Photo 4/7
For Mile-Long Lashes on a Small Beauty Budget
Flake factor: 5/5
Overall: 3/5
The promise: I'm impressed with the flake-resistant prowess of Too Faced's mascara, so I decide I'll try a lower-priced dupe: the double-ended L'Oreal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes.
Frey's advice when it comes to buying mascara: "Buy the drugstore version of the department store brand." Department-store products "might be incrementally better ... but primarily what you're paying for is the package, the name [and] what the department store charges." The technology in a low-end tubing mascara is "very much the same" as a high-end product, he says.
The reality: Sure enough, this is a solid drugstore find. It doesn't flake, and the nourishing primer-and-mascara combo makes my lashes look long, dark and defined. The brush isn't too large, either, which makes application easy and mess-free.
This one doesn't deliver in the thickening department, so if you want volume from your mascara, look elsewhere. But if you're a beauty addict on a budget, this product is comparable to Too Faced's tube mascara and half the price.
Photo 5/7
For a Lifted, Long-Wearing Look
Flake factor: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5
The promise: This mascara is marketed as smudge-resistant and flake-resistant for up to 24 hours, an intriguing -- and rare -- combo. According to Frey, smudge-proof formulas are typically no bueno when you're trying to avoid flakes. "The more it claims smudge-proof, the more it's going to be a dry film," he explains. Could this Clinique curling mascara do the impossible: resist both smudging and flaking?
The reality: This mascara isn't as rock-solid as a tubing mascara when it comes to keeping flakes at bay, but it comes darn close. Flakes are next to none after an impressive 17 hours of wear. True to the packaging's word, it doesn't smudge or smear at all -- in fact, it stays put even when I didn't want it to. (Removal requires some rubbing and scrubbing.)
However, its clumpiness is disappointing, and while the curved wand helped lift my lashes on application, it doesn't make them look curlier.
Photo 6/7
For Dark, Boldly Glamorous Lashes
Flake factor: 5/5
Overall: 4/5
The promise: I've had good luck so far with tubing mascaras, but I've been disappointed by how little volume they give my lashes. A colleague at TotalBeauty.com tips me off to Kevyn Aucoin's tube-building mascara, and its name promises the fat lashes I crave.
The reality: This is one of the most expensive mascaras I've tried, but I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Its skinny, humble-looking brush seems to grab every last lash, fanning them out while coating them, root to tip, in a luxurious, deep black. It holds up all day with nary a flake, even when I reapply eyeliner.
The only downsides are its mildly clumpy application and quick-drying formula, necessitating quick work, since tubing mascaras don't work well with a second coat. Nevertheless, I'm putting this mascara in my top two.
Photo 7/7
For Conditioned, Long and Thick Lashes
Flake factor: 5/5
Overall rating: 4/5
The promise: Initially, I wasn't too crazy about the idea of a mascara primer, but according to Frey, base coats that condition lashes and prevent lash fall-out might also reduce flaking. Jane Iredale's whitish lash primer offers conditioning benefits, and the brand's lengthening mascara is packed with moisturizing ingredients like beeswax, glycerin, oleic acids, panthenol, and algae and radish extracts. So I took both for a spin.
The reality: Even though I drive a Prius and steer clear of hormone-infused foods, all-natural beauty products are not my thing. In my experience, makeup and skin care products chock-full of synthetic chemicals simply work better. (Sorry not sorry!)
So color me surprised: Jane Iredale's mascara blows me away. Glossy and buildable, this mascara goes on light and gets thicker and more dramatic with each stroke, and my lashes stay separated. With the whitish primer underneath, this mascara was un-freaking-stoppable. The mascara stayed on my lashes and never felt brittle. No smudges, no flakes, and, hey -- no hard-to-pronounce chemicals, either. I call that a winner.
