My Current Mascara Rotation

Mascaras can be tricky. People have preferences about the thickness of the formula, the color of the formula, the shape of the brush, wether or not it’s waterproof… the list goes on and on. For me personally, I don’t care what the formula or the wand is like, so long as the result is long, natural-looking lashes. While I haven’t yet found my holy grail, here are some of my current mascara favorites.

L’Oreal Voluminous Feline- $8.99

The L’Oreal Voluminous Feline mascara promises volume, fullness, and shiny-smooth lashes. This has a narrow, long wand with plastic bristles, so I find it really easy to apply this to my bottom lashes. While I think this one is a decent product, I haven’t been totally wowed by it. The VF mascara does result in a very natural finish and is easy to take off, but it is overall fairly average in my opinion.

Benefit They’re Real!- $24.00 full size

This is not a new mascara. In fact, I’m sure most of you have already tried the Benefit They’re Real! This mascara got rave reviews for a reason, so I think of this one as old reliable. While I love the natural, long lashes I get with this product, it falls juuuust short of giving me that jaw-dropping wow factor. It does a really great job of separating my lashes, which I think is the key to looking natural. It is notoriously difficult to remove, however, and I find that it dries out pretty quickly.

Smashbox X-Rated- $23.00 full size

I have talked about this mascara before, so if y’all saw that post you know that I’ve been impressed with the Smashbox X-Rated mascara. I was surprised, because it’s main claims are that it thickens and is buildable- I usually go for length and rarely do more than two coats. The brush is triangular, so if you rotate it during application, it really does grab allll your lashes. The formula is a little wetter than some of the other mascaras I’ve been using, but it’s definitely not runny.

theBalm Mad Lash- $18.00 full size

I’m so glad I got a sample of this in my Ipsy bag a few months ago because I’m not sure I would have tried a mascara from theBalm. Nothing against them at all, but I just haven’t heard much about their mascaras! I’ve been loving the Mad Lash mascara, though. The brush is thin, triangular and curved, which really helps lift and coat every single lash. I did find the packaging kind of… weird, but that may just be because I have the sample size. The bottle didn’t screw closed, but rather just popped together and apart. Not sure how I feel about that, but it doesn’t seem to make my mascara dry out any faster so far!

Arrow Endure Water-Resistant- $20.00 full size

Another beauty box subscription that I’m really pleased with! I got the Arrow Endure mascara in a recent Birchbox and have been really enjoying it. Arrow is a Birchbox brand, and this is the only product I’ve tried from them so far. It’s waterproof, so it stays put all day for me. At the end of the day, it’s not impossible to take off though, which is a plus! I applied it at 7am yesterday, went to the gym at 6 pm, and still had long, black, curled lashes at the end of the day. It’s a winner in my book so far!

While I’ve been enjoying these mascaras, a few of them still have to be “on trial” for at least a little longer. What mascaras are you loving right now?