High End Mascara Brands: Are They Worth It?

Over the last week I have been wearing and testing out highly rated mascaras to see if they are really worth their price. I know, not my usual post! HOWEVER, I have big eyes and long eyelashes and am very picky about the mascara’s I use.

The reason I decided upon this was because I ended up buying a brand name mascara, that is normally $26, on sale for $13. I had heard good things so my expectations were high. When it came time to try it out, I DID NOT LIKE IT. So, I got this idea to try out all the highly rated mascara’s and see if they were really worth it.

To my surprise, MANY of my followers wanted to know the same. So, here I am, rating mascaras! It’s actually been pretty fun!

If you’d like to watch the video reviews there are saved on a highlight bubble titled “Mascara Reviews” on my Instagram.

*DISCLAIMER* None of this is sponsored by the brands I used, however I do have some of the products linked below to amazon. If you choose to purchase anything from the links provided I may earn a small commission at NO extra cost to you!

Below are the seven mascaras I tried. I wore them for a full day and took them off each night with makeup remover. I didn’t use primer either as I wanted to see what they were really like. I’m scoring all of them out of 10! Lets see how they stand up!

Day #1: Big Ego Mascara from Tarte Cosmetics; $23
Day #2: Monsiuer Big Volumizing Mascara from Lancôme Cosmetics; $26
Day #3: Maneater Mascara from Tarte Cosmetics; $23
Day #4: BADgal Bang Mascara from Benefit Cosmetics; $26
Day #5: Lancôme Hypnose Drama Instant Volumizing Mascara; $28
Day #6: Clinique High Impact Mascara; $20
Day #7: Thrive Cosmetics Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara; $24

All of these mascaras I purchased at Ulta Beauty and Thrive mascara directly from their website.

Day #1: Big Ego Mascara from Tarte Cosmetics

I have heard VERY good things about Tarte Cosmetics recently, I was very excited to try some of theirs out! This mascara is Vegan and gave me some good volume.

PROS:

This mascara gave me some good volume
Very full, and defined look
Stayed on well
Vegan

CONS:

The brush style makes it hard to really apply on the lashes
It was a little dull at the end of the day
VERY hard to take off with makeup remover

My Score: 7

Overall, I liked the look of mascara. But that was about it. It was hard to apply it because of the brush style and I really had to rub to get the mascara off. That alone makes me not want to buy it as around the eyes is the most delicate part of your face. I wouldn’t buy this mascara.

Day #2: Monsieur Big Volumizing Mascara from Lancôme

Lancôme is generally a highly rated brand of makeup so I had some high hopes for this one. I bought the travel size which was only $13.

PROS:

Good size brush with thick bristles
Full volume and coverage
Good definition of the lashes
Wasn’t dull at the end of the day
Very easy to take off with makeup remover

CONS:

Too thick on the lashes
Clumped a little on the application
Didn’t get the length I was hoping for

MY SCORE: 7.5

Overall, this was a really nice mascara. If you like good volume, with thick looking lashes, without the length then this may be a good bet for you. I like mine to be full volume, not too thick, with the length. I wouldn’t purchase this mascara myself.

Day #3: Maneater Mascara From Tarte Cosmetics

This mascara is what I would call a “wet” mascara. The brush has very, very, small bristles. I was afraid it would be too wet but it ended up being fine. This was a very delicate and lighter wearing mascara that still gave some length.

PROS:

No clumping
Definition of lashes with some good length
Stayed on well all day
Not too thick or bulky
Very easy to take off with makeup remover
Cruelty free

CONS:

Lighter coverage than I would like
Not very volumizing

MY SCORE: 7.8

Overall, I actually really liked this mascara. It is not one that I would buy for myself because of how I like my eyelashes to look with mascara on. However, it stayed on well, was definitive and very delicate. If you like something a little lighter coverage then this is the mascara for you!

Day #4: BADgal Band Mascara from Benefit

I have never heard of this brand before so I was pretty excited to try it out. I was mostly excited because of the style of this brush is closer to what I like for mascara brushes. I purchased this in the travel size at $13. But….. did it exceed my expectations?

NOPE! I did not like this one at all.

PROS:

Gave me some good length
Packaging was cool

CONS:

It was WAY too wet of a mascara
Took too long to dry on my lashes
Clumped on first application because of how wet it was
Not enough volume
The brush was oddly flexible and because of that it got all over my eyelids (more than usual)
It was faded at the end of the day
It crumbled and got into my eyes during the day
It was HARD to take off with makeup remover

MY SCORE: 4.5

Needless to say I didn’t like this mascara at all. Almost immediately after putting it on I was not a fan of it.

Day #5: Lancome Hypnose Drama Instant Volumizing Mascara

I purchased the travel size in this which was only $13 compared to the regular size $28. The brush head had an odd shape, which I will say that I don’t prefer as you generally don’t get an even coating.

As soon as I put this on I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. It gave me the volume I wanted without being too thick. The second application of this one was very dry and clumped, which was odd.

PROS:

Good length and volume
Long brush bristles to help the application
Dried very quickly

CONS:

2nd application was a very dry layer of mascara
Fullness only lasted a couple of hours
Became VERY dull at the end of the day
Clumped a little bit
Was flaky and came off in little dots that got on my face and in my eye
It was OK to take off, but still was in little clumps.

MY SCORE: 4

Overall, I don’t recommend this mascara. I like this less than the badgal bang one. It was so dry, flaky and irritated my eyes because of how much it flaked off and got into my eyes.

Day #6: Clinique High Impact Mascara

I was very interested to see what this mascara was like. Clinique is regarded as a very nice skin care and makeup brand that isn’t very flashy, so I had high hopes! I actually really liked this one too!

PROS:

Stayed on very well throughout the day
Not too wet or dry
Great definition and volume
Went on very smooth and looks classy
No clumping or flaking during the day
Relatively easy to take off
Moderately priced (for a high end brand)

CONS:

A tiny but dull at the end of the day (expected with most mascaras)
Had to layer it a few more times than I’d like to get the look I wanted

MY SCORE: 8.5!!!

Overall, this was my favorite mascara out of the seven I tried! It checked off all of my boxes and was just a really nice wear all day. I would have liked it to be a little bit more poppin (ha!) but this was overall the best mascara!

Day #7: Thrive Cosmetics Liquid Lash Extension Mascara

This is a relatively new brand and is vegan and cruelty free. I have seen ads all over the place for it and some of my close family and friends wear this mascara and recommended it. SO I was very skeptical.

PROS:

Stayed on super well all day long
Got some great length and definition
Clean product

CONS:

Mascara was very wet
Took too long to dry
My lashes stuck together at the end of the day and looked thin
Came off in weird tubes and clumps that got all over my face
Didn’t get the full volume that I wanted
The bristles on the brush were very hard and pokey

MY SCORE: 8

Overall, this was a good mascara. It didn’t meet my expectations as it was too wet and made my lashes look spider like. However, it’s a clean product and lasted all day with some really great length.

I like this mascara, not sure if I would purchase it again, but its definitely one to consider!

Alright, are you ready to hear the winner?! I mean you can probably see from the scores, but the one that I would DEFINITELY buy and keep using is…..

Clinique High Impact Mascara!