Product Review: Mascaras

 

When it comes to makeup mascara has been the one product that I've found it difficult to find a 'natural' alternative that actually works for me. I am not someone who goes for a natural look with mascara (for that I just don't wear any at all) and when I put it on I want to have full, thick, long lashes. As with all my other cosmetic, my aim this year is to only own and use cruelty free mascara, but I'm also trying to find mineral and vegan products. 

 

The first mascara here is a product I have used for years and that is the Natural Collection Lash Build mascara in Black (I've also added the Natural Collection Lash Care mascara in Clear that I've been using for my eyebrows). This is not a 'wow' mascara, but it does thicken your lashes, is fragrance-free, has never stung my eyes (a regular problem I have with sensitive eyes), and stays put all day despite having watery eyeballs and oily lids. It can clump easily, so you do have to do a lot a wiggle motions when putting it on, but it's easy to find and only costs £1.99. Natural Collection is also a cruelty free brand – yay!

  

The next is a cult favourite, the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. Contained in a surprisingly heavy container, this does give you ridiculously long, thick lashes. It's also very black (which I know sounds weird, but you'll be surprised how gray some mascaras are). The problems I have with this is, once it has dried a little, it becomes a bit clumpy to apply and flakes all over your face. I find myself having to wipe under my eyes regularly during the day and for the price of this mascara I found this a bit irritating. Too Faced is cruelty free.

  

Like the Too Faced mascara the Bourjois Volume Glamour Push Up mascara in Wonder Black starts off great, building lovely, thick, long lashes, but then becomes really clumpy after a couple of weeks. The quality of the Too Faced is definitely better, but price wise the Bourjois is definitely more pocket friendly. I actually started using this with another mascara I'm going to be mentioning later on in this blog, which produced a mascara look I actually liked. Bourjois is a cruelty free brand.

Now to get into the more 'natural' mascaras.

 

The first one I tried in this group was the tester Jane IredaleLongest Lash mascara in Black Ice. I was really excited about this mascara as I have loved other Jane Iredale products. Unfortunately I wasn't overly impressed with this product. It did do some thickening and lengthening to my lashes, but not as much as I would hope for the price of this product. I think if you had short lashes you might notice the difference a little more. On the plus side it didn't irritate my eyes at all and had pretty good staying power. Jane Iredale is a cruelty free brand, but this does cost £26 for the full tube so I don't think I'll be purchasing this again.

 

Next is the one that was my biggest disappointment and that is the BWCFull Volume mascara. I really wanted this to work as I like the ethos behind BWS, but this stung my eyes like you wouldn't believe. I can't remember if it made my lashes thicker or longer, but that it hurt my eyes and I couldn't wait to get it off after work. Such a shame that I can't give you more information, but BWC is a cruelty free company.

 

The Lily Lolo Lash Alert Natural mascara in Black. This is the mascara that I coupled with the Bourjois mascara to get the look I was wanting. On it's own I'm afraid the Lily Lolo isn't much to write about. It didn't irritate my eyes, but nor did it do much else other than slightly darken my lashes. In fact, sometimes my lashes even looked shorter. However, it was great under the Bourjois to help make it less clump and increased its staying power. Lily Lolo is cruelty free.

  

The last mascara is another cult favourite and that is the PacificaStellar Gaze Length & Strength Mineral mascara. Firstly, I have to give them points for the packaging, which is much smaller than most other mascaras despite basically having the same amount of product. The mascara itself is one of the best natural mascaras I've tried, it hasn't irritated my eyes, thickening and lengthening my lashes a little as well as keeping them curled all day. It also hasn't flaked over my face. Pacifica is also a cruelty free brand. However, this hasn't wowed me either and it is also quite pricey at £15.49. I am using a second tube right now, but I think I'm going to try something else once this is used up.

So it looks like I'm going to have to keep looking.

Do you have any recommendations on natural mascaras? If so please comment below.