In my opinion the world of Mascara is the same jungle as the world of Foundation. What actually bothers me is the marketing around it. You buy one because it promises volume and 2 weeks later the same brand comes up with one that promises curl and volume and you’re like: “oh no, maybe that one is better” so you can’t resist and end up buying it. Meaning that in one moth you’ve spent like 30 euros on mascara’s and probably feel disappointed. Yeah, we have all been there, including yours truly. Hence I was able to take this picture above.
Finding your Holy Grail mascara is not an easy task but I did find mine back in 2007 and then in 2011 I got obsessed again by the marketing and tried tons of different mascara’s only to find out that my Holy Grail from 2007 is still my Holy Grail today. Before I reveal which one it is I would like to give you some pointers that may help you find yours:
1. What do your lashes need: are they short? straight? thin? Take a good look at your lashes!
2. For me the secret lies in the type of wand, so if one mascara promises length but I don’t like the wand I know it just won’t work to my satisfaction. A wand can be: big, small, curved, hairy or from rubber. You might want to consider the type of eyes you have. Mines are deep set therefore application with a big wand doesn’t work for me. My favorite is a rubber normal sized wand as I feel it separates my lashes better.
3. The mascara itself….I’ve tried my share of high end brands like Chanel and Lancome and other brands like MAC, L’oreal and Yves Rocher but never have I thought that the more expensive ones were much better that the cheap ones. I have never studied the ingredients though.
Either way the outcome to my personal Holy Grail mascara search is: Max Factor.
The two in the middle: Masterpiece and Masterpiece Max Waterproof. The purple one has a wand too big for my eyes and the Xperience has a non rubber wand :(.
Masterpiece MAX contains 7.2ml of product and Masterpiece only 4.5ml. That’s actually a big difference for almost the same price. On the other hand, there is a lot of bacteria build up in mascara therefore I’m ok with less product so that way it won’t take me moths to finish it. Did you also know that Waterproof mascara holds your curl better and longer?
I tried to set this photo example for you guys (I had to switch to a less professional camera so, sorry for the quality). Left I’m wearing the Waterproof Masterpiece mascara and on the right the normal Masterpiece mascara. You can see trough out the day that waterproof mascara is the winner. The reason for this is that the formula weighs less as it contains more oily and waxy stuff, so it doesn’t weigh down your lashes as much.
One last tip: I buy mine in Germany because the price difference is just shocking and only a 2 hour drive away!
Thank you reading my thoughts on mascara, now I would love to hear yours! If there’s a mascara you feel I should definitely try, please let me know!
Love,
Tanimara
Tanimara Layla 
Tja, ik heb je artikel gelezen en in alle jaren heb ik dus ook wel mijn ervaring met Mascara, zelf vind ik Dior en Chanel heel prettig in het gebruik en momenteel ben ik heel tevreden met MAC, mijn voorkeur is om geen waterproof te gebruiken, bij mij blijft ook niet waterproof goed zitten zelfs bij het zwemmen en daarna vind ik het gemakkelijker om de oogmake-up te verwijderen maar dat is persoonlijk.Is het waar dat waterproof betere bestanddelen heeft?? Dan zou ik dat toch eens moeten proberen.Als de portemonee het niet verdraagt is L’Oreal of Max Factor ook een goed alternatief maar de prijsverschillen zijn ook weer niet zo groot, over borsteljes weet ik niet zoveel en daar zou ik dus wel wat meer over willen weten. Succes and love
Hi Martha, thank you for sharing! So in your years of experience with mascara Dior and Chanel never failed you and you are now content with MAC. Which one exactly by MAC?
I think that most people don’t opt for Waterproof, just like you. In my experience it still comes off a little bit when I swim and yes it is indeed extra work to take it off. I only use it on rainy days or when I want to have that extra Wow! effect on my eyes.
It don’t know of the ingredients are ‘better’ but it’s oil based and as oil and water don’t mix (when you put olive oil in boiling water you’ll see what I mean) which make it a lighter formula so the curl in your lashes stays longer. But I happen to know your lashes and you don’t even need to curl them so you’re good with regular mascara ;).