Save or Splurge on Mascara?

Spend or Save? Save.

"There is very little difference in mascara formulas from luxury to drugstore brands," says Tom Winarick. "It is really the brush that maximizes the performance of the product." It's no surprise that the drugstore brands Maybelline, Max Factor, and L'Oréal have long been the leaders in sales of mascara. "The richness of drugstore brands is the same as expensive ones," says Turnbow. With any mascara, pumping air into the tube before you apply it allows bacteria to grow, so you should buy a new tube every three to four months — all the more reason to spend less.

Recommended Product

Max Factor Lash Perfection Mascara ($8, www.maxfactor.com for store locations) coats each lash using flexible plastic bristles.

The Exception

If you want a color outside the normal brown-black range — for example, a midnight blue — you may want to look for a pricier brand with a wider variety of shades.

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Oh, I TOTALLY agree!

No doubt, SAVE!!!

Although I have splurged on mascara many times, it was never worth it...

I still love my Loreal HIP.

I say save too.

I'm devoted to my Lancome Lash Fatale, but I must say that I turn to Max Factor Lash Perfection when I have run out of my Lancome and cant get to the beauty counter soon enough. It is probably the ONLY drugstore mascara that actually delivers results. The only CON on this one is that it tends to dry rather quickly and goes so fast. I think a bottle only lasts about a month (month and a half max), if you were mascara daily like me.

for mascara you gotta splurge. cheap ones only make your eyelashes feel like rubbery plastic and it usually clumps them up but mascara like dior's ultimeyes make them feel really soft and your eyelashes are etremely volumous. so my everlasting thought would be to SPLURGE!

You know, I actually like to splurge on mascara. I used to buy drugstore mascara for years, but was always disappointed at how they seemed to dry out super fast. I was buying one every month. And for $6-$9 a pop, it comes out to about how much I pay for a department store mascara that'll last 2-3 times longer. Prescriptives Lash Envy is the best stuff ever! Still, I'll keep my eyes open for good drugstore mascaras. It would be cool to find an inexpensive one that didn't dry out.

Originally Posted by Maysie /img/forum/go_quote.gif You know, I actually like to splurge on mascara. I used to buy drugstore mascara for years, but was always disappointed at how they seemed to dry out super fast. I was buying one every month. And for $6-$9 a pop, it comes out to about how much I pay for a department store mascara that'll last 2-3 times longer. Prescriptives Lash Envy is the best stuff ever! Still, I'll keep my eyes open for good drugstore mascaras. It would be cool to find an inexpensive one that didn't dry out. I totally agree.... i could only use Alamy drugstore brand becausse I have sensitive eyes.... but they seem to dry out so quick...
I love Prescriptives mascara... i use the False Eyelash one and it's great and worth splurging for.... it seems to last forever and never dry out..

i like maxfactor volume couture, i've splurged before and it's so not worth it in the long run

Because L'oreal owns both Lancome and (duh) L'oreal, they have really similar mascaras and I always find that I can get just about the exact same results from both of them. IMO the Lancome ones last a little longer, like they don't dry out as quickly and they are usually first to market with "new" brush designs and stuff...

I agree!

Usually just drugstore brands. But will sometimes reuse old brushes if they are nice.

yea mascara is one thing I dont splurge on especially when you have to toss them like every 3 months. Since I have sensitive eyes i definately throw them out quicker.

I agree!

Max Factor Masterpiece is my hg mascara. I've tried several high end ones and none have been any better.

I actually love my L'Oreal HIP better than more expensive brands.

I agree! I recently bought the Cover Girl Great Las mascara (the one with the pink tube and green lid) and I gotta say, I'm probably more impressed with it than with my more expensive mascaras.

to me it's splurge. i have sensitive eyes, and brands like l'oréal, Yves Rocher, Bourjois, Eyecare (supposedly made for sensitive eyes&contacts wearers, what a joke !) have made my eyes tear and itch like crazy. so i have to go for other (and more expensive) brands.

i also like blue mascaras, and the ones i've found from cheap brands suck.

Save my fav mascara is WMW megaplump $3.

I say save while splurging.. you can get mascaras that are just as good (and in some cases better!!) than high end mascara without paying the high price. its treating yourself for a fraction of the cost. =]

I say splurge! My favorite ever is DiorShow... I love MaxFactor too but it hurts my eyes