Smackdown! Mascara: Part 1 - High End Mascaras

I am enjoying doing this Mascara Smackdown!  I realized that I'm a little bit of a mascara junky and have accumulated many a mascara.  I have so many in fact that I'm going to have to do this Smackdow! Mascara in at least two parts.  Before I get started, I think it's important to know how I apply mascara.  I start by curling my lashes and then apply mascara to the lower lashes.  When I apply mascara to the top lashes I place the wand at the root of the lashes and "wiggle" it back and forth to ensure the roots are coated, then I pull the wand toward the tip while rotating the wand.

So here are my lashes totally nude, no makeup, liner or mascara.  I realize I have dark circles and puffiness, so don't judge! ;)

tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes!

 This is what the wand looks like.  I traditional brush-style wand, and the bristles are just long enough.  I am a fan of the brush-style applicator for mascara, as opposed to combs or rubber bristles.  The formula is a little thick and dry but not too much.  The thickness and driness of the formula caused me to have to put a little more effort into making sure all my lashes were coated.

 And last but not least, the mascara on my lashes.  Again, no makeup or concealer, just mascara, so no judging!  So you can see, it coats each lash well and lengthens just a bit. Throughout the day, it kept the curl in my lashes, but there was a small amount of smudging in the lower outside corner, which is not unusual for me.
This mascara retails for about $19.00 for a 7ml/0.24 fl oz tube.

tarte Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara

This is the mascara that came in the tarte Perfect & Treat Set.

 

 So here's the wand.  It's the same wand that's in the Light, Camera, Lashes! but I'm ok with that because I like that wand!  The formula I prefer the formula of this one to the Lights, Camera, Lashes! as it is a little easier to work with.  The formula is a little wetter than Lights, Camera, Lashes, but isn't too wet to work with either.

As you can see, Gifted is much more lengthening, but a little more clumpy.  I don't think it's too clumpy and if I decide to repurchase one of these, it will be Gifted over Lights, Camera, Lashes!  It wears a little better too and held the curl the whole day.  There was minimal smudging under my lower at the end of the day.
This mascara retails for about $19.00 for a 7ml/0.24 fl oz tube.

Too Faced LashGasm

I love when cosmetics companies use tarty names for their products that make you giggle!

 Here is the brush.  It's a rubber bristle brush, which is not my favorite, but it's not the worst mascara brush I've ever used.  The formula is on the wet side, but it's pretty easy to work with.

Here it is on my lashes.  You can see it's very lengthening and very dark.  It maximized the curl I originally put in my lashes, but lost a bit of curl during the day, which put it down to a normal amount of curl.  There was minimal smudging but nothing too noticable.
The mascara retails for $21 for a 12ml/0.4 fl oz tube.


Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Volumizing
I received this one in a beauty box, but ended up using it almost until it was gone.  Luckily, I still have enough to do this Smackdown!

So here's the brush.  It's a huge bristle brush - probably the biggest I've ever used!  This brush is a little hard to work with on the short wand, but it was a sample so I made it work.  I felt like the formula was really wet when I first used it, but upon the second use I really liked the consistency, and I don't think either the formula or the brush alone would have worked as well as they worked together.

And here it is on the eyelashes.  Not as much separation as others, but it is definitely volumizing.  I would be interested to try a lengthening version of this mascara.  There was no smuding under the lower lashes that I noticed.
This mascara retails for about $18.00 for a 0.33 fl oz tube full sized.


Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara

This was another deluxe sample that came with something, though I don't recall what.

 This one has a weird brush.  It's one of those brushes that you end up contorting yourself to get just the right angle to avoid making a mess.  I love the top skinny part, but find the larger bottom part getting in the way. 

You can see several spots where I lost the battle of this brush.  This formula wasn't especially lengthening or volumizing and it took the curl right out of my lashes!  Now I remember why I don't use this more often.  There was major smudging at the end of the day and even little smudge dots above my eyes.
This mascara retails for $16.00 for a 0.28 fl oz tube full sized.

Laura Gellar At Long Lash
I'm not sure this one is available any longer, but just in case you run across it, you should know about this one.

 The brush on this is CRAZY!  It is not crazy in a good way.  The bristles spiral around a curved brush, and if there's one thing that will have you standing on your head to get the correct angle and keep from making a mess, it's a curved brush.  If that wasn't tricky enough the formula is SUPER wet, and you can see that because of the curve of the brush product gets globbed right and the tip, where you'd need the least amount of product!

This is the mess that I ended up with.  BLAH!  I even removed this and wore something else this day.  Thank goodness I was doing this review, because I would have been super ticked off had I applied this at the end of a full face of makeup!
This one can be grabbed for about $4.00 on Amazon because it's no longer available, but I say don't waste your time.

Beauty Addicts Show Off
I received this mascara in my very first Glossybox.  Since then, I believe it was June, I've used it twice - once when I got it and once to take photos.

 We know from the Laura Gellar above that I'm no fan of the curved brush and this is no exception.  Though I like the bristles a little better, that curved shape causes so much globbing of product on the brush, it's just a mess.  This is after wiping several times on the end of the tube to remove the excess, but there's still a ton of blobs of mascara on here.

You can see by it on my lashes, that despite my best efforts, my lashes are still stuck together and there are little blobs on my upper lids.

So, the winner of round one is tarte gifted amazonian clay smart mascara!

Also, I will be throwing away the Beauty Addicts Show Off, the Laura Gellar At Long Lash, and the Clinique mascaras now that this review is done!

Stay tuned for Smackdown! Mascara: Part 2 - Drug Store Mascaras