The Hunt for the Elusive Mascara - reviews!

If "eyes are the windows of the soul," what's a girl to do when her eyes are invisible? This is how I feel about myself without mascara. Due to my lovely Asian genes, without mascara, my eyes disappear every time I smile. And they're barely there when I'm not.

google images credit

Mascara, for me, is the essential makeup product. No matter how tired I look, how uninspired I feel, how house-bound I am, putting on mascara is something I rarely skip. This meme is entirely accurate 😋

I have spent years on the hunt for the perfect mascara. I define perfection in a mascara as follows:
1. Must not smudge
2. Must not flake
3. Must not irritate my eyes
4. Must separate lashes
5. Must lift and curl lashes
6. Must make lashes look fuller
7. Must stay on all day through watery eyes, dry winds, constant eye rubbing, using eye drops, occasional crying, while I'm working out, and when I shower (without getting my face wet).
8. Comes off cleanly at night with an oil cleanser and facial soap because I don't have time for a makeup remover.

This is a lot to ask and I HAVE found one mascara that does all this. I do rotate through a few different brands, depending on what I want to look like that day. I'll review the ones I love and would buy again, and then review a number that I've used but won't rebuy and why.

1. Dior Overcurl Mascara $28.50 Sephora

This is it, ladies! This is my perfect mascara. It actually does all of the above. It has a curved brush, so it lifts and slightly curls lashes without the use of curler. It dries rather stiff, but not uncomfortable. It does.not.budge once you put it on. No flakes, no smudging. It's also easy to apply. Just go over your eyes until it's as thick or thin as you like it. I also use it on my bottom lashes sparingly, to make my eyes look bigger. It comes off easily at night with an oil cleanser and soap. I do have to rub the oil cleanser on my eyes a lot more than normal to soften this one.
Cons: It's the most expensive mascara at Sephora, a store not known for the cheapness of its products. It lasts me about 3 months, not because it runs out, but because it starts drying out, which makes it harder to put on and flakey.

2. Benefit Roller Lash Curling & Lifting Mascara $12 - $24.00 Sephora

If I had to pick one mascara to use forever that would also last forever, it would be this. It lifts, curls, separates lashes, and it lasts all day with minimal flaking and no smudging. The reason I like it less than Dior is because it doesn't thicken quite as much as the first. Also, it will flake just a tad as it gets older and if you are hard on your eyes throughout the day. The one way it is better than Dior is that it takes much longer to use up or dry up. I actually have never had this product dry out. I usually throw it out because 6 months seems too long to use the same mascara. It washes off easily with oil cleanser and soap, more easily than the Dior.

3. Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara $24.00 Sephora

had to open my eyes super wide to get this,
but you get the idea. Thank you, Asian genes! 

This is a new release from Urban Decay. I tried their Perversion mascara and didn't like it because it flaked and wasn't particularly voluminous. I tried this one because I liked the brush and the cool, holographic bottle. Shallow, I know. The brush is different from my typical favorite, bushy fan brush. It's a silicon brush with widely spaced, thick tines. Although it isn't my look, this would be the perfect mascara for getting that Twiggy look. However, if 4 or 5 widely spaced lashes isn't your thing, you can more gently and lightly apply this one and it comes out easily and very luscious. It doesn't flake. If you have a hard day, it can get a little smudgy by the end of the day. It's better than Dior in its applicability, meaning that it's easy to get lots of color and fullness out of this one, while you have to go over your lashes a few times with Dior. However, Dior has a more even application and other pluses. My big con with this one is that the bristles are very pokey, and if you push too far down towards your eyes with this, you'll poke your eye. That, and the mascara itself caused the worst watery eye disaster I've ever experienced. So if you're a mascara newbie and if you have sensitive eyes, I don't suggest this one. If you love full, black, thick lashes, give this one a go. I'm wearing it today, so here's a picture (ughhhhh! selfies!!! 😆).

4. Loreal Lash Paradise $10.00 Walmart/Walgreens/CVS
If you're on a budget and want a great mascara, this is a winner. I'm so anti-drugstore-mascaras! They never seems to deliver on my list of non-negotiables. But this! Wow. It's basically a dupe for Too Faced's Better than Sex Mascara, which is a cult favorite, but not one of my favorites. It performs a lot like Too Faced, but unlike that one, does not smudge as badly. Compared to my precious Dior, it is more smudgy, but for $10, it's negligible. It gives you big, fat, black lashes with very few applications. I workout in it, wear it in the shower, put in eye drops, and it holds up all day. If you don't mind wiping your under eye occasionally with a wet q-tip, this is a keeper. It removes very easily with oil cleanser and soap.

That covers it for my tried and true favorites. Now let's talk about my expired favorites, or mascaras I bought more than once, but which were out-performed by the above.

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara, $23, Sephora
I bought this one several times because it has many nice qualities. It's dark, easy to apply, and makes your lashes... present? Not particularly voluminous, but definitely present and long. As an added bonus, this one is from Tarte, which makes an effort to use natural-ish ingredients in its products. It also claims to have healthy things in it:
Rice Bran Wax: Helps lengthen lashes.
Carnauba wax: An emollient wax that ensures a smooth application.
ProVitamin B: Treats and thickens lashes.
Olive Esters: Condition, treat, and protect lashes. (per Sephora's website)
It's also vegan.
Why I eventually stopped using it was because it smudges and flakes pretty badly. If you don't rub your eyes, if your eyes don't water, you might be fine.

Tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara, $23, Sephora
This is another Tarte mascara that I rebought several times. I liked it because it's free of a lot of the usual crap in makeup products... parabens, sulfates, etc. It also has a lot of ingredients that should improve the quality of your lashes. I preferred it to Tarte's Lights Camera Lashes because it spaced your lashes better. It was a pretty lovely mascara. However, I ended up discarding it because it still flakes and because it's pretty natural, it dries out very quickly and once it's dry, it's hard to apply and flakes almost instantly. If you like natural products and don't mind buying this once a month, try this.

Buxom Lash Mascara, $20, Sephora.
Looking at this again reminds me of how much I miss this mascara! This is a beautiful mascara when you first buy it and put it on. It spaces your lashes to perfection, goes on smoothly, can be layered as much as you want... basically, it looks like falsies without the glue. So why not this one? Because it smudges and flakes too much for me personally. It got very annoying to be wiping racoon circles off my under eyes all day. It doesn't help that I squint my eyes horribly when I smile, which contributes to smudging.

Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Major Volume Mascara, $14 - $26, Sephora

I thought this was my true love mascara. I got a sample from Sephora... putting it on was instant falsies. It really was. It was so thick and full! And it lasted all day with nary a smudge or flake. I bought it full size and the dream was shattered. I don't know what changed, but this magical mascara didn't feel as magical the second time I got it. It turned super smudgey... raccoon-eyes smudgey. I returned it. But... it's beautiful. If you want to feel like a super expensive, designer-wearing, stay at home mom, just get it. The bottle is lovely... it looks like a beautiful weapon and is super classy, sitting in your makeup drawer 😊 Just don't rub your eyes, smile too hard, or cry sloppily. 

Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara, $11 - $23, Sephora
It isn't, though. But boy, does it have a following!... probably because of the name. What it is is a super wet, thick formula on a fat, bristle-y brush that goes on very nicely, but smudges like crazy throughout the day. I do wear a lot of eye moisturizer products around my eyes, so that could contribute to the problem. But my darling Dior doesn't treat me like that. Also, the L'Oreal Lash Paradise looks exactly like it and performs better for half the price. I'd give this one a pass, although if you really want to try mascaras, it might be worth doing just because everyone except me seems to love it.

This covers all the mascaras about which I have strong feelings. I've used tons more and you're welcome to ask me about them, but they were either blah or worthless, so I'm not going to bother reviewing them.

Pro shopping tip.... If you want to try these expensive Sephora mascaras for less, check Ebay for new, unused, sample sizes. They run about half of what Sephora charges for a mini. Or just buy the mini size from Sephora, which, in my opinion, works just as well and lasts as long as the full size (because the full size dries out before you can use it all anyway). Remember that you can return used products to Sephora with a receipt for a full refund, or for store credit without a receipt. Win-Win!

Favorite wrinkle product! Bye Bye Lines Serum - It Cosmetics review

Wouldn't it be just wonderful to use one product and make all your facial woes disappear? I'm still looking.... Unfortunately, I don't think it exists. In order to fade scars, reduce wrinkles, or get rid of acne, you have to invest time and money in a facial routine that targets your concern area. Even then, realistically you aren't going to have the face of a three year old... hello aging!

But there are a few products I've found that, when coupled with a good facial routine, do instantly improve your overall appearance. It Cosmetics' Bye Bye Lines Serum Advanced Anti-Aging Wrinkle-Smoothing Miracle Concentrate (try saying that fast!) does a wonderful job of instantly smoothing wrinkles, masking discoloration, and overall brightening your face. It's also a great primer for foundation or a coverage product. 

I tried this product out a month ago at Sephora and bought it despite its not insignificant price tag because when I put it on in the store, I was like, "oh, where's my eye wrinkles??!?" Not a bad reaction for a first time use. 

What it is
This product is a hybrid primer / treatment / moisturizer. A primer is a product you put on after moisturizing and before foundation. It fills pores and wrinkles and helps foundation to set better. A treatment is a product that treats particular skincare concerns, like wrinkles, pores, acne, or dullness. A moisturizer is a product that keeps your face from drying out. This product does all three. Although it lists a hefty number of vitamins in its ingredients (A, B, and C), I think it's primary benefit is as a primer. I am not typically a fan of primers because they're heavy on silicons, which temporarily fills and mask pores, but on me, dry out my skin throughout the day. This product has enough moisturizers in it that instead of making my skin feel powdery, it feels smooth and soft. The product is white, the consistency of heavy whipping cream, and doesn't have much of a smell.

How to use
According to the Sephora website, you use it before or in place of your moisturizer, morning and evening. I use it only in the mornings, and I put it on after my moisturizer because it makes a great primer and makes my BB cream go on more smoothly. I use a small amount, about the size of your smallest finger nail, pat it between both hands, and smooth it over my face, focusing on my eyes (because that's where my wrinkles are the most obvious).

What it does
As I said, there are no magical products that make you look 16 again, but this one does an instant job of softening wrinkles, moisturizing skin, and overall smoothing your face. While it claims to have long term benefits, I've mostly found that it makes your face look nicer for the day, not forever. 

Cons
It's $58.00 for 1 oz., which isn't cheap. I suspect it will last me 3 or 4 months based on how little I need to use. Would I buy it again? Unless I find another primer-y product that I like better and is cheaper, I probably would. This doesn't break me out or clog pores, and I do love the results. However, another downside is that the ingredients are not remotely natural and contain several silicon-type fillers (hence the instant smoothing). I normally try not to use things like this, but since this one does a lot for me and hasn't caused any bad reactions, I don't mind. 

Take-away
If you have reasonably good skin already and just want to make it look a little better, especially if your main concern is wrinkles, this is a great item to try! Or if you want to improve your coverage application, especially in the dry winter months, this is a great moisturizer to wear underneath a bb cream or foundation that never feels greasy. You can ask for a free sample at Sephora, or you can buy it and take it back used for a full refund (with a receipt) or for store credit (without a receipt) up to a year at Sephora. 

image taken from sephora

Concealers... necessary or no?

As a pimply teenager, I really used to resent that concealers were so expensive and came in such little dispensers. I mean, how was I supposed to cover my whole face with so little product? In my older, wiser (less acne-d) years, I've learned that concealers are not supposed to be used wholesale on your face, no matter how tempting it is to just slather it on. But since acne and dark circles are still fair game in middle age, here are a few tips I've learned.

Are you trying to conceal acne or dark, under eye circles? If the answer is dark, under eye circles, you might be better off using a moisturizing eye cream and foundation/bb cream/bb cushion. You know what looks worse than dark circles under your eyes? Cakey, streaky foundation or concealer. Then you not only look exhausted, you also look like you don't know how to put on makeup 😉 One trick I've learned about concealing dark circles is to first apply a moisturizer that's not too greasy and absorbs well. I'm in love with Skinfood Gold Caviar Lifting Eye Serum (Amazon $19.00). It's a serum, not a cream, which means it's more watery. I prefer serums for eyes because they absorb better and plump up wrinkles longer than a cream. My eyes are also super sensitive and look for any excuse to break out in little red bumps... this product doesn't make them do that. Anyhow, put this one, press it all around your eyes, let it absorb until it doesn't feel tacky. Then gently press a BB cushion (like Age 20's) around your eyes. It cools your eyes, fades the angry purplish color, and softens wrinkles. My under eye circles still show through slightly, but it's much less stark. The pay off, though, is that you can't tell your're wearing a coverage product, so no caking or streaking. 

If you're wanting to conceal acne, I suggest using both a bb cushion and a concealer. First, moisturize your face! Never skip this step because it makes your foundation application so much smoother and reduces the likelihood that of caking. Then, apply a spot-treatment to your acne. Dr. Lin Acne Spot Treatment is my favorite. It has a bunch of soothing, natural ingredients, as well as 5% peroxide (which my skin responds very well to, but it can be drying. This product doesn't cause flaking or dryness on me). Let everything dry until it's soft, but not sticky. Now apply a skin-matching concealer. I hate using lighter concealers because it just highlights what you're concealing. Anastasia Concealer is my favorite because it's very creamy, works well on dry skin or around your eyes, and it really covers. You can buy it at Sephora. Pat a tiny amount of concealer on and around the breakout until the concealer is fully absorbed. Then apply a BB cushion or foundation (using a beauty blender sponge) to your whole face. This blends in the concealer better and makes it unnoticeable. 

Cliff notes version?
Under eye circles - moisturize > bb cushion
Acne - moisturizer > treat > concealer > blend > bb cushion