I regularly call myself a mascara connoisseur for the sheer fact that I feel like I am 1. completely addicted to mascara and 2. because I feel like I have tried every major mascara on the market. I can easily determine if I’ll like the mascara based solely off their packaging, the wand style and often times the price. (By the way, I could write a THESIS on why you honestly do NOT need to spend $24+ on a darn tube of mascara. Save your money, ladies!) And while this addiction has led me to some of my favorite mascaras on the market, it’s also kept me from falling into devious marketing tactics put forth by the beauty industry to take your money. Well, until now. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but ladies, let me introduce you to the greatest marketing trap I’ve ever fallen into: CoverGirl’s Lash Blast 24 Hour Mascara
In this post, I told you about how much I love Cover Girl’s ‘Lash Blast’ mascara line. I’ve tried all of them and always go back to loving the first one they came out with, the orange tube. So when I saw all these amazing commercials of their new sleek, black tube that promised to stay on for 24 hours, I literally ran to my Target the next day and rummaged through every tube until I found my favorite shade of ‘very black’. I ran home and excited ripped off that packaging, felt that refreshing feeling of the first pump of a new tube (I told you I was addicted) and went to layer it on my eyelashes. A few layers later, my eyelids were COVERED in mascara- the wand is a MESS- and I really wasn’t getting the very black results that I usually look for. I decided that maybe I was just in a rush so I layered on a few more coats and ran out the door. It was… fine, definitely nothing special.
But I began to realize the error in my ways when I went to wash off my makeup that night and that mascara would not BUDGE. Like, absolutely none of it came off. It was somewhere around 2 AM and after scrubbing with no luck, losing eyelashes in the process, I went to bed. I woke up the next morning with full mascara on my eyelashes and full mascara under my eyes as well. I honestly looked like I had just had a wild night in Vegas and couldn’t be bothered to wash my face before passing out. Needless to say, it was terrible.
And then it hit me: why would I ever need a mascara that lasts 24 hours? When do I ever go 24 hours without washing my face? My skin would break out like CRAZY if I left my makeup on that long! I totally fell into a marketing ploy and got mascara that won’t wash off (btw, the packaging does NOT say waterproof, but it totally is, it’s even eyemakeup remover resistant!), does not deliver in color or volume or quality, but, darnit, it WILL last you 24 hours.
The moral of this story is: never let yourself get fooled by creative beauty product marketing. Probably take 1 minute and think about what they’re even selling you and you’ll be able to avoid the mascara mess that I’ve gotten myself into.
Have you ever bought a product based off the marketing alone and found yourself upset with its lackluster performance? Share your story below, I’d love to know that I’m not the only one!
xo,
Libby
