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We Tried It: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

It promises length, volume and falsie-worthy lashes, but does it hold up? We found out
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I've been doing my makeup since I was 13 years old (I'm now 24) and I'm still looking for the perfect mascara. There are literally thousands of mascara products, and between the drugstore gems and luxury splurges, my lashes are literally drowning in options. Yet over the years, one product's buzz-worthy reputation towered above them all: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, $23.

I was first introduced to the high-end mascara when my aunt (a stylist and makeup artist) told me she uses it on almost all of her clients. She's not the only makeup artist obsessed with the Too Faced mascara. Simply hop on Google and you'll see pages upon pages flooded in Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara reviews. The claims? The mascara lifts, curls and plumps lashes for a sky-high falsie look, and many argue Too Faced mascara can't be beat. Being that I've pretty much seen it all in the world of lash-lengthening products, I had my fair share of doubts.

Curious to see if it really lived up to its name, I decided to give the coveted mascara a go. Here, my honest review of Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara.

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First Impressions
Right off the bat, I loved the informative packaging of the mascara and the confidence it projected. That might sound weird, but if a cosmetics company features a before and after image on the front of their packaging, that displays their faith in the mascara's results in my mind. A comforting reassurance, considering the $23 price tag. The mascara features ingredients like collagen and acacia Senegal tree extract to nourish, thicken and curl lashes, and they've got some pretty incredible clinical research to back up their holy grail mascara claims. According to one survey, 100 percent of participants reported longer lashes and dramatic volume, while 93 percent of people saw base-to-tip curl. (It's worth noting that only 3.4 out of 10 people said great lashes are actually better than sex. No surprise there.)

When I first opened the mascara, I was surprised to find an hourglass application wand. According to Too Faced, the design of the wand is meant to mimic the curves of a woman's body (everything about this mascara is sexy) and I was curious to see how it would transform my lashes. In the past, an hourglass wand meant clumpy lashes, annoying transfer due to too much product pick-up and very little lift. But I was willing to give it a shot.

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Application
I was seriously impressed with the immediate effects of a swipe of Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. As I removed the wand from the tube, it caught quite a bit of product, which distributed evenly on my lashes. The results? Immediate bedroom eyes. My lashes were longer, wispier and could've fooled people into thinking I was wearing natural-looking falsies. Unlike other mascaras, I only needed one application of the mascara to get full and lengthy lashes, whereas in the past I almost always needed at least two and an eyelash curler. Pro tip: I found that if I started at the base of my lashes, did a little wand wiggle and worked my way up, my lashes looked extra full.

My only gripe? The rotund hourglass wand made application difficult in those hard-to-reach places, like the inner and outer corners of my eyes.

Because I tend to be a bit excessive with my mascara (hey, I like full lashes), I couldn't help but swipe on a second coat of the Too Faced mascara -- and what a difference it made. While one coat left my lashes looking natural, long and lifted, a second coat added serious drama, making lashes appear fuller, blacker and all-around eye-battingly sexier. As you can see from the picture, my left eye with the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara is decidedly more devastatingly alluring than my right eye without.

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Life Span
The Too Faced mascara impressed me with its ability to dramatically amp up my eyes, but I was curious to see just how long those effects would last. I applied Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara at 9 a.m. By noon, my lashes were still sky-high. However, the mascara was faced with the true test come 1 p.m., as I hit the gym for my usual lunchtime workout. After 20 minutes of perspiring on the stair stepper and 40 minutes of picking up (very) heavy things and putting them back down, sweat had done its damage to my perfectly contoured face, leaving my foundation patchy and my eye shadow all over my eyes. As for my mascara, it looked as fresh as when I put it on and there was zero fallout. In that moment, I was convinced I had found the miracle of all mascaras, which is why I wasn't surprised when my eyelashes still looked fresh at 8 p.m.

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Overall Consensus
I finally understand why Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara has such a cult following. It's true to its claims, and it does lift, lengthen and add serious volume to limp lashes. If you're going for a very subtle look and want to keep your mascara light, this is not the pick for you. However, if you want luscious lashes that reach dramatic heights, this is your new best friend.

While I'll never really be done searching for the best mascara out there (the life of a beauty editor), I can confidently say that the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara is at the top of my list. Is it actually better than sex? Depends on the day.

BY JESSICA AMARIS | MAR 14, 2017 | SHARES
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