Maybelline Volum’ Express The Falsies mascara vs. Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara
Hi Friends! How have you all been? As much as I love summer, I’ve been loving the transition into Fall outfits, décor, and recipes. This summer I’ve been testing out different mascaras and I think I’ve found a new great drugstore mascara. Since my last “Battle of the Mascaras“, I’ve still been trying out mascaras and trying to find better mascaras than the last one. I find a mascara at Sephora or Ulta for more than $20 and compare it to a mascara that can be bought at CVS. What I love most about shopping in the CVS cosmetics aisle is seeing the different array of products, all for under $20.00 USD. Aside from trying different lashes from Ardell, I like to try different mascaras to find one that accentuates my natural lashes. My lashes are somewhat long and hold a decent curl. What I look for in a mascara is one that provides me with volume and fans out my lashes to stay curled all day. Living in Hawaii, I must keep the humidity in mind when trying out new mascaras.
In this “Battle of the Mascaras” post, I’m batting Too Faced’s “Better Than Sex” mascara against Maybelline’s “Volum’ Express: The Falsies” mascara. I’ve heard many people suggest Too Faced’s mascara and I believe it won many awards. What drew me to Maybelline’s mascara was the price and the type of wand it has. I prefer mascara wands with bristles over a plastic wand with spikes. I bought both mascaras in black and non-waterproof. Here’s what I found after trying both for 3 weeks:
PRICE:
The Too Faced mascara is on the pricier side, at $28.00 for a standard size. There is also a mini version that is good for keeping in your purse for mascara touch-ups. Maybelline’s mascara stands at $8.99 for the standard size.
FORMULA:
The “Better Than Sex” mascara has a pretty thick formula that coats each lash with an even amount of product. The mascara itself provides a nice coating that thickens the appearance of lashes. However because the formula is thick, I found that it didn’t hold the curl of my lashes even when I used a curler. On the other hand, the “Volum Express: The Falsies” mascara, provided a much lighter coating but held the curl of my lashes. In my opinion, my favorite mascara for holding my lash curl without using a curler would still be IT Cosmetics “Superhero” mascara.
BRUSH:
What I did really like about the “Better Than Sex” mascara was the brush. I like using mascaras that have a bristle wand. The brush shape is similar to Bite Beauty’s mascara, in a wide hourglass silhouette where it gets narrower in the middle. With the longer bristles on the end I was able to brush extra mascara on the lashes on the inner and outer corners of my eye. “The Falsies” mascara was also a bristle brush, but the bristles aren’t as consistent or as tight of a bind as the “Better Than Sex” mascara. I think the brush shape and density of bristles plays a big part in how the formula coats each lash as mentioned before.
WEARABILITY:
Of course, when I first put on the mascaras, I apply it until it looks to how I like it. But throughout the day we all know that our mascaras and makeup can change appearance due to sweat, humidity, tears, wind, and other factors. When wearing the “Better Than Sex” mascara, it started to smudge under my eyes at hour 3-4, and then at hour 5 it would start flaking. Alternately “The Falsies” mascara lasted longer and still smudged, but later at hour 5 and didn’t flake. Keep in mind, it is normally 50-70% humidity here in the islands so that plays a role in the wearability of these mascaras but it’s something I look for.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I think because of the price and wearability, I’d say that Maybelline’s “Volum’ Express: The Falsies” mascara won over the very popular, Too Faced “Better Than Sex” mascara. I didn’t like how the mascara flaked after some time, and it didn’t keep my lashes curled. Maybelline’s mascara was good, but I wouldn’t say I like it enough to replace my go-to Superhero mascara by IT Cosmetics. I will use “The Falsies” mascara for the next 3 months though!
I’m interested in trying other mascaras to find a similar dupe to the Superhero mascara – maybe in a couple months I’ll try another two! Until next time…
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