Mascara Review:

Before we jump into the actual review I want to tell you guys a little about my eyelashes and about me. I have blonde eyelashes. They are very light, I normally use a primer to make sure to really elongate my eyelashes since I haven’t made the switch to extensions yet. I am a bit cautious on what I use because I have sensitive skin and don’t want to hurt my eyes.

I usually use one of two primers. I use the Benefit Tinted Primer and the mink-brown tinted lash primer. I like this one because it helps to elongate my lashes while giving them a darker color. I bought mine at Ulta for $25. The other primer I typically use is Tarte the Opening Act Lash Primer. I favor this one. It goes on white but I feel like it makes my lashes look like the eye lash equivalent of legs for days. This one I bought at Sephora for $22. I like the way the primer looks on my lashes helping to make them look fuller and longer. If you are happy with the length of your lashes then you don’t need to go with one of these but those are my favorites. I will be grading the Mascaras’s on the following topics: ease of applicability, color, length, how many applications, take off, volume , all day use, nap and price.

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara:

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara (this is only in one color: Black) was my first day. I put it on around ten am. I applied two coats, on top of the primer I was using (benefit tinted primer). The mascara went on really smoothly and wasn’t clumpy when applied. I feel overall that it stayed pretty evenly distributed on my lashes. I feel like it held up well for all day use, it didn’t smudge when I bumped my eyes throughout the day. It also curled nicely on my eyelash curler. It does make my lashes look longer; however, it didn’t really add a volume texture look to the lashes. It did hold the eye lash curler curl all day which was really nice. I didn’t take a nap in this mascara but overall after rubbing my mascara with my hands for a few minutes it did hold pretty well. I found it smeared a little but not too badly. When I went to take this off I used a makeup remover wipe and it did take me a few swipes to remove it but, I did put a decent amount on. The cost for this mascara is $25 and you can buy it at most make up stores including Ulta.

Overall Grade: I think for what it was I would give this a B+. I wanted a little more volume in my lashes to get the A.

Lancôme Monsieur Big:

Lancôme Monsieur Big is a solid choice mascara. It is only available in black. I applied my mascara earlier around 8:30am. (I used a different Primer to see if it made a difference or not. It is the Lancôme CILS Booster XL. I liked how cleanly it went onto my lashes but I don’t think it made any difference compared to the Tatre brand I traditionally use.) I have used this mascara before so I know that it lasts a good amount of time and provides great coverage. I applied two coats overall to my lashes to give them the desired look I wanted. This mascara really works well to volumize my lashes. It went on really easily and made my lashes look fuller and longer which are both a win in my book! I wore my mascara all day even taking a nap in it and it held up perfectly! (I was actually really impressed that I could nap in my mascara and not wake up feeling like I couldn’t use my eyes. It also didn’t smudge. I was really impressed. To remove it I felt like it wasn’t awful. It did take a few swipes with a makeup wipe but it didn’t really require me to scrub off. The price is about the same as others on this list coming in at $25 and you can get it at any department store and make up stores.

Overall Grade: I would give this an A I felt like it did well. It made my lashes look longer and fuller. Its very nice and I would get this again. As for the primer I liked it not loved; I’d still go my normal Tarte primer.

Ulta Beauty Limitless Lashes:

Ok, I can’t recommend this Mascara. It was bad. It was really wet and took awhile to dry, so long to dry that if you blinked it would smear the Mascara. It also was very clumpy like a chunk of my eyelashes were stuck together. I applied this over my normal Tarte Opening Act Primer. I applied one coat of Limitless Lashes and it was a struggle. The color was a great dark black and corresponded with their name. I have it in their jet black color. As for long lasting it is anything but. It was very easy to smear and by the end of the day it burned my eyes. It also was a nightmare to remove. I think overall it took me like five swipes with my makeup remover before I was finally able to get it all off. This retails on Ulta for $10.50. Fingers crossed the mascara formula gets a redesign!

Overall Grade: I don’t think it’s worth the money so overall I’m giving it a solid D. It burned my eyes, smeared all over and was just plain clumpy. Do not waste your money on this product.

Make Up Forever Excessive Lash Arresting Volume Mascara:

I actually got the Make Up Forever Excessive Lash as a trial size. I have it in black and it’s a little light on the color for me. I feel like it’s a great everyday mascara since it went on lightly. It did give my lashes some length. It wasn’t overly filling so it didn’t feel like it added a lot of volume to my eyes. I wore it while I was working out and the sweat didn’t bother it which is really nice. Also it didn’t sting or burn my eyes when I got sweat in my eyes. I did wipe it and I didn’t feel like it smeared. When I took this off it came off really easily probably because it was very light. The retail cost for this is $25.00.

Overall Grade: I think I’m going to give Make Up Forever Excessive Lash a C. It was very light color. It didn’t smear which was nice but it didn’t give me long full lashes. For an easy everyday option though more of a normal wear I would give it a B+. To catch the A the color needs to be slightly deeper.

Ulta Beauty Maximum Lashes:

I’m going to be real honest here. I was worried with this one after my previous Ulta Mascara but I am happy to announce that I was one hundred percent wrong. This mascara (Ulta Beauty Maximum Lashes) is meant to define and lengthen your lashes and it didn’t disappoint at all. I applied one eye with primer and one without to see the difference it would make and even without primer I feel like my lashes looked long and had lots of volume. My left eye has the primer and my right eye did not. The mascara is in their jet black color and it stayed consistent throughout all day wear. I tried rubbing my eyes a few times and I felt like the color stayed really consistent and didn’t smear. I did have to apply a few coats of this to get the desired look I wanted but it was maybe three which isn’t bad at all. When I went to remove the mascara it was a little tedious to remove as I did put three coats on so I am not going to hold the mascara accountable for that one. This retails for $10.50 and for the price you really can’t beat it.

Overall Grade: I think I would give this a B+. I liked how it made my lashes look but it could’ve had just a hint more color so three coats wouldn’t have been necessary. I will say though for this price I don’t think you’ll find a better mascara.

Lights, Camera, Lashes:

This is a Tarte classic and quite possibly one of my absolute favorites. The color is a deep black and the way it touches my lashes makes it look like I have lashes upon lashes. Plus it is a lighter mascara so my eyes don’t feel heavy all day. I applied this around 8:45am (full disclosure I had a meeting so I was hustling since I was running slightly behind…..) I put two coats on and called it a day. I felt like the two coats held strong and made me look more put together than I would’ve been with some of the other mascaras I have used.

I did take a nap in my mascara and this was definitely a mistake, I took a full snooze like face in my pillow drooling kinda nap. When I woke up my eyes felt okay a little dry but not bad; however, as I was getting back to work and moving around my eyes were sticking together a little bit and burning. I didn’t love that. I thought maybe my bottom lashes were sticking to my top lashes so I wiped my eyes a bit and no smudging. I took my eye lash curler and thought, okay I’ll recurl, maybe that will help. It didn’t. I eventually just felt really uncomfortable and took my mascara off. When I took it off it was back to my dream mascara that I know and love. It came off with ease. Just two swipes with a make up wipe and boom, no more mascara.

Overall Grade: While this shouldn’t be a huge factor the fact that it didn’t hold up to the nap test did take it down a few notches for me. If I hadn’t taken a nap and just went about my day it would have gotten an A; however, since it didn’t pass the nap test and left me feeling really uncomfortable I am giving it a B-.

Dior Addict It-Lash:

I have used Dior products for years. They never disappoint me and this one lived up to that hype. It is a simple mascara meant to maximize the volume in my lashes. I choose this Mascara because I needed to be on camera for a few FaceTime calls and it did everything I wanted. I applied two coats to my lashes and it made them look super long and luxurious. This mascara holds up all day without a fear, I can rub my eyes and not have to worry about it smearing or looking any differently than it would if I could go all day without touching my face. I choose this one for my go to night out because it just makes my eyes pop with minimal effort (which some days is more than I can ask of my make up.) I also feel like it comes off very easily when I hit it with makeup remover. It doesn’t stay stuck in my lashes, it really just glides off. When I use it for going out I am not the most thorough at taking off my mascara (all right all my make up) so if its easy to remove it just makes it that much better in my book. This mascara might be the most expensive in the list. It retails for just under $30 coming in at $29.50 over at Nordstrom.

Overall Grade: I really like this color and the dramatic look it gives to my eyes while being a trusty easy to use mascara. I would happily give this mascara an A for it’s ease and friendliness of the brush.

Wet n’ Wild Mega Protein:

So a lot of my instagram followers were really eager to see how this Mascara would hold up. I grabbed mine at Target for $1.99. I’m going to be really honest here. It’s not my favorite on this list. It didn’t give me as much volume as I was expecting. That being said if you are in a pinch and in need of a solid mascara this will be a good one. I applied three coats and my lashes had some solid length. When I hit it with my eyelash curler it just emphasized the length. When I first put it on it did take a little bit before it dried (be warned do not hustle through this or you will wind up with mascara all over you.) I didn’t try to take a nap in this one since when I rub my fingers over it I do get a little bit of smearing. I liked it but would not wear it as an all day choice. I plan to be really active mascara but for an uh oh I hustled out the door and forget my make up, its pretty good. Again I paid $1.99 for this over at Target.

Overall Grade: I would give this a solid C+/B-, For this price it was a great quality but overall I didn’t get a lot of volume and it was easy to smear. I did get some awesome length out of this mascara though which I always appreciate.