test.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t complete clump central and it did make my lashes super long, but if you’re going to invest in a $26 mascara, you don’t want to deal with pesky buildup (unless you’re okay with getting a q-tip and working the clumps out, then, by all means, be my guest).
Marc Jacobs, one of the most lavish makeup brands on the market, always provides standout products made with quality ingredients and delivered in pristine packaging (come on, an aesthetically pleasing display is always a plus when purchasing makeup).
I’m excited to announce that Marc Jacobs’ Velvet Noir Volumizing Mascara in ‘Black/Noir’ delivered both of these things in full. Not only did the product come in a simple, sleek tube like this one, but it also did wonders for my lashes. It was really the first mascara of the five to give me the dramatic look I crave when applying mascara, and it gave my lashes an equal amount of thickness and length (where most mascaras only give you one or the other).
It lasted all day without any smudging and my lashes stayed looking ready to slay the day away from morning to night. I would highly suggest adding this mascara to your makeup arsenal — you won’t be disappointed.
Before trying this sample kit, I had actually never heard of Ilia before (they have 499k followers on Instagram so they’re by no means a small brand — I just need to catch up on my makeup knowledge). However, after trying their Limitless Lengthening Lash Mascara in the color ‘After Midnight’ it’s safe to say I’ll be getting my hands on many of their other products.
It may sound dramatic to say a mascara changed your life but…Ilia’s mascara was a huge game changer for me. It delivered SO much length and gave me a dramatic look with a single coat (which is practically never heard of). What I loved most about this mascara was it did not falter at ALL through the day. Even when I came home after a day where I was out and about, it looked like I had applied the mascara five minutes ago.
The competition was stiff, and every mascara brought something ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ worthy to the table, but Ilia, you’re the winner in my book. I’ll be using my coupon on you next time I hit up Sephora, and I may just have to take a look at other Ilia products to test out next.
The Beat @APU 