It all started with the last year's mascara sale from Nordstrom. The sale itself is fantastic since you get three high-end mascaras for the price of two. I believe it is an annual thing, so you might want to look for this year's sale if you typically shop higher-end mascaras.
The thing is, all three I picked up turned out to be pretty much duds for me. I had high hopes for them since all the reviews I checked out were great and a few of them were even recommended by fellow bloggers. Maybe my expectations were too great? I still don't know what went wrong.
It took about one year for me to use them up. I admit it was a frustrating experience not to mention that I mentally tortured myself thinking about at least two couture lipsticks I could have bought instead of the three useless mascaras, but I still made sure to discard them in 3 months after opening. It is a matter of principle, you know.
Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Waterproof Mascara was the biggest loser of all, and my rage was well documented here and backed by Lily's review here. I do not recommend this mascara at all unless you have cash to burn and feel strongly attracted to brushed metal tubes. (Oh, I also made sure to recycle the tube because aluminum.)
Dior Diorshow Iconic Waterproof Mascara seems to do some of what it promises - naturally defined long lashes, but the "curling" claim is totally false. The formula is too wet and it uncurls my curled lashes almost instantaneously. I had never experienced any waterproof mascara that uncurled my lashes. My initial reaction was like, "what kind of fuckery is this??!". The whole purpose of me using waterproof mascaras is to keep the curls intact. Also, the wand is lacking flexibility, which makes this mascara nothing more than a shiny silver (color coated plastic) tube.
I actually liked Lancôme Hypnôse Star Waterproof Mascara. It is a solid B+ if you ask me. The smaller triangular shaped brush worked very well for me building volume and length quickly. Unfortunately, I happen to know a much more affordable alternative, L'Oreal Voluminous Manga Waterproof Mascara. The brush shape and the formula (which quickly dries up to produce mascara crumbs later on) are all too similar. They both are nice volume-building mascaras, but you know that I'd go for the Manga (and I did).
Lancôme Hypnôse Star Waterproof Mascara brush
L'Oreal Voluminous Manga Waterproof Mascara brush
I ended up crawling back to my all time favorite L'Oreal Original Voluminous Waterproof mascara, and also recently had a chance to experience a non-waterproof mascara that holds curls. You loose some and you win some, I guess.
Have you had any similar experience like mine?
If I like a volumizing waterproof mascara, which high-end one would you recommend for me?
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