Revlon Photoready 3D Volume Mascara

Mascara.  It is most people's requirement for their face.  When you ask women "If you were stranded on a desert island what makeup item would you take?" (they should answer food and water)  most women answer mascara.  It's also the product that needs replacing most often.  Since mascara comes into contact with your eyes, and sometimes the inside of your eyes (you know, like when you accidentally stab yourself), it needs to be replaced about every 3 months.  Because of the frequency of repurchasing, a lot of women try several different kinds; I know I used to.  I tried all different kinds, and they were all OK.  Most of them weren't necessarily disappointing.  In fact, I really liked some of them (Maybelline Illegal Length, if you're wondering) but this one has stolen the show.  It's the only mascara I've bought in about a year.

The reason I bought it initially was because it had the Benefit "They're Real"-esque spikes on the end that every makeup blogger was losing their minds over.  And only cost $8.  I took it home and tried it out.  It was the first time I only needed to use one mascara.

What I find so odd about the name is that I really don't think it's crazy-volumizing.  What this does for me is it gives me a LOT of separation and really enhances my eyelashes' fairly impressive natural length.  I love it because it doesn't clump, I don't need 3 coats of it to see a difference, and it can look both really natural and really intense.  The brush is plastic, and I find with plastic wands, you don't want to do one coat, let it dry, and put on another.  Instead, I keep raking it through until it's as thick as I want.  Because it separates so well, I don't need to go back with a comb or spoolie to break up chunks.

Revlon makes this in both regular and waterproof.  I usually go for regular as I find it holds a curl perfectly well and it doesn't smudge on my upper lashes (sometimes I find it does smudge on my lower lashes, so I use a different waterproof mascara).  However, in a mistake of rushed purchasing, I have gotten the waterproof formula before and it really doesn't move.  As in, I had a hard time getting it off.  If that's what you're looking for, great, it held up amazingly.  If not, I'd say stick with regular.

This is really my favorite makeup product, and it's something I never even think about replacing.