It's the MASCARA MARATHON. For a few weeks I researched, searched, bought, tried, documented and NOW… I'm sharing the results with you. If you've been a part of my Safer Skincare journey over the past ALMOST DECADE!, you know the mission is to experiment, explore, and then share with all of you. This includes everything from at-home treatments, skincare, and cosmetics, as well as in-office procedures like lasers, peels, and injectables. I've worked with a variety of brands throughout the years, some of which I no longer recommend, some who are not currently available (Beautycounter obvi), and some which I've recommended then and still do today. My goal is to make recommendations from products I've personally tried and love, as well as to provide a range of price point whenever possible. So as we move forward, I want to continue to try and test a variety of products and give my honest feedback. The wonderful part of this is that today versus when I started, we have a PLETHORA of safer options with better standards than we did in the early days. Obviously there is no possible way I can test them ALL so I try to investigate options that are ranked well on EWG and similar sites, that are rated well by consumers for their performance, and then pull from those to try at home. I then present to you my completely transparent feedback. For this first installment, I tested 6 mascaras day by day to see how they stack up. Keep reading below to see what I think of each one! |
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First photo below is our BASELINE. No mascara, ok maybe a crumb or 2 leftover but did my best to remove to show you my bare lashes. This way you can give a comparison to the photos below showing WITH mascara. |
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NEXT MONTH is Vitamin C serum testing. I've already been testing and have a few lined up. I think we're in luck my friends, I loved Beautycounter's Vit C as much as you did but we're not high and dry! |
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Okay buckle up. We're going one by one through each day with a variety of feedback on each. |
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Personal Rating: 6.5 EWG: 4 Brush: Love Value: $$ Online Reviews: 3.8/5 Personal Feedback: This was a solid mascara. It ranks under a 5, lasted all day, layers well, and has a nice full brush. Personal opinion, I loathe a nubby plastic-y short spindle brush so my feedback includes how bushy and full a mascara wand brush is. Ultimately, this one was “fine." It didn't blow me away and I felt like I could definitely beat it over the upcoming test days. I was right. |
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Personal Rating: 9.5 EWG: No rating but ALL Wander Beauty rates VERY well Brush: Like Value: $$ Online Reviews: 4.6/5 Personal Feedback: Far and away my favorite. OMG like YES YES YES I found it. I love the brush, the formula, the layerability (not a word?) is perfection, and I LOVE the packaging because it's a squeezy, soft-sided tube. Like, why don't all mascaras come like this so you can squeeze the tube while swirling the brush in order to maximize product distribution. So smart. No flakes, no smudging, I'm a convert. |
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Personal Rating: 5 EWG: 3 Brush: Love Value: $$ Online Reviews: 3.7/5 Personal Feedback: Meh, it was ok. I had heard so much positive feedback about this one (along with Thrive that I tried years ago with high expectations) and I have to admit my opinion fell far short from the clean beauty community. I realize that we all look for different things in a mascara too so it may be great for what many are looking for, but I just was not blown away. It would be fine if it were the only thing made available to me, but I was not excited. The brush was great (like Anastasia's), it was a little smudgy and did not layer like I prefer. For the pricepoint, I would prefer any of the others in my list. |
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Personal Rating: 6.5 EWG: 3 Brush: Like Value: $$$ Online Reviews: 3.9/5 Personal Feedback: I liked this one slightly more than Ilia, but tbh, I expected more from Urban Decay. I thought there would be more drama, volume, extension. The brush was great, I am not sure enough of the product landed on the brush, but it did layer well. It was long-lasting without flaking so I appreciate that, just landed a little flat for me. |
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Personal Rating: 7.5 EWG: 3 Brush: Love Value: $ Online Reviews: 4.1/5 Personal Feedback: Wow! I must say I was very pleasantly surprised by this. For the pricepoint, the performance, the EWG rating, this is definitely my #2 behind Wander. I loved how pigmented it was it layered beautifully. My only possible gripe is that it MAY have not “cured” quite enough once applied, which would not be problematic in a dryer climate but I fear may tend to smudge in humid weather. I didn't have issues but I suspect it could be an issue since it doesn't feel like it dries completely. I tend to love a “wetter” mascara product, but this one felt like it stayed a little tacky or damp, even though it didn't actively smudge, it felt like it had the potential to. Everything else about it was spot on for my mascara preferences. |
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Personal Rating: 7 EWG: 4 Brush: Like Value: $$ Online Reviews: 4.2/5 Personal Feedback: This was my favorite clean mascara for years - a lot of you know I've linked you to it and have been historically enthusiastic about its wear. I do love how it layers, wears all day without flaking/smudging, and it does create some volume and length. I just don't think it's my #1 anymore, which makes me a little sad and nostalgic, but also makes me really happy we have so many options available to us now! It's still a really solid choice so by no means am I dismissive of the power it holds so it still makes my top 3 of this week's exploration. |
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----------------------------------- Hi, it's me to remind you that your bikini line is not going to shave, wax, laser itself before your beach trip. I know it might still be snowy and grey in some parts, but brighter days are ahead and I'm just here to tell you about an at-home laser hair remover that I've been using for about a month and have noticed a substantial reduction in grow-back. I had another at-home device a few years ago that was a little too hot/snappy/rubber band poppy for me, and it resulted in me going to a laser hair provider nearby instead. However, I also was spending around $150 per session to treat bikini and under arms. Even though it definitely worked, I stopped going after a few sessions because it just felt costly. I still had some remaining hair I had to (chose to) shave, but I also missed the convenience and SMOOTHNESS of laser. So I started researching at-home products again and OMG my 2nd time around is so much better. I have now been using this device 1-2x a week for about a month on my bikini, under arms, and lady beard (that's dramatic but I decided to give my few strays a run for their money) and my hair growth reduction is at the level of what it was from professional treatments AND I've already saved $900 if you count the number of treatments and deduct the cost of the device. Granted I wouldn't have gone for professional treatments this often in a month, but it sure adds up over time! I got THIS one, but they offer two products. This one is the newer one, has a longer lifetime of flashes, and has a more advanced cooling technology. The most awesome part is I have not had any of those hot zaps, which I had even with the professional laser. It stays super cool against the skin and I have not had any post-laser irritation because of it. Even with the professional laser, and my older at-home one, I would get periodic follicles that felt irritated afterwards because of the heat. With THIS device, even after 10 uses, I have not had that experience at all, which makes it even easier to use. ***NOTE: I paid full price for my device, have not received any compensation from the manufacturer, and was not asked to review it. These are my own opinions and I just wanted to share because I'm impressed with how well it worked! I do receive a small commission when you shop my Amazon Affiliate link. Thank you! |
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