mascara showdown!

today for your viewing pleasures, i will be comparing two of the newest drugstore mascaras! if, like myself, you find it almost impossible to pass up a shiny new tube of mascara while waiting to have your prescription filled, then read on!

up first is Milani's new Power Lash, a mascara that promises to thicken and volumize, giving you high drama, clump-free and virtually unsmudgeable lashes. it has an old-school bristle packed brush which is very big and fluffy(think Diorshow or Too Faced Lash Injection). i find the name and advertising for this mascara to be very misleading because it did not give me 'power lashes' by any means. the consistency of the mascara is on the thinner side, and to get any volume i had to apply two coats, allow dry time, and then apply a third. one or two coats of this mascara gives nicely defined, natural looking daytime lashes but a third coat still doesn't really amp it up enough for evening, either. i have experienced no smudging or clumping, and the mascara is very comfortable to apply, meaning i had no problem building layers while avoiding spider lashes. also a good thing, Power Lash leaves your lashes very soft and smooth to the touch, almost completely bare feeling! it's curl holding ability is average, not amazing hold but enough to keep my lashes visible, which is VERY important to me as i am a super-strength-lash-curler. i would (and will) definitely rock this mascara for my daytime look, but it would not be enough to make an impact. the only shade i saw was Black 101, which is black but not as rich or deep as it could be, and when applied to my bottom lashes, they remained almost totally invisible. this is a huge pet peeve of mine, so shame on you Milani! darken up your formula and you'd have a fabulous natural mascara! i'd give this mascara a 7 out of 10, above average and almost really good but not quite there yet...

up next is L'oreal's Voluminous Naturale, the newest product in the growing line of Voluminous mascaras. this mascara boasts an ability to provide natural looking volume and definition with zero clumping, and even has a built-in 'clean sweep brush system' that wipes each and every bristle perfectly clean for an even, clump-free application. the brush it comes with (seen to the right) is one of the newer, plastic bristle brushes but also has the same kind of flexibility as Maybelline's Define-a-Lash mascara. i was a little skeptical about buying this mascara because i am NOT a fan of the regular Voluminous, which i think is spidery, clumpy, and a lot more trouble than it's worth, but since this one promised to be 'lightweight' i caved. what a pleasant surprise! this mascara is very nice, has a great dark black color, and applied very easily with no clumping at all. this was my first experience with a flexible brush and although i can't say i loved it, it definitely didn't impede the application. no double-dipping of the brush was necessary, and also there was no need to wipe off the tip of the brush where that little mascara build-up can sometimes occur. the 'clean sweep brush system' must be working! i would say that the finished result of this mascara was also a daytime look, but that's fine with me because i don't want crazy volume when it's light out, just clean-looking, dark and defined lashes. curl holding ability was also average, which is the only bad point i can see so far in this mascara, because i like my lashes to stay curled STRAIGHT up all day long (yes, i'm one of THOSE girls!). the plastic bristles on the brush made it very easy to get right to the root of my eyelashes, which is important when you have blonde lashes, so that's something i definitely appreciated. when applied to my lower lashes, they looked long, dark, and not at all spider-like! score! i have also had no flaking or smudging so far. i'd say this mascara clocks in at a 7.5 out of 10 for me. at around $8 a tube, i would definitely give Voluminous Naturale my stamp of approval, and will be using it frequently from now on (although i probably won't repurchase because i like to try something new EVERY time! no brand loyalty for me!) to get a great looking, natural lash look.

so the winner? probably the L'oreal, although mascara is something that's so personal that it's hard to say if you would feel the same way. but actually, both mascaras were above average, so you can't really go too wrong choosing between the two. happy mascara'ing to you!