So, there I am, at Easter, in Welly, at Farmers Cuba Street, having a debate with myself over the purchase of a $6.30 mascara.
“You don’t need it. You have several new tubes of mascara already” screamed penny-pinching Lou. This is ‘new Lou’ who is keeping a steady eye on her ASB bank balance after commencing a new part-time job (a lifestyle ‘adjustment’ is currently underway).
“But it’s $6.30 you EGG!” yelled bargain-loving Lou. “You can’t buy it in Rotorua and you’ll regret it!” cautioned pragmatic, live-in-the-moment Lou. Bargain-live-in-the-moment Lou won. I departed with a new mascara.
So, a $6.30 mascara, hit or miss? It must be said: I had low hopes. I mean, seriously, I’m a mascara addict and I’ve been known to fork out close to $58 for a mascara (Lancome…. contented sigh) and declare “it’s worth every cent”. I’m a tough mascara customer. So, here’s my thoughts on the $6.30 jobbie…
Let’s back up the bus.
What mascara? What’s the brand?
The budget mascara in question is ‘I love Extreme Volume’ from European beauty giant Essence Cosmetics. As a brand, Essence is a relative newcomer to NZ’s beauty shores.
Back to my mascara selection. There was lots of mascaras on the Essence stand. After some deliberation I narrowed my selection down to the waterproof formulas. I did an ‘eeny meeny miny moe’ to aid my selection.
Why waterproof mascara?
I only ever wear waterproof mascara on account of two reasons. Firstly, I have VERY oily eyelids and I can’t abide all the smudging that used to happen with non-waterproof mascara. Secondly, being an eyelash curling addict, normal mascara straightens out my eyelashes, whilst waterproof keeps the curl in place allllll day (learning this was a game changer). Mascaras like Xlash can literally change your life, just saying.
My first impressions
My first impressions of this mascara was “Holy shit! That’s a big mascara wand”. No joke, this has the biggest brush of any mascara I’ve ever used. Hence there’s a word of caution: If you have small eyes or are prone to getting mascara on your nose, in your hair, in your brows, or on your teeth (I’ve seen it all), stop reading. This probably isn’t the mascara for you. If you have intermediate level-ninja mascara application skills, or are confident you are on the cusp of securing ninja status mascara skills, keep reading. (more…)