Laura Mercier Long Lash Mascara

You all may have noticed a slight lack of posts on mascaras over the past few months.  No I didn't stop loving mascara, in fact it is still one of my favorite beauty items and the one that I might be the most picky about the formula and the results.  I have talked on here about using items up and doing some spring cleaning in general and that philosophy extended all the way to my traincase.  When I was digging around for some product or another in the beginning of the year, I saw a pile of unused Clinique mascaras that I amassed through all of the Gifts with Purchase that I tend to qualify for every season at Macy*s.  Over the end of winter and spring, I have used up a few of these small mascaras (how many sets could I have qualified for to have that make tubes of Lash Doubling Mascara?!) and now I ahve moved onto trying out a different mascara. 

The mascara that I have been using for about a week now is the Laura Mercier Long Lash Mascara, the first mascara that I have ever used from the Laura Mercier company.  I received a large sample size of this mascara from the Sephora Beauty Insider program, I love when they have mascaras as the 100-Point Perk since the size is large enough for me to use it for a bit more than month and allows me to really try out the product before I buy the full size.  I am glad that I got to try this product out before I decided to buy it or not, since this mascara was not quite what I tend to look for in a formulation. 

The Long Lash Mascara was featured in Laura's first summer collection, Belle Nouveau.  I was initially really excited to try this product out when I first saw it in that fantastic color collection, even though the description reads more like that of a lengthening formula instead of the volume formulas that I hunt down.  From the Laura Mercier website, "Extend and precisely separate the thinnest, shortest, hard-to-reach lashes by expertly scooping and lengthening each lash while delivering the right amount of product.  Perfectly engineered brush, designed to meet Laura's specfications, dramtically lengthens and defines lashes while enhancing the eyes.  An innovative stretch formula lengthens, separates, and curls each lash, making lashes appear longer in just two strokes.  Long-wearing, water-resistant, and smudge-proof.  Contains rich dark pigments to enhance lash colour for maximum drama.  Clump-free, fiber-free, paraben-free, and ophthamologist-tested.  Suitable for contact lens wearers."  This formula is available in two shades, black and a bright navy blue.  I own this mascara in the Black shade. 

Long Lash is the perfect name for this mascara formula, it provides length and separation but does next to nothing to bulk up the lashes and build volume.  The brush is smaller than I am used to and is covered with small bristles that help to grab and hang onto each lash.  The first coat of this mascara does next to nothing for my lashes, it makes them slightly darker and longer.  A second coat is needed for any type of definition and to bring out the rich hue that this mascara is made to offer.  The Black shade is a medium black, I have had much deeper and richer blacks than this shade.  This mascara really separates lashes, this is its best aspect of the product.  This mascara does lengthen the lashes however the results are not unique and this is by far not the best lengthening mascara that is on the market.  I was very disappointed with the results that I got from this mascara.  This is a good formula for a conservative office setting in which dramatic lashes would be frowned upon.

My least favorite aspect of this mascara (besides all the comments above!) is that it smeared very easily in humid weather.  I took a brisk walk one night after dinner (warm and humid conditions) and by the time that I got home and looked in the mirror, I saw that the mascara had smeared all over my undereye area on one eye.  I know that this isn't a waterproof formula but I don't expect a mascara to smear with normal activity in humid weather.  This formula was very easy to remove with an eye makeup remover, one swipe for each eye got all of the product off without any issues.

I am glad that I was able to try this mascara without buying it because I would not buy this product again.  I am not a fan of lengthening mascaras in the first place and this one only performed average.  It separates each and every lash but only provide medium length.  The shade isn't deep or dramatic enough to compete with the mascaras that I prefer.  The smudge that I got after a 30 minute walk really annoyed me, I expect any high end mascara to perform better than this and be able to bond to the lashes better.  Laura Mercier does offer high volume mascara formulas so I will have to try one of those the next time I decide to purchase a mascara from this company.

photo courtesy of Laura Mercier