The Holy Grail aka Mascara

Like the perfect fitting jeans or the foundation that does everything you could wish for, one of my Holy Grails is the perfect mascara. 

I've found two in premium brands; Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme and Clinique High Impact. But in these days of tighter budgets, I was looking for something more affordable. I've been following Ruth Crilly for years now (she of the formerly named A Model Recommends) and she has mentioned this mascara from L'Oreal that she swears by. See her latest mention of it in this post.

If your lashes are short or sparse, avoid mascaras with fat brushes. They tend not to grab the lashes well and the end result is often clumpy and messy. A volumising formula with a skinny brush like the one above, will coat your lashes root to tip. This one also gets into the corner of the eye where you may have those shorter lashes. I found one coat more than enough, it doesn't smear or flake and comes off easily enough with any decent eye make up remover. I use a micellar water on a cotton pad for the purpose. 

I had hoped to find it in brown, which L'Oreal did at one time, but couldn't source it. I love a good cocoa brown for casual wear (ditto a nice navy) but few brands do anything other than black now. 

Verdict: definite re-purchase

Pro tip: always allow mascara to dry between coats. Not doing so can result in lashes that look clumped and messy. Invest in a packet of inexpensive, long-handled spoolies to run through the lashes when the mascara has dried.  I also use them to groom my eyebrows.