News Flash: Finally Found! The Drugstore Mascara of My Dreams and Maybe Yours!

I've really gotten to spend more time with my equally beauty obsessed cousin Karyn.  We had a bite out recently and the waitress thought we were fraternal twins.

Essentially, we have been snapping pictures and texting each other scads of "must have", "Cant. Live. Without."  products from our home arsenals.  Karyn is a Latisse user, but her eyelashes are spectacular and I immediately had to know what mascara she was using...

As someone who cottons to the really good stuff , I was ecstatic to learn her Holy Grail mascara was CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume.  Music to my ears.  I ran out to CVS the next day to buy it.  I also found the newly launched Maybelline Colossal Spider Effects Mascara, that I had searched for a few days before. 

As you may recall, it was on the most loved list of a TotalBeauty editor who swore off her prestige cosmetics for a month, replacing it with drugstore products only. I made a list of what I was interested in trying and this was at the top of it.

Maybelline Lash Sensational- The Original

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara
$8.99

Like a dog with a bone, I have not given up on my fantasy, that this editor and reader reviewed revered mascara will love up to the hype.  I just bought it today and will update you with my findings tomorrow.

As recently reported, Maybelline's lastest entry, Lash Sensational Luscious Mascara was a whoofer.  Let's see how the original compares.

In the interim, I went back to a former Holy Grail, Benefit's They're Real Mascara.  1) It's not nearly as great a I remembered.  2) It's still nearly impossible to remove.  Benefit did add a pricey remover to their line, specifically for the purpose of getting this stuff off, but I did not acquiesce.  Turpentine, did cross my mind as an option.  The only thing I really love is that my lashes are inky black. The depth of the color is striking enough to do with one less coat.

Review: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
$23

I have been on the hunt for a really good mascara. I know it's a lot to hope for; massive length and volume, a glossy rich black hue, no clumps or flakes and the ability to remove it without removing my existing lashes.
Oh.  And can it please be less than $25?

I nearly caved, and repurchased Benefit's They're REAL Mascara after trying and returning Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara (a gloppy mess), and Dior Addict-It Lash Mascara (which lived up to none of it's promises.)

I love everything about They're REAL Mascara, probably the best product Benefit has ever produced. except when it's time to take it off.  Even with expensive removers, specifically formulated for waterproof mascara, (which They're REAL is not), it's hard work. I just knew I was damaging my lashes, so the love fest did end and after many purchases,  I quit cold.

Sephora has a display of mascara's from different brands that allows you to compare them by promise and applicator. One of their associates saw me pondering them and offered help.  I in turn, asked what her absolute favorite mascara was, whether displayed or not.  "That's easy", she replied...

Holy Grail Alert: L'Oreal Lash Out Butterfly Mascara

L'Oreal's Lash Out Butterfly Macara
11.99 at CVS in Greenwich
8.99 in Tulsa

OMG!!! The Cheap & Cheerful mascara of my dreams is finally among us.

L'Oreal Lash Out Butterfly has been on my radar for a couple of months.  I first read about it on my friend Kari from Fab Over Forty's blog.  Kari has great lashes and prefers premium mascaras.  She raved about L'Oreal Lash Out Butterfly and as she sagely pointed out, Lancome owns and creates L'Oreal products, so truly, how bad could it be?

I spied it at CVS but held off since I still had quite a cache of mascaras to run through first.  Then sister Loren purchased it and loved it as well;  she couldn't wait to tell me she had officially broken up with Benefit's They're Real Mascara.