Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

Wayback Playback: The Battle of the Mascaras

By

It’s been almost four years since I conducted “The Battle of the Mascaras”.

Eek! Where did the time go? Other than the date stamp reminder – the post was first published in October 2008 – I am also quite horrified to acknowledge that I look four years younger in the photo.

Paging Doctor Botox.

But since I receive approximately 10 e-mails per month from readers asking about my preferred beauty brands (especially mascara), I thought now would be a splendid time to dig “The Battle of the Mascaras” out of the vault. Of course, the title is terribly misleading; I don’t actually conduct an epic battle between a variety of mascaras. Just two: a drug store brand and a department store offering. But, they still happen to be two of the most popular products on the market. So without further ado, here you go!

Original Post, circa October 2008:

Since I love trying new face candy, I couldn’t help but snap up a tube of Dior’s DiorShow Iconic Mascara. Touted as the best mascara on the market, I dismissed its $34.00 price tag with hopes of lashes galore. Yet as I walked away with my purchase, a tidal wave of doubt flooded my senses. Did I really need to spend close to $40 on mascara? Is it really so superior to drugstore counterparts? Couldn’t I just be happy with tried and true Maybelline? Will they ever remake Dallas?

So I decided to put my “eye” where my money is and compare DiorShow right next to a leading drugstore mascara. The battle would be fought at 18:00 hours, East eye vs. West eye. The winner was to forever hold the title “Queen of Lash Candy”. The challenger: Cover Girl’s LashExact Mascara. I had heard many good things and concluded it would be a worthy opponent.

(1) Marketing Verbiage

What the two brands have to say about their product:

LashExact: Get no clump, no glob, beautifully-defined lashes. The LashExact brush is a patented technology with bristles that are aligned and clean, so you get the Exact look you want.

DiorShow: Iconic mascara features an oblique cut brush that gives an extra lash-curling effect. With its long, skinny teeth, the plastic comb brush allows you to precisely coat each lash one-by-one-creating a long, separated fan of lashes that usually takes the skill of a makeup artist.

(2) Application & Results

Both mascaras applied surprisingly easily – no clumps, no smears, no tugging. While I was surprised at how precisely CG’s brush coated the lashes, even more shocking was Dior’s ability to bring all my lashes out of hibernation, coaxing each and every one to come out and play. I had almost double the amount of little flirts winking back at me.

(3) Conclusion

Both mascaras lengthened equally, and overall I am happy with both contender’s dramatic effects. But Dior’s ability to seemingly multiply my lashes has me hooked, and in my humble opinion, I concur that it truly is the better mascara. Queen of Lash Candy has been crowned!

Will I re-purchase the mascara at its posh price? Probably not. But I will cherish the tube I have, and save it for those occasions when I want to knock ’em dead at 40 paces.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I’ve been on the brink of picking one of these babies up, thanks for confirming that I should! And could you be any more gorgeous??

    • Just do it. Honestly, it’s the best thing to happen to lashes ever. Although I don’t think I could take all your gorgeousness once it’s on your pretty peepers ;)

  2. I love my clinique mascara, LOVE so much that I only use it on special occasions. I have drug store brands for everyday as well.

  3. I’m a MAC girl myself with everything BUT their mascara. It’s one of the worst I have tried. I really like Two Faced.

    • I *think* I’ve tried Two Faced, but don’t really remember my reaction. Obviously not as memorable as DiorShow for me. But thanks for the tip!

  4. I don’t spend money on mascara. Since it should be replaced every 3-6 months because of bacteria growth (yes, even if you only use it once) and I usually only wear it 1-2 times a month spending the cash isn’t worth it to me. You can see a definite difference though.

    • Great point! I judiciously throw my mascara after 3 months. I may or may not buy DiorShow regularly, simply because I seldom wear it :)

  5. I won’t buy drugstore mascara with the exception of Loreal. They have a couple of decent ones. Good mascara is definitely worth the price and since it’s only good for two months at best I don’t save it for special occasions :)

    • Well said. Of course, one would also require some sort of social life to wear it regularly :)

  6. Lena,

    They did remake Dallas… I wonder if you ever thought they would back in 2008. :-) Love the write up and might just splurge on CD Mascara now – or better yet, I’ll wait until fall and the party season over the holidays.

    • HAHAHA I know!!! I totally wanted to add a side note when I saw that in my original post! Definitely didn’t think they’d remake it back in 2008 :)

  7. Wow! Your eyes look gorgeous with the Dior’s Iconic Mascara. Will have to check out for sales.

    • Good call! Sometimes the Bay has a 20/25% off event for cosmetics. Best to grab it then!

    • I have, and I am a fan! At first I thought the brush was too thick, but I’m used to it now :)

  9. I’ve never tried Dior mascara, but have always wanted to. I just can’t stomach spending so much money on mascara.

    I tend to buy (or score) small tubes of fancy mascara (especially Fresh’s Firebird and Supernova, but I’ll use others) for fancy use, because they’re either cheap or free and give GREAT lashes. But my everyday stuff tends to be just drugstore mascara.

    Somehow drugstore mascara is ALWAYS too goopy though. Every time.