Splurge or Save: Mascara Edition

To splurge or to save? That is the question...

As in life, when it comes to beauty products, there must be a delicate balance struck between a product that actually works and its price tag. This is its intrinsic value and while it is easy to be distracted by a label or big name, it's truly what's inside that counts. A good example in the beauty world is mascara. I have very big, very sensitive eyes and have had to practice good optical hygiene from a young age. This includes the discarding of mascara every three months, rather than the suggested six, at the behest of my ophthalmologist. As you can imagine, this adds up quickly and I had to cut my mascara budget in half. Luckily, CoverGirl seemed to be on the same page and delivered quality mascaras in their LashBlast line that are both safe for sensitive peepers and actually do what they say they do. A fine example is their LashBlast Clump Crusher which I have previously raved about.

However, the last month or so, the winds of change have begun to blow in the favor of more high end brands. I began to feel a shift when I tested CoverGirl's latest LashBlast Flamed Out Mascara which I found to be a step backwards in terms of anti-clumping and flaking.

2 coats of CoverGirl's Flamed Out: color not as black, began to flake right away, as far as I could get without major clumping. Lashed are sill quite wild and all over the place. 

Later the same week, I found myself visiting an old friend at a Bare Minerals boutique and she asked if I had tried their latest Lash Domination 10-in-1 Volumizing Mascara. Initially, I was hesitant as I had tried their others and not achieved resultas that were any better than my LashBlast of the moment. I also hesitated because it seemed to be promising a lot of things and I have learned to be somewhat skeptical of something that claims to do 10 things at once. It was just by chance that I did not put mascara on that morning and decided it couldn't hurt. At first I was impressed by the results so I purchased one and brought it home.

2 coats Bare Minerals' Lash Domination: Better in color and in definition but clumped MAJORLY with any more coats. Not very helpful in the volume department.

 Enter the REAL problem: when testing masacra in department stores or boutiques, you are given wands that have not actually been sitting in the mascara tube (thank goodness) but the catch is they don't actually mimic what the real wand does. The solution would be to clean your wand every time you use it but AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FO THAT!!! Or you could just make a mascara that has a brush that volumizes and remains clump free...which Cover Girl already did with Clump Crusher.

Oh thanks, Clump Crusher, for...you know...crushing it

So if it ain't broke, there's really no need to but the pricey stuff as long as your reasonable one does the job. I have yet to find one of the high end brands that has done the job better than this one.

VERDICT: Save your dollars, darlings, and go get an iced coffee/tea/chai. Don't forget to bat your fabulous fringe at the barista. ;)

BREAKING NEWS: As I was researching for this post, I discovered that Cover Girl has telepathically heard my rants (finally) and is re-launching Clump Crusher with a twist - Clump Crusher Extensions which will apparently provide more length for a perfect balance of volume and length...I see a follow up post in the very near future...

Till next time!