Mascara Comparisons

I thought it'd be fun/interesting to test out all the mascaras I owned to compare how they look and wear and which ones I'd buy again or steer well clear of in the future.

I wore each mascara for the course of a day to really see how well they performed - I tried to keep my eye make-up similar each day and tested the mascaras without curling my eyelashes first.

Below is a picture of what my peepers look like sans mascara.

Oh dear!

This is what I'm working with au naturel. I'm pretty uncomfortable looking at this picture. I think my eyes are looking quite expressionless when seen like this - which means that mascara really is an essential item or I actually am quite dead behind the eyes!

 

 

Rodial Glamolash Mascara XXL

RRP: £24.00

Really liked this mascara - stayed put throughout the day with minimal under-eye smudging. Has a nice thick brush which separates and lengthens upper eyelashes and despite the size of the brush, is pretty good for the under-eye lashes too.

Rating: 4/5

 

 

Bourjois Volume Reveal Ultra Black

RRP: £9.99

Out of all my mascaras, this one has the funkiest packaging - a rather chunky triangular bottle with an in-built mirror on the side. The brush is very spikey but I really like this brush as it does a fantastic job of separating the eyelashes. The initial application looks great but this does tend to smudge o the under-eye area throughout the day. The longevity issue takes the rating down from me.

Rating: 3/5

 

 

Eyeko Lash Alert Mascara

RRP: £19.00

This is my go-to Holy Grail mascara. Looking at the photos I took during these comparison tests I'm seeing that it doesn't actually make my eyelashes look the most full or the most long but I just love it's performance and staying power. This mascara comes in a blue squeezy tube with a curved wand. It contains caffeine and promises to deliver long term elasticity and resilience. I haven't honestly noticed any real long-term effects, but then I didn't actually take any photos of my eyelashes prior to using this mascara. It lasts all day without smudging or flaking and out of all my mascaras, this one has the best staying power.

Rating: 5/5

 

 

No 7 Intense Volume Mascara

RRP: £10.00

In two words - bleh and meh!

Dull, dull, dull! (There's another three for you) Basic wand, basic packaging. Smudgy application and under-eye smudging after just a couple of hours of wear. Didn't do anything out of the ordinary after freshly applying. This one's going in the bin.

Rating: 1/5 (purely for the fact that there was at least some product to rate).

 

 

Lancôme Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara

RRP: £24.50

If it were for the results on initial application alone, then this would definitely be my favourite mascara. I think it does a pretty good job of giving you that false eyelash look without wearing false lashes. Nice and spiky tapered wand lets you really get to your lashes without smudging and it doesn't flick or flake either.

BUT - this only stays put for a couple of hours before really smudging on the under-eye area. Every time too - so it wasn't just a bad rubby-eye day.

Rating: 3/5 (would love to give it more but the longevity issue is a big problem for me).

 

 

Rimmel  Volume Colourist Mascara

RRP: £7.99

This was actually my second attempt to photograph the finished application for this mascara. The first time I got some in my eye and the result was a complete horror show! This flakes so badly on initial application - I had little specks and flicks of mascara all along my eyelid, under the eye and even some flicked onto my cheek. If you look closely, you can see several flecks of it on my water line. Yuck! Absolutely hated this and it's another one going straight in the bin. Needless to say, it lasted no time at all before further smudging

Rating: 1/5

 

 

Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara

RRP: £24.50

Before meeting Eyeko, this was my go-to and many-time repurchased mascara. I'm still pretty in love with it. It has a really pigmented pure black colour and is pretty perfect to separate and lengthen lashes. This was the first mascara I used that really made me aware of the whole fibre-lengthening thing. Very long-wearing with minimal to no smudging.

Rating: 4.5/5

 

 

Max Factor Velvet Volume Mascara

RRP: £11.99

I must admit that I'd been wearing this previously without giving it too much thought. It just seemed like an average mascara that I was using up because I'd bought it and wanted to get some use out of it. However, after looking at the above photo, I'm actually quite taken aback at how great this looks! It has an intensely spiky wand, which I'm starting to think is my favourite type of wand as it really does help to lengthen and separate lashes. It does feel like a dangerous weapon though, it's that spiky, but so far I haven't put an eye out, so that's good. The only thing that lets it down is that it does smudge later on in the day.

Rating: 3.5/5

 

 

e.l.f Lengthening and Defining Mascara

RRP: £4.50

This is the surprise star of the show for me. I bought this for just £1 in the online e.l.f sale and maybe because it was so cheap (it's only £4.50 at full price) I didn't have much faith in it. Also, it has a very skinny wand and brush and I suppose my mind equated that with a bit of a weedy mascara. However, look at the results! Really not bad at all. Again, the only thing that lets it down is longevity - does smudge later on in the day.

Rating: 4/5

 

So, this was quite a lot of fun for me and although I don't actually need any new mascara, I think I might have to add to this comparison post, you know, for research sake!

Latest Additions!

 

Benefit - Roller Lash

RRP: £20.50

 

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Benefit - some of their products I feel are hugely overrated, but this Roller Lash is not one of them.

It gives exactly the results I love - lengthens and curls so my lashes look more like falsies, without clumping, flaking or smearing. Long-lasting without smudging on the lower lid later in the day.

However, I can't help but notice that compared to some of the other photographs above, the effect doesn't look as strong in the photographs as I feel it was in real life! The mascara certainly doesn't look as pigmented as others above - but again, I didn't feel that when I was wearing it.

Rating: 4/5 - I really thought I might give this a 5/5 - but I've been swayed comparing with the photo with some of the others in comparison!

 

My Ratings (in order of highest to lowest)

1. Eyeko Lash Alert

2. Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye

3. Benefit - Roller Lash

E.L.F - Lengthening

 and Defining Mascara

Rodial - Glamolash XXL

6. Max Factor - Velvet Volume

7. Lancôme - Hypnose Doll Effect

8. Bourjois Volume Reveal

 

Price (Lowest to Highest)

1. E.L.F - Lengthening and defining mascara £4.50

2.Bourjois Volume Reveal £9.99

3. Max Factor - Velvet Volume £11.99

4. Eyeko Lash Alert £19.00

5. Benefit - Roller Lash £20.50

6. Rodial Glamolash £24.00

7 & 8. Lancôme Hypnose Doll Effect and Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye £24.50