Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Beauty Review: Blinc Mascara

Disclaimer: I was not paid to do this review. I bought the product reviewed with my own money on my own time. Review is subject to my personal skin type, living climate, moods, preferences, PMS, etc.

If you're like me, you've been on a search for the "perfect" mascara for a while. My eyelids seem to get very oily, and I guess I rub my eyes because most mascaras that are good for staying power end up in dark circles under my eyes (even if I don't put any one my lower lashes). Blinc has been a favorite for a while, because it was the first mascara I found that didn't give me raccoon eyes!

From the Blinc website:

"Formerly known as Kiss Me, blinc is the original mascara invented to form tiny water-resistant "tubes" around your lashes rather than painting them like conventional mascaras. Once applied, these beauty tubes bind to your lashes and cannot run, smudge, clump, or flake, even if you cry or rub your eyes. Whether your daily activities take you from the office, to your sweaty workout and then out to dinner, your lashes will look as good in the evening as they did when you first applied blinc in the morning."


Packaging:


The mascara comes in a fairly simple silver tube. Nothing special here.


The wand is also fairly simple, almost straight with a slight helix shape.

Application:

The mascara is a little tricky; since it goes on very wet the wrong move can make your lashes clump together and look like you only have four of them! Other than that it is relatively straightforward. The mascara is great for my lashes length, and is buildable as long as it is wet so you can add several coats.


One eye (3-4 coats)


Left eye (your left): 3-4 coats. Right eye: 1-2 coats.

Results:

The mascara gives relatively good length but little volume. Additionally, although it does not give me circles around the eyes I've found it doesn't live up to Blinc's longevity claims. A few hours after applying I had some eye irritation that made my eyes water copiously, giving me a chance to test the Blinc mascara's "waterproof-ness." The results were not pretty:


Clumpy, running off my eyes, flakes underneath...oh joy.


Several hours later, my mascara was still there and no circles were under my eyes (that in itself is a rarity in a mascara) but my eyes definitely didn't look as nice as they did "when I first applied Blinc in the morning."


The slight smirk is at myself, because I forgot to take the picture before I put my nightgown on. XP

Pros: 
*Buildable formula
*No raccoon eyes!
*Removal is surprisingly easy for a mascara with staying power

Cons:
*Clumpy! Clumpy, clumpy!
*Little volume
*Eyes tearing makes it...ew.
*Doesn't live up to its claims
*Cost: $25-$31 per bottle

Overall:
As I said, I've been using this mascara for a while. Although it doesn't live up to Blinc's claims, it doesn't give me black eyes which counts for a lot. Every other mascara I've tried ends me up with black smudges. However, my search for my holy grail mascara continues.

Rating: ***** (3/5)