What mascara wasn't worth the splurge?
Urban Decay Lash Freak I did not care for — though not as expensive as mascara can get!
— Christine
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Both Pat McGrath mascaras are terrible. Smell awful, smudge and flake like crazy. Yuck. Never buying a mascara from her again!
All Buxom mascaras. Marc Jacobs (noir? lash noir?). It Cosmetics Superhero.
Superhero? Definitely. No redeeming qualities.
Chantecaille for me – it was fine, it didn’t flake, but my eyes didn’t look amazing the way I’d expect from something at that price point. Fortunately, I had received it a trial size as a GWP.
Too Faced Better Than Sex.
It’s not. I really do not understand the hype. I found it to be very meh and most of it was on my undereyes within a few hours. The waterproof version also made my eyes burn and I do not normally have sensitive eyes.
I remember being less than impressed with Diorshow but don’t remember the particulars – I think I found it runny and smudgy, but it’s been too long now. I’d be willing to give that one another try if I got a sample, but honestly, I’m not expecting miracles from mascara (pretty much give my lashes a little oomph and don’t smudge and make me look like a panda or raccoon within mere hours) and I’m pretty happy with Clinique and Glossier for my mascara needs. I tend to not deviate much with mascara once I find one that works.
I wasn’t impressed with either BTS or Diorshow
Eh, same for me, such a disappointment, but unfortunately quite in line with the recent UD releases….
I was never blown away by Lancôme Definicils… I bought it twice because I just wanted it to work but it didn’t do enough for me.
Enter than sex— looks great but smudges under the eye and won’t come off—after time it gets thick and clumpy.
Essence-although inexpensive I got some and it was soo good bought more and was a flop. Inconsistent.
Pat McGrath dark star-over hyped.
Cheap brands typically have inconsistent products, though I wonder if the second one you bought–the bad one–was actually old and expired?
Hi Jane- that certainly could of been possible. It was 2 different types of the essence I had loved both then both sucked they weren’t dried up tho.? I usually buy the travel sizes now it takes me forever to go thru a mascara. I also bought a sample set from Sephora. That was a fun way to try new stuff.
“Cheap brands” have no more inconsistency than any other priced brands and you have no idea how long any makeup product has been sitting on a shelf. That’s true of drugstore or department store. When you know more…
Pat McGrath Fetisheyes smelled like paint and was not better than other mascaras that don’t smell like paint. Trish McEvoy High Volume Mascara gave me hardly any volume and worked (i.e. not spidery) only with multiple coats plus a heavy application of black eyeliner.
Pat McGrath Fetish Eyes. I vastly prefer Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir which to me is a similar mascara, and hits it out of the park on volume without getting too far into clumpy.
NARS Climax – terrible for my lashes.
My UD naked travel set came with a full size Perversion mascara. Didn’t work for me and I was turned off by the plastic covering of the tube coming off in my hand. Maybe I got a bad one, but I hav never wanted to try it again.
UD Perversion is one of my holy grails. I do hope they haven’t changed the formula 😕
Omg I forgot how much I hate Perversion!! I’ve paid for it once and been gifted a second time many years later only to have the same “ugh, no” reaction. Something about it just does not work for me. It’s like it won’t go on my lashes, much less build up to any kind of volume. It’s so weird!
Too Faced Better Than Sex. It made my lashes look great, but irritated my sensitive eyes. I’m glad I tried a sample size and didn’t pay for a full sized tube.
I think the Dior navy blue one was a flop for me as the shade colour never really showed up and it was tricky to get off at the end of the day.
I’ve tried so many! The biggest disappointments were Pat McGrath Fetisheyes – flaked off almost immediately and smelled like a chemical factory; Nars Climax (also why with the terrible names?) which was very much an anti-climax; Too Faced Better Than Sex – agree with someone else’s comment that it most definitely is not; and the Hourglass one that I can’t remember the name. All of them flaked off, or left me with raccoon eyes and just failed to perform. I’ve found myself refusing to budge from the ones that do work – Buxom Lash which is by far the best mascara I’ve ever used, especially for volume, and Lancôme Definicils, which I find best for a more natural, lengthened and defined lash.
I wasn’t wowed by Nars Climax. It was just meh. I remember trying a Dior mascara about 10 years ago and didn’t think it was worth the money. For me, other than UD Perversion, I have better success at the drugstore. Maybelline and Loreal have some very nice mascaras. Especially throwing them out after 3 months.
Benefit Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara, the continuous amount of flaking from the minute you apply the mascara until the minute that you remove it. And then the next day because you couldn’t get it all off without ripping out all of your lashes, the flaking continues! Worst ever mascara, the magnet is under your eyes!
Funny, I have not found that at all with this particular mascara, I found Fenty worse for flaking but still enjoyed the formula. I also use facial oil to remove makeup so it comes off pretty easily (not as easily as some perhaps), I might find a bit of lingering flakes in the morning tho.
I haven’t had bad mascara that I recall, but the Fenty Full Frontal, for the hype was really confusing to me; I could never figure out what side of the brush to use for thickening vs lengthening.
I hope you ask which mascara is worth the splurge before my Sephora 20% off runs out, Christine 😉 Just in case I can find a new favourite.
I find very funny that you chose Lash Domination to illustrate a post about poor mascara choices, cause it’s really one of my favourite, perfect for a natural result. I’ve repurchased it so many times, definitely worth the splurge for me