Drugstore Beauty Finds

Today blogger Caroline K. takes us through five days of testing with five popular drugstore mascaras.

So, have you heard the one about us being in a recession? We’re all saving money where we can.

There are even things like the Lipstick Index. Apparently, when times are bad, cosmetics sales go up.

Who knew?

In my case, I am being more conservative with my makeup purchases, which is why I’m looking closely at drugstore mascara.

With my favorite, Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes, costing $28 a pop, it was time to return to my college days. I wanted to find the greatest drugstore mascara ever sold, so from Monday-Friday I played with five mascaras over five days.

Naked lashes

First, I present you with my no makeuped eye, which is maybe the scariest thing I have ever posted on the Internet. I’m going with that first so you have nowhere to go but up with your opinion of my eyeball.

For the following photos, I wasn’t wearing any makeup other than each mascara. I stuck to the included mascara wands — no additional brushes, combs or eyelash curlers. Oh, and these are all double coats.

Now on to the fun!

Monday: L’Oreal Bare Naturale, $10

Monday was L’Oreal’s new mineral mascara, Bare Naturale ($10). I clearly hadn’t figured out the lighting thing yet … but that’s neither here nor there.

I like this mascara. It’s not heavy or goopy and lasts all day long but is still easy to remove in the evening.

The look isn’t anything dramatic, but it does add definition. Great Saturday afternoon mascara, not that I wear special makeup when I want to look like I’m not wearing any. Oh, no, not me. 🙂

Tuesday: Maybelline Lash Stiletto, $8

Tuesday, I tried the new Maybelline Lash Stiletto ($8).

Maybelline really went all out with their packaging, and this bad boy actually looks like a stiletto heel.

I really like this mascara. It gives a lot of length, but I feel like it’s missing that added volume bump I need.

The mascara itself is super glossy and would take some getting used to, but my biggest complaint is the brush. It’s a little too wiry and pokey for my taste. Sure, I think it makes my eyelashes look terrific, but my lash line got a little banged up in the process.

Wednesday: Cover Girl Lash Exact, $8

Wednesday, I moved on to Cover Girl’s Lash Exact ($8) in the purple tube.

I’m not going to lie; those new pokey plastic Cover Girl brushes really freak me out. They look like some sort of medieval torture device but in fun new colors, so I was totally surprised by how much I liked the way they made my lashes look.

They were stunningly long. I could have used a comb to separate them a little more, but I was in heaven.

Unfortunately, as the day wore on, Lash Exact let me down. By noon it was getting a little flakey, and by dinner it seemed to have disappeared.

Thursday: Maybelline Sky High Curves, $7

But Thursday was another day, and I decided to try my old standby. Before I moved to the Givenchy mascara last year, I was a Maybelline Sky High Curves ($7) girl.

Would it welcome me back into its old embrace? Would I still love it after working with perfection all these months?

I have to say, I did.

This mascara actually does curl my lashes, which I have to say weirds me out, but it gives terrific length and volume.

The brush is easy to use, but it seems like Maybelline may have changed the formula while I was away from the product because it tended to get a little clumpy with my eyelashes leaning toward the spidery side of the spectrum.

A little brushwork took care of the problem, though, and I looked good for the day! Oh, and the waterproof formula lasted through a marathon crying session during Grey’s Anatomy, so good work, Maybelline!

Friday: Cover Girl Lash Blast Luxe, $9

Finally, it was Friday, and I was ready for the weekend. I tried Cover Girl’s new Lash Blast Luxe ($9), which I had saved for Friday because of its OMG shimmer! Nothing says “weekend mascara” like shimmer, and I was excited to see what it could do.

And then, nothing.

Not only does it lack shimmer, but it doesn’t have much else either. I think it may darken my eyelashes a little, but that’s certainly not anything to write home about.

This was a big disappointment for me, and after Drew Barrymore’s eyelashes looked so great in the commercial…

So it seems like I’m sticking with my old standby, Sky High Curves. 🙂 I think in general Maybelline knows what they’re doing in the lash department. With money so tight these days, if I can still look fabulous on a budget, I’m all for it.

CVS, here I come!

This post was written by blogger Caroline K. She wasn’t always a makeup girl, but a marketing internship at Seventeen magazine changed all that. The editorial girls took pity on her poor soul and taught her about brushes, eyeliner and lip gloss; she’s never looked back.