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Mascara Mania, Part III: The Best Drugstore Brands

BellaSugar — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:51:44 -0800

Since you guys have loved Parts I and II of my New Mascara Mania series, I've decided to bring you Mascara Mania, Part III: Drugstore Brands, in response to several reader requests for the best budget options. Here's a list of my favorites from both old and new products.

Physicians Formula F.L.A.T. Fabulously Long And Thick Mascara is the ultimate full-coverage mascara. Its customized brush has both long and short bristles to really grab hold of every lash for maximum results. It even has a handy mirror built right into the back of the shaft! Buy it here for $6.95.

How could any drugstore mascara post overlook L'Oreal's trusty line? My favorite happens to be the oldie-but-goodie,L'Oreal Voluminous Original Volume Building Mascara. This original formula really lengthens and thickens, separating each and every lash. Plus, it won't clump, flake or cake, and it also keeps your lashes soft. Buy it here for $6.99.

To see the rest read more

Maybelline Illegal Lengths Mascara gives you unbelievably long looking lashes. It goes on smoothly while separating and conditioning all of your lashes. I personally love the medium consistency of it and find that a tube lasts quite a long time. Buy it here for $5.89.

Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara makes lashes lush and full. When you are going for that smoky eye look, this is what you'll want to grab! It won't smudge or run, and it washes off with no problems if you use a little cleanser and water. Buy it here for $5.79.

Doing Drugstore: Max Factor Vivid Impact Mascara

BellaSugar — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:17:33 -0800

I've been on a bit of a mascara kick lately, and the latest one to enthrall me is Max Factor Vivid Impact Mascara ($10.12, but cheaper at drugstores). It's a double-ended mascara with two formulas. The first, a base coat, separates and defines eyelashes. After letting that dry, you follow up with a highlighting top coat, which adds a little color. I tried it in Blushing Blue, which uses a deep blue top coat and a shimmery pink top coat.

Like Cover Girl Lash Blast, Vivid Impact has a nontraditional wand. This one is rubbery, with tiny little spikes to deliver the mascara to lashes. To see how Vivid Impact looks on lashes, read more

So, behold the fluorescent lighting of the bathroom at Sugar HQ. Flattering, no? Here, you can see how vivid the impact was. (See what I did there?)

For comparison purposes, you can see my naked lashes. Then, I applied the base coat. It's a deep cobalt blue-not exactly navy, but not as violet-tinged as Benefit Badgal Blue. I liked it, actually, because it didn't scream "blue mascara!" in a gaudy way at all.

Next up was the top coat. The pink shade is really subtle, giving off off modest color and a bit of glimmer. If you use the wand horizontally to coat the lashes, the color shows up mostly on the tips (as shown in the photo). But if you tilt it and use just the tip to paint lashes, the color shows up throughout. The pink was a little much for my workday look that way, but it could definitely work for a party look.

Overall, I liked this mascara's ability to define lashes, and the highlighting aspect of it is festive and fun. Next time around, though, I'm going to try a different color combination.

Seven Top-Rated Drugstore Mascaras That Won't Bust the Budget

BellaSugar — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:00:10 -0700

With a whopping 625 mascaras available to review on our Product Reviews website that makes for a lot of decision making. And with so many of these eye-enhancing products available on the market, it's tough to figure out which ones are affordable and work the best. I've gathered up seven of the highest scoring drugstore mascaras, all thanks to the opinions you've submitted. One brand shows up on this list three times. Find which one it is now.

View Slideshow ›

Doing Drugstore: Maybelline Define-A-Lash Waterproof Lengthening Mascara

BellaSugar — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:00:02 -0700

"No clumps!" the green packaging for the new Maybelline Define-A-Lash Waterproof Lengthening Mascara shouted at me. Zero, zip, zilch, nada? That's a tall order as far as I'm concerned. I was skeptical, but intrigued enough by the grandiose claim to drop $7.50 and give it a shot.

The mascara comes in a sleek, futuristic green tube, and the wand is slightly curved. The wand has widely spaced, short bristles (which are supposedly what prevents the clumping) but it looks like something that couldn't possibly deposit a thick coat of color onto my lashes. But looks can be deceiving, and the reality is that it's ergonomically designed for each bristle to snuggle in between each of your lashes, resulting in a thorough and mostly nonclumpy application of color. The thinness of the wand also allowed me to reach the inner-corner lashes without poking myself in the eye.

To see some before and after shots, read more.

To really test out this no-clumps claim, I loaded my lashes with three coats. By the end, there were a few lashes sticking together, and maybe a few teensy clumps, but nothing compared to what I usually get with multiple coats of other mascaras. The trick is to go slowly and wiggle the brush to keep lashes separated. The best part was that I experienced no smudging or flaking at any point throughout the day. Keep in mind, if you have particularly sparse lashes, this is not the mascara for you because it doesn't do much to pump up the volume. But for those of you who want extra definition and a bit of length, I would suggest giving this one a shot. It's not online many places, but you can pick it up at Ulta.

Here's what it looks like on. The left is the eye with the mascara, on the right is my naked eye:

And here you can see on the left, my defined lashes! Have any of you tried this product? Let me know what you thought of it!

The Best Beauty Products . . . Chosen by You!

BellaSugar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:00:07 -0700

Maybe you're headed back to school, or you're merely looking for some change-of-the-season beauty finds to spruce up your look. Thanks to your reviewing skills, I have tons of suggestions. Over the past few months, I've gathered together some of your best-loved items from the Product Reviews section, from bronzers to brighten your day to concealers that won't let you down. Take a look at some top-rated beauty products all chosen by you. Better yet? Many of these items are very budget-friendly.

Favorite Concealers	Drugstore Mascaras	Low-Cost Shadows
Most Reviewed Items	Beautiful Bronzers	Fabulous Foundations

Coming Soon: Maybelline Vibrating Mascara

BellaSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:05:21 -0700

Vibrating mascaras are all the buzz. And now, Maybelline's entering the growing segment of unique lash-enhancing products with the upcoming release of its newest product, Define-a-Lash Pulse Perfection ($15). The battery-powered mascara is the first of its kind in the drugstore category, and will officially debut in July. At 7,000 vibrations per minute, the movement of the brush is designed to mimic the zig-zag motion that a professional makeup artist might use.

Available in two washable shades (Very Black and Blackest Black) and one waterproof shade (Very Black), this mascara carries with it a battery life lasting for a minimum of 130 applications, or over four months. That's just in time to make it under the three-month expiration mark, eh? To see what I thought of the new product, just read more.

Much like our Sugar intern's take on Spinlash ($20 for two), I found Pulse Perfection somewhat awkward to use. You don't need an extremely skillful, steady hand to use the brush properly, but you do need to move quickly and lightly, as a slow, deliberate application provided too much product on the lashes and lids, creating clumpy results.

While my under-eye area remained flake-free with practically no smudging by the end of the day, the product created very long, spindly lashes with a slightly shiny finish, similar to the brand's newer Lash Stiletto Mascara. If you're going more for length than volume, and if you're intrigued by the novelty of it all, you might like this mascara. However, I'm sure you're perfectly capable of creating that zig-zag action sans batteries. What's your take?

Doing Drugstore: L'Oréal Double Extend Lash Extension Effect Mascara

BellaSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 10:00:52 -0700

If you haven't tried tube mascaras yet, you'll be glad to know that drugstore versions are rolling out. One of the first is L'Oréal Double Extend Lash Extension Effect Mascara ($9.79), a two-step mascara with "beauty tube technology."

Tube mascaras are great for making lashes look longer, and because the formulas come off with warm water, they're much easier to remove. I'm a fan of Mirenesse Secret Weapon, but will L'Oréal's version perform as well? For the verdict (with pictures), read more.

Voila, my naked peeper.

The first step is to apply a "nourishing base coat." It went on with a few clumps and looked like lash lice. Fortunately, it's just a temporary look. Moving on...

The second step involves the "ultra-lengthening tube top coat," which adds length and color. Don't know if I'd say it's "ultra-lengthening," but it's not bad. However, it's not as good as Lash Blast from Cover Girl, which lengthens and volumizes for less money and one fewer step.

Overall, this isn't a bad mascara - but it's not a great one, either. Pick it up if there's a two-for-one deal, but otherwise, don't make a special trip.

Doing Drugstore: Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Mascara

BellaSugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:00:48 -0700

After falling in love with Cover Girl Lash Blast, I was hoping for a renaissance in drugstore mascaras. Enter Maybelline The Colossal ($7.49), whose metallic yellow tube and purple lettering is about as subtle as the nuanced wit of Pauly Shore.

The Colossal seems to be Maybelline's answer to DiorShow mascara, promising to lend nine times the volume to your lashes. I'm not sure how one would measure that (tiny calipers?), but the wand is definitely fatter and bigger than most - so at least we know one thing is more voluminous. Maybelline also touts its formula, which contains collagen. But don't get too excited: It's the fourth-to-last ingredient, and since your body can't absorb collagen topically, it's really more for show.

As for the mascara itself, one coat definitely made my lashes stand out more. I wish the brush separated and defined them better, and I wasn't thrilled about the flakes that settled underneath my eyes after a few hours. With a lash curler, this mascara is quite good; without, it's only a little better than average. That's not a bad thing at all, but don't expect jaw-dropping results from this one.

Doing Drugstore: Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara

BellaSugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:57:22 -0800

There's been a lot of hype leading up to the launch of Cover Girl Lash Blast-so much so that I've actually had a hard time tracking it down. Finally, Walgreens received a shipment, where I picked up a tube in black for $6.99.

After seeing so many samey-samey mascara wands, it's fun to see the fat orange tube, bent wand and prickled brush of Lash Blast. It's all just a design-geek thing, but still, it helps the product stand out. For my full review, including before-and-after pics, read more

First, the good. The mascara goes on smoothly and evenly, without leaving clumps. It also separates lashes and adds a very slight curl. It gives a little bit of that false-eyelash look without crossing the line into actual fakeness, and it doesn't flake. I don't think it appears to lengthen lashes as much as thicken, separate and define them. (Check out the pictures and you'll see what I mean.)

There's not much to complain about with this product, except that I don't like the feel of the wand in my hand. It's a little too short and stubby for me. Aside from this quibble, though, it's an impressive drugstore mascara that's bound to challenge Great Lash in popularity.

Doing Drugstore: Maybelline Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Mascara

BellaSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:00:14 -0800

Stilettos make your legs look long and lean, and now Maybelline's taken that concept and turned it into a mascara with its new Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Mascara ($9). Just like those swanky Jimmy Choos elongate your stems, this mascara really does give length to the lashes without a clumpy, heavy look and/or feel.

The packaging is cleverly designed to resemble the form of a high-heeled shoe, and features a brush that's easy to maneuver, without leaving product on the skin. Surprisingly, there's a rose essence that lingers faintly for an hour or so after applying, but it's subtle enough not to be annoying. While the product promises to give shine like you'd expect from a pair of patent leather pumps, I didn't notice an over-abundance of glossiness. If you're looking for a volumizing mascara, this mascara isn't for you. But if you're looking for long, graceful lashes to bat at strangers, this one's a keeper.