I bought my Maybelline in the five and dime stores, Woolworth's and Kresge's.
You can read about the Maybelline story here.
Maybelline came in a small plastic box with a tray of powdered black tint and a separate brush.
All that was needed before promising "long luxurious lashes" was a bit of water to moisten the cake of mascara before loading up the brush.
(as unhygienic as it was many of us used spit)
If you are in your 50's or older you may remember this wee red box that promised a bit of glamour for a only few cents. These days mascara prices have soared and are made by every major cosmetic company.
The brushes and formulas have really changed...I have tried many!
How does one choose the best one without trying all of them?
I have been a fan of Aveda and Lancome Definicils until I was recently lured away to try the popular Benefit brand "they're Real!" I have given this mascara a real "girl scout" try and I am sorry to report that I am really disappointed.
I don't like the plastic applicator which "mascara-ades" as a brush.
While generally I am a very polite Canadian, I must speak honestly as I blogged about this awhile back and I remember that a reader asked me to give her some feedback.
"I cannot abide this goopy mess..."
"Benefit" if you are reading this, the opinion is purely mine, and in no way do I want to attract any litigation...
I am sure that the hundreds of fans and their rave reviews on Sephora cannot be wrong.
It is just not for me, a "natural look" is what I aspire to for my lashes.
Finding myself at the local pharmacy waiting for my thyroid prescription to be filled I had a few minutes to browse so I set my designs on procuring a less expensive mascara that might deliver on the promise of darker lashes that were separated without gloppy goopy results.
I bought two tubes that were under $10 each.
Maybelline Great Lash and Almay Intense I-Colour for hazel eyes in Midnight.
I have disposed of the Benefit mascara which is on the bottom of the image.
I have tried the Almay mascara and I love the brush
which does not load too much product when it comes out of the tube.
My personal opinions will be posted after I have had some time to evaluate these two mascaras.
The rain eased up a bit this afternoon
but not enough for me to walk my regular 5K route.
We have a bit of a pond forming in our north side yard,
our gardener remarked was a bit deeper than he expected when he was out there weeding today!
An unexpected visit from my BFF meant we could sit, share tea, a piece of chocolate, and a chat.
Thanks S!
Gosh darn it, I found another engaging book...I really do love reading!
Kathleen Tessaro wrote this early on in her career before she wrote her most recent and delightful novel
The Perfume Collector.
I read Elegance a few years ago and this book, Innocence, actually fell off the shelf into my hands!
What are you reading and are you loyal to any particular brand of mascara?
45 comments:
I tried the Benefit mascara and was very disappointed. It clumped together and seemed dry. You should try the Maybelline The Falsies, best mascara I have tried in a long time.
I am actually a fan of Clinique's mascara. It's a nice fat brush, which gets at all the little hairs, and it separates really well. I find the "comb" type or spiky brushes gloop my lashes together. Right now I'm using L'Oreal's "Voluminous Full Edition" (gold tube) and I like it. Again, a nice thick brush and not too thick. I can do a few coats without it getting clumpy.
Wasn't that the craziest day, weather-wise?? It was sunny one minute, pouring the next!
I don't wear mascara (at which point, those who have met me might be saying '....and we noticed!) as it has always felt heavy and foreign. Perhaps it's time for me to break out and try some of the new brands.
It rained all morning over here in the Fraser Valley, and the drive across the lower mainland was one of the worst I've ever experienced - I was so glad to get to the hotel!
Hi Leslie...having just come off of The Goldfinch, I moved onto Steve Jobs biography. No idea what moved me from one to the other, but I am enjoying it.
Funny you should mention mascara, I just stocked up on my favourite recently. I like Bobbie Brown Party Extreme and No Smudge, I have both and plan according to the weather. I picked up Bobbie Brown eye makeup remover and love it..get's the waterproof mascara off in one wipe. Even better is her eyelash curler..the best I have ever used! :)
I've tried more expensive mascaras, but always come back to Loreal's Voluminous.
I'm using Maybelline 'Stiletto'. It's water soluble and doesn't clump and it's pretty cheap too! Worth a try :)
Oh yes, mascara that came with a tiny brush and you added water. Eyeliner came like that too and I really loved it. I wish I could buy that eyeliner now.
Mascara is the only eye make up I wear and I am very very loyal to Lancome as I wear contact lenses and they are one of the few that don't smudge! I tried eyelash extensions a while back and they were so addictive but they were causing my lashes to fall out so I had to stop. I also find reviews on websites hard to trust as it is meant to be objective but everyone has such different experiences and I wonder about the authenticity of half those comments...I wish they sold more mascara testers though bc I want to branch out but don't want to commit to a full tube!
I was recently disappointed by YSL's Shocking, which ... wasn't. I've gone back to L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes.
Recently had to give up mascara after laser eye surgery - but when I was still in the 'thick' of it (ha!), my high end vote was Clarins and lower end was L'Oreal. If your pocket book will allow, the Clarins really was lovely and sometimes they have wee mascara sample tubes so you can try it out.
Now I am frantically trying to learn how to apply eyeliner. Old dog, new tricks, etc...
Just finished a ponderous biography of Teddy Roosevelt, which was excellent, and am trying to finish a book on Naval Warfare in the 20th Century before I leave for Victoria in 6 days. It will be a race to the gate with this one....M
Maybeline great lash can't be beat! Like you, I tried the expense brands and came back to good old high school brand! Reading the first Louise Penny book you mentioned the other day and loving it. Enjoy your blog so much!
I really like Benefit but I am always open to trying a new product...it is going to be fun to hear your reviews. I think that everyone is always searching for better products and part of the pleasure is in the search.
I am currently reading Breakfast With Lucien, a memoir of the artist Lucien Freud, very, very interesting. I love reading books about art.
I've worn Maybelline Great Lash since I started wearing makeup, some 45 yrs. ago! I've never wavered, as it does everything I could ask of mascara. The price can't be beat! I'm currently reading Second Honeymoon by Joanna Trollope. Interesting family dynamics. Next up, The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro, a book club pick. All the best, Hostess.
I also remember the dry mascara in the red box. I usually buy Marcelle-Volume Precision as it is very natural with no clumping. Clinique Naturally is also one I like. This year my resolution was to go more "Green" and buy cosmetics without parabens etc. I recently bought Pur-Big Blink, but unfortunately I find it clumps. Pur also has another one I will try next. I replace my mascara every two to three months.
Sharon-Toronto
I never wore the dry mascara, but I remember it on my mom's vanity. I sometimes use Lancome, especially if it's part of the gift-with-purchase, but I'm generally wearing some version of Maybelline Great Lash. Price makes it very easy to throw out for hygienic reasons every few months. . .
Day-to-day I wear a brand I find at Whole Foods, oddly enough. Dr. Hauschka. Works very well, simply, and it's pretty low impact environmentally.
I am getting ready to read "The Beginning Goodbye," by Anne Tyler, an author from Baltimore who is a personal favorite of mine. Her books are quirky and often feature Baltimore, a city I love and where I spent many happy weekends.
Over my cosmetic lifetime, I have spent lots on lipstick, foundation and eyeshadow, but was never able to bring myself to pay "big bucks" for black stuff for my eyes. I usually stick to drug store brands, am currently using L'Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions and it is fine. I like a tiny brush and swear that the formulation doesn't matter, just whether you like the applicator.
I'm fickle when it comes to mascara; I've never found one that inspired fidelity. Dior Show is good but doesn't last long. I gave in to the folks singing the praises of Great Lash, but didn't like that at all. Clarins is good.
I've just finished rereading Robert Becker's NANCY LANCASTER: HER LIFE HER WORLD HER ART. The book has quite a number of typos, but what an exceptional person Nancy was! Before dipping back into Nancy's world, I read WEDLOCK, which was riveting. Now I'm reading Ann Patchett's STATE OF WONDER.
Another vote for Great Lash. I have stopped wearing mascara though as I feel like I can't see well enough to apply it! Does anyone else have this trouble and how have you solved it?
I'm currently reading The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard which I think is a novel you recommended Hostess.
I just finished Bury the Dead by Louise Penny. I'm reading the stories whenever I get them, not necessarily in order. Just have a few left. I hope to go back and read them all in order later. I'm finding the continuing plot not too hard to follow.
Almay's hypoallergenic mascara has been my choice for years. Haven't tried anything else.
Hasn't the rain been something? Our back yard is squishy.
I've never been able to wear mascara, but this peek into the past of Maybellineand the little red box reminds me of my first lipstick from the dime store: Pond's in a small tube, enameled in a blueish green shade somewhat like Tiffany blue, with a wobbly sliding mechanism, not a twist. The shade was "Honey" something. How glamorous I thought I was!
If it's a natural look you're after, I cannot recommend CoverGirl's Clump Crusher by lashblast highly enough. It features the wide plastic bristles that comb through lashes, like a previous commenter stated. There are no blobs! Going on lightly, it gives me a lovely "le no makeup look." I actually like it for day and Maybelline's Great Lash which goes on a little bit thicker for night. Have fun playing around with them!
I bought a magnifying mirror at Home Sense 7X magnification. It has a stand and swivels between regular and magnified. It was about $12.
Sharon-Toronto
The nearest Whole Foods is about 1/2 hour drive in the next city. Once it stops snowing I will drive over there and try this one.
Sharon-Toronto
Have been faithful to Bobbi Brown Everything mascara for awhile now. Used to use Lancôme but found it started to clump and flake. I'm reading a Nicci French on one of your recommendations and next up is the Perfume Collector.
I hope you find the mascara of your dreams. Have you looked at http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia/ for reviews of skin care and cosmetics? I found my favorite mascaras (a really cheap brand-better than the expensive ones) via her reviews. Please note:I have no affiliation with Paula's Choice or Beautypedia. Just a customer.
Yes I remember the little brush and 'paintbox' mascara! Also reminded me of my very first lipstick given to me by my favourite aunt at an earlier time than my parents would have approved of. I will never forget it, Eve's Blush by Innoxa. It was a natural pinky brownish colour. I also used to have a lovely liquid eyeliner in a silvery grey colour. I've never been able to find one I liked as much as that one from when I was about sixteen. Just purchased new mascara - Mabelline. I reckon its as good as the expensive ones and I like the brush. Thanks for taking me down Memory Lane. Tonkath.
I have only recently started wearing mascara and found blinc excellent, they have a liquid eyeliner as well. I use the brown ones. I think I am going to stop on the mascara as it just doesn't feel right! It feels so fake. but eyeliner I slather on- in dark brown of course!
Hello fellow boater! I'm across the pond from you, rocking and rolling with the storms that have currently hit the UK.
I can't get along with Maybelline mascara. I have searched for years to replace the cheapo Love My Eyes mascara that Wal-Mart used to sell for $1 which was fantastic in my view. I welt through a stage if loving Faux Cils by YSL, but way too expensive and not worn often enough to make it economically viable. I have now settled on Max Factor's Masterpiece Max. Love the stiff brush, makes it say to place exactly where needed.
Great to meet you.
Di
I switch around mascaras - currently using Chantecaille (I think.) Just finished The Goldfinch and highly recommend.
I've always had fine lashes and now that I'm over 60, there are far less of them. I, too, tried the Benefit and didn't care for it at all. I would guess many of the glowing reviews on Sephora are from much younger women with full lashes. I think the secret to a good mascara is not necessarily the formula, but the brush. Now that mine are thinning, I've found the brush in Maybelline Mega Plush Volume Express gives me excellent coverage with little or no clumping.
Wanted to add something - and maybe it's because I'm a painter that I know this - but I always wipe the mascara wand "brush" on the sides of the opening, to take off some of the mascara before I put apply it. I do just one application for daytime, but for nights, I use the same method, but put on two coats, with some drying time in between. I've never found a mascara that I don't think works better this way.
Same here,this tip was given to me by an artist friend!!
Very disappointed with my Chanel mascara, smears under the eyes each time I wear it.
Must try some of these mentioned.Mixed feelings about the Goldfinch not one of her best.
Thanks Kate I will add it to my list.
I know we are having some tumultous and stormy wind and rain!
I'll keep Bobbi Brown in mind as I use a few of her products already...my eye lash curler is as old as the hills...perhaps I need to replace it!
Eyelash extensions are super popular here...shops and spas are offering these like nobody's business. I cringe when things get close to my eyes so laser surgery and extentions are not on my radar. Good to know that they are not without their problems...
my eyelashes are thin enough I cannot afford to lose any more!
Eye liner is hard for me to apply as I wear glasses for close work...now that you have had laser surgery you are ahead of that game. Good luck with the liner...deja pseu at une femme d'un certain age did a post about tight lining awhile ago, you might check out her blog.
I'd be lost without my magnificiation mirror...a friend has one with a light which is amazing! It does show some things that we might prefer not to have seen though!
I still plan to read them in order...I read online that her latest got rave reviews.
Our back side yard is floating!
I remember using a Tangee lipstick in a peachy apricot shade which I thought was pretty hip at the time but looking back it must have been ghastly!
Hi Seattle Sews, Welcome!
Blogger Frugal scholar loves Paula's Choice so I have visited her site.
Are you getting as much of this wild wind and torrential rain down in Seattle?
It's on my long list of reads...as an artist do you think that it helped you appreciate the finer details of her novel?
I did look at a mega magnifying mirror recently, thinking that that is probably what I need. I was frightened when I looked at my face! Is that what I really look like?! Yikes. I didn't buy it, but I think I'm going to have to succumb.
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