Wednesday, February 11, 2009

No More Raccoon Eyes!

Hello Beauty Junkies-

I can't believe it has taken me this long to write about one of the greatest inventions in the cosmetics world: "tube" mascara. I first tried tube mascara about three years ago. It was an English brand packaged in a gorgeous gold tube. If I remember correctly it was about $30 at Sephora. I loved it because it was the first mascara I had found in about 10 years (I am not exaggerating. I literally tried about 20 different brands/kinds of mascara!) that didn't give me raccoon circles under my eyes. It also didn't flake off and bother my very dry eyes. After a while that brand disappeared, but I found a new tube mascara at Sephora called Kiss. Unfortunately, it was still $27. I bought it because I knew the tube technology worked for me; but it still killed me to spend that much on a cosmetic you are supposed to throw away after three months.

Then, about three months ago, I found out Clinique was making a tube mascara. It is called "Lash Power Mascara" and is in a metallic grey tube. It has a tiny little brush that reaches all my tiny little lashes making them longer and fuller. It stays on all day (let's say 10 to 12 hours)and does not rub off. You just remove it (as you do with all tube mascaras) with warm water when you are washing your face. No eye makeup remover needed! Clinique's Lash Power Mascara costs $16.

That's still about $7 or $8 more than the drug store brands, so in the spirit of Beauty on the Cheap, I decided to check out the new L'Oreal brand I had seen on display at Walgreen's. It is called "Double Extend Beauty Tubes Technology." You will find it in a red and white package. What is really cool about the L'Oreal brand is it is basically two products-in-one. One side of the packaging holds a "nourishing basecoat" and the other side holds the "ultra-lengthening tube topcoat." According to the package, this combo gives you 80% longer lashes. I have to say my lashes were certainly thicker using this product vs. the Clinique. However, if you have tiny little lashes you may have a harder time applying the two coats of L'Oreal as the brush is much larger. If you like a larger brush, then L'Oreal's DoubleExtend Beauty Tubes Technology is definitely a winner! And what a great deal especially compared to the earlier tube mascaras priced at $30.

Now, go try some and bat those long beautiful lashes at your significant other this Valentine's Day!

4 comments:

  1. hey! I too struggled to find a cheap mascara as I wear contacts and often end up with racoon eyes. My day process does not inlcude checking a mirror every hour to see if the racoons have struck again. So, my new fave is the Covergirl one that Drew Barrymore promotes in ads (shamelss plug for magazines?). Its the orange one--I am in love!

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  2. Hi czachbow-
    Thank you for your reply! my 16 year old daughter also loves the Covergirl mascara in the orange tube. So, there you go beauty junkies, another cheap but great mascara to try!
    HP Girl

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  3. OK on my way to class today I bought the tubes and the orange. Understand...I am a Maybelline pink and green great lash addict! I will let you know how it goes..................

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  4. I LOVE tube mascara! It really is the only mascara that doesn't smudge under my eyes or make them itch like mad! I'm so glad to hear about the L'Oreal version! I've used the Kiss mascara, but have a hard time getting across town to buy it. Thanks for the tip! :-)

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