I started wearing mascara in high school. Back then, I just used whatever mini mascara tubes my mom would get as part of a free gift when she purchased makeup. I loved how dark and defined my eyes would look after using mascara, but I always had the same issues with it being runny and not staying on all day.
As the years passed, I started to buy mascara from drugstores. I soon realized that I liked the drugstore mascaras better than the ones my mom got, even though hers were higher-end brands.
For mascaras, it all comes down to:
- Formula
- Wand
Formula:
I’m a huge fan of waterproof mascara. I know a lot of people say it’s not good for your lashes, but hear me out. I have horrible allergies that make my eyes tear up throughout the year.
When I was in high school, I found that most of the high-end mascaras I tried had a heavy fragrance to them that irritated me. When I’d blink, my eyes would often tear up, making the mascara run and eventually disappear off my lashes.
Once, my left eye watered and I dabbed a tissue at it, seeing mascara bits on the tissue. I didn’t think much of it because this was a common thing for me back then. But no one told me until I looked into the mirror a few hours later — Most of the mascara rubbed off my left eye, but all the mascara on my right eye was perfect! I was walking around with mascara basically on just one eye! Sigh.
However, once I discovered waterproof drugstore mascaras, I felt like my eyes instantly thanked me. I switched over, and my mascara never became runny after that. (Yes, I know some higher-end brands have waterproof mascaras, but my first experience with them was via drugstore brands).
Wand:
I have short and sparse eyelashes. Because of this, I felt like many mascara wands had bristles that just didn’t fit my needs. I preferred wands with short, hard bristles. The long, feather-like bristles just didn’t do my lashes any good. I felt like the formula on those types of wands would just weigh my lashes down.
I’ve tried my fair share of drugstore and high-end mascaras. I’ve got lots of hits and misses and I could go on for days talking about them. In the end, I’ll always purchase drugstore mascaras. I feel like I’m getting a lot more bang for my buck.
I’ve been wearing the waterproof (big surprise) Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express for years! It’s one of my go-to drugstore mascaras now. I just love the volume I get from it. If I don’t buy this one, I’ll grab the Maybelline Falsies. I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll say it again. If Colossal and Falsies had a baby, that’d be my perfect mascara.
Because this wand is pretty big, sometimes it gets messy when I do my lower lashes, which is why I’ll go to the waterproof Maybelline Great Lash.
Now, this doesn’t mean that I’m against higher-end mascaras. I’m obsessed with Benefit’s They’re Real and there are a handful of mascaras that I’d love to try someday. For right now, I’m more than happy with my drugstore mascaras. What are some of your favorites?
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Stephanie Jade Wong is a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger at StephanieJadeWong.com. She’s also a journalist who enjoys arts reporting. When she’s not shopping or writing, you’ll find her singing along to country music or dancing to a fitness workout video. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat at sjwong18, and Twitter.
