I think everyone has that one beauty product that they return to again and again, despite having tried the latest and greatest formulas that claim to be the next best thing. For me, it’s the L’Oréal Voluminous mascara, a drugstore icon that I gleefully returned to after a makeup artist recommended it to me for a story on colored mascaras. I was officially reinforced in my belief that this $9 tube truly fulfills every single need I have when it comes to mascara, and there’s no point in messing with the expensive stuff any longer.
Of pricy formulas I’ve tried, I’ve tested the gamut, including several of Lancôme’s beloved tubes (Lash Idôle, Hypnôse) to Too Faced’s Better Than Sex mascara — all of which start at $29 a pop. I even prefer L’Oréal’s Voluminous mascara to other drugstore formulas like L’Oréal’s equally adored Lash Paradise, which I feel dried out too quickly.
There’s something about the consistency of this mascara and the fluffy barrel brush that makes my lashes appear longer and noticeably volumized, without looking weighed down or spidery. It’s almost a wispy effect that’s the perfect combination of natural meets perceptibly accentuated and very eye-opening.
In terms of application, I know it’s going to go on smoothly every time, even when I want to amplify the results and coat my lashes with a few extra layers — something I always have trouble with with most mascara formulas I’ve tried. This kind of buttery viscosity, in my opinion, makes it much easier to control where I want to concentrate the product (usually on the outer corners for me) and where I want it to apply more sparse.
