When it comes to mascara, I very rarely splurge on higher end mascaras as I find that spending £25 on a product which you can only use for three months pretty soul destroying – dramatic I know, but I’d much rather buy drugstore mascaras. When I’m feeling spendy, I absolutely love the YSL mascaras; especially their Effet Faux Cils Mascara as it gives my pathetic lashes a real boost in volume and length, but it’s a nightmare for drying up quickly and I’m lucky if they last eight weeks. I’ve never tried any of the MAC mascaras as they’ve never really appealed to me when I’ve been in a MAC store, and they’re just not as hyped as their other products. However one of my favourite YouTuber’s Jaclyn Hill, raves about the MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara £16.50 being the perfect mascara for the bottom lashes all of the time, so I decided I’d give it a try as it really did make Jaclyn’s bottom lashes look amazing in her videos.
The MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara is £15 which I didn’t think was too bad for an higher end mascara, especially as it’s £10 cheaper than the YSL mascaras and the bonus with the MAC mascaras is that you can save them up for the Back 2 MAC promotion where you can exchange six primary packaging containers in return for a lipstick shade of your choice which is fab. The Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara is described as being a lightweight curling and lifting mascara with upto 16 hours of smudge-free wear.
The brush is very slim and quite long, with natural bristles. The short bristles is what makes this mascara so ideal for your bottom lashes as it can coat your lashes without covering your skin in mascara – I am seriously awful at applying mascara, and I always end up with it all over my eyelids so I need all of the help I can get in trying to minimise the mess.
The first time I used this mascara I was disappointed as I didn’t really see any improvement to my lashes, but I’ve found that it’s a mascara which needs to be layered up, allowing each layer to dry fully so I can build up the intensity without creating a clumpy mess. I’ve found that my bottom lashes look their best with three coats which might sound laborious but each coat dries quickly.
What I particularly liked about this MAC Extended Play Gigablack Lash Mascara is that it dries to a glossy finish, which I definitely wouldn’t want for my upper lashes but I think the glossy finish really helps to create a wider and brighter eye look and my lower lashes look quite natural.
I’ve never found a mascara which dries to a glossy finish before, but it seems to work well on the lower lashes and it doesn’t smudge or transfer which I expected seeing as it’s glossy. I think this is a great mascara, and by using it as just a bottom lash mascara it will last for such a long time if you ignore the recommended three month lifespan of a mascara.
I would love to know what your favourite bottom lash mascara is?
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