For the past couple of years, I have been preferring mascaras that I guess you’d call lengthening mascaras. You know the ones with the skinny wands with short plastic teeth. I love the fact that they just about never clump or make lashes stick together.
My favorite have been Too Faced LashGasm and Mirabella Lasting Lash Waterproof Mascara. I still love them both. And I’m sorely tempted to pick up a new tube of the Mirabella because LovelySkin.com has it on sale for 20% off with free shipping. Hmmm, I probably could use a waterproof mascara for beach season, 😎 😉
DiorShow
In spite of my love for the skinny wand mascaras, a couple of months ago I was itching to go back to one of my old loves, DiorShow, and see how I felt about it after giving it up for several years. During the Ulta 20% off sale in April, I picked up a tube. I love the look of the tube. I think it’s very pretty.
It has a large fluffy wand, completely the opposite of what I had been using.
But I’ve really been enjoying the fact that it gives me volume as well as length. I haven’t had any serious issues with clumping. I have a couple of weird lashes on the outer edge of my left eye that sometimes like to stick together as well as a couple of lashes in the middle of my right eye that do the same thing. In fact, that’s one of the key reasons why I used the lengthening/skinny wand mascaras for the past couple of years: no lashes sticking together at all. But with the big bristled wands, I run my heated lash curler through them to separate them if necessary.
DiorShow doesn’t flake, and it stays put.
I bought black, and it’s a nice deep black. But another thing I used to love about DiorShow is that it also comes in brown, navy blue and purple. Their colors are great. Next time, I’ll pick up DiorShow in one of those shades. $28.50, made in France
Lancôme Monsieur Big
This past week, I was trying to straighten up and throw stuff out, and I came upon a shoulder tote bag that I got from Sephora in April as a VIB freebie. In it, I found several items that I had purchased during the Sephora and the Ulta sales that I hadn’t started using yet. I also found my Ulta birthday gift, a travel size tube of a new mascara from Lancôme that launches in July exclusively at Ulta.
I usually steer clear of Lancome skincare and makeup because it can be fragranced. I don’t mind a little fragranced, but sometimes Lancôme smells too strong. Thankfully, Monsieur Big Mascara has no discernible scent.
The reason it’s called Monsieur Big is that it is supposed to provide up to 12x more volume. Like DiorShow, it has a fluffy wand.
The wand is a good size, almost as big as DiorShow. But the bristles are a little more irregular, perhaps to deposit more mascara?
It definitely amps up the volume. I’m impressed! Also, like with DiorShow, those finicky outer lashes on my left eye sometimes stick together so I need to separate them, but otherwise, no clumping. And no flaking either.
So how does it deliver on the 12x volume? Very well! It is a real volumizer, and it provides good length as well. In fact, I was looking at some photos of me wearing DiorShow and me wearing Monsieur Big, and Monsieur Big shows up more in the photos. I guess Monsieur Big wins this round!
My only nitpicky thing about the wand is that it has a flat top rather than coming to a point – you can see the difference in the photo above. I find the flat top a little bit hard to use at the inner corners of my eyes where my lashes are sparser – I often get a little bit of mascara from the flat top wand on my eyelid, grrrr, that I need to remove with a Q-tip. But other than that, all’s good. Not sure of the price because it hasn’t launched yet.
Since I’m back to big wand mascaras, I’ve gotta break out my Urban Decay Perversion next!
What’s your current favorite mascara? Are you a big wand or skinny wand gal?
The bigger the better, I say.
My, how inappropriate that sounds! 😉
I ALWAYS seem to make a mess on my eyelids, but personally I get less clumping with the fluffy ones. I must not get enough wiped off the skinny brushes because those are actually my worst offenders.
LOLOL, I agree, Rach! It’s interesting to find out what works or doesn’t work for everyone and why. What you said about the skinny brushes makes sense, but strangely enough I haven’t had that happen to me. For some reason, I find that the skinny brushes with their little teeth don’t take up as much mascara, and I find myself doing more coats. And for me, the little plastic teeth act like combs. But the fluffy wands definitely volumize better for me and they require fewer coats for me. Which mascaras are you using these days, Rach? Do you have a fave or do you skip around?
Those darn little teeth just comb my lashes TOGETHER, I swear! Or maybe I’m just mascara incompetent, hahaha. I like Diorshow, and I also like their Addict It-lash formula, though the shorter spiky plastic brush on the latter isn’t my absolute fave. I just comb through with one of my extra wands when I’m done though. Lately I’ve been using Clinique’s Flutter to Full and I like it. And I would like to try that new Lancôme since it looks like a drugstore formula I used to enjoy quite a lot before my eyes quit tolerating it. Very volumising and with the blunt ended fluffy brush; I think it might have been a Cover Girl formula…
Oh, I’m going to have to look at the Dior Addict It mascara. I haven’t seen that one, but since I like the shorter spiky plastic teeth on mascara wands, it would probably be perfect for moi 😉
So many have recommended me Diorshow but I have never tried it! Maybe I will finally give it a try after reading this review.
Shireen L. Platt recently posted…The Powder Edition: Best For Dry, Mature Skin
DiorShow is probably the one mascara that I’ve used for the longest number of years. It is just that good! But this new mascara from Lancome definitely has the edge on volumizing though a bit more difficult to use because of the flat tip. Too bad it’s an Ulta exclusive
Diorshow is a cult-classic for good reason!
Lola Seicento recently posted…Makeup Wars: Our Favorite Sunscreens
agree, agree!!
Morning……🙋🏻☕️☕️🍪🍪😱 My all time favorite mascara is and always will be Maybelline’s “Full and Soft.” So inexpensive and major results in all fields. Removes really easy with my facial cleanser. Nothing extra needed to remove it. NO CLUMPING! 👀 My next go to is “BAD gal Lash” By benefit. Love ❤️ them both. Always use my $3.50 💰 off coupons at Ulta to stock up on both of these. Have a good Monday. 🌻🌻🌻
I haven’t tried Maybelline’s Full and Soft, DiEtta. I’ve gotta look for it coz I’m not sure which it is. I’m sure I must have used BAD Gal Lash by Benefit, but maybe not for a while. Gotta see which one it is too! Their Roller Lash won my heart, and I think I put Roller Lash in its own category: curved wand on the thinner side with plastic teeth.
I need to try the Lancome one. Now that my lashes grew back, I love a good mascara that can enhance the volume.
Oh my, I had forgotten that you lost some of your lashes – it was after getting lash extensions, I believe? At any rate, so glad they’re back! Lancome Monsieur Big mascara was definitely impressive!
I like to revisit mascaras after I haven’t used them in a year. It’s interesting to see if old favorites remain favorite. Looks like your birthday gift is really paying off.
MarciaF recently posted…Let the sun shine down on all the Sunday Scoop giveaways
I haven’t usually been a fan of Lancome mascara so Monsieur Big (except for the blunt tip which I will get the hang of) was a good surprise! Yes, going back again to try an old fave is always a good idea!
Diorshow is my fav! I love big fluffy mascara brushes! I received the Lancôme sample as well and based on your review here I can’t wait to try it!!
Judy recently posted…Straight and Curly Hair with White Sands
I hope you like Lancome Monsieur Big. Curious to see if you have an issue with the blunt tip like I did, but I’m hoping I’ll get the hang of it and I won’t have a problem with it over time.
I’ll let you know! I was excited to hear you got volume and length.
Judy recently posted…Straight and Curly Hair with White Sands
I’m looking forward to trying that mascara. I like big fluffy wands. I’m curious to see what I think of the flat topped wand.
Polarbelle recently posted…What’s New In Multi-Misting From Pixi Beauty Skintreats
Although I’m not a fan of the flat topped wand, I really like the Monsieur Big formula so it’s worth struggling a bit with the wand 🙂
I love Diorshow, it’s such a wonderful mascara that does it all! Never tried Monsieur Big, but the wand looks great, too!
Anastasia recently posted…PR Haul #3 & Mini Reviews | Beauty & Lifestyle
Lancome Monsieur Big was a good surprise. I doubt I would have tried it on my own if I hadn’t received it from Ulta for my bday, but I’m glad I did. Super black, super big lashes!
I’m a skinny wand girl myself.
Cindy (Prime Beauty) recently posted…Meet the Mally Beauty Best Sellers
Glad to hear I’m not the only one, but I do like the DiorShow big wand because it’s so well constructed
I love large fluffy wands! I may need to splurge on the Dior!
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I don’t think you’d regret it. DiorShow is a cult fave!
This is one of my HG mascaras (I have 3 HG’s for different looks) and this is my Va Va Voom HG mascara!
Yay, glad you love it too! I just love the wand, so easy to use!
My favorite mascara by far is Better Than Sex by Too Faced (waterproof)…It has taken me soooo long to find a great mascara…I have never been this happy with a mascara…I don’t know if there is one out there that will be able to beat it…If you have used it let me know your thoughts on it please 😊
Hi Michelle, thanks so much for your comment. Mascara preferences are so darn personal. You’re going to laugh, but Better Than Sex just isn’t right for me, but how wonderful that it works for you and lots of other women say that it’s their favorite as well. I have very downturned eyes with sort of wonky but long colorless lashes, and for me with my specific eye shape, a skinny wand with plastic teeth gives me more control than most big fluffy wands. That said, from time to time I use DiorShow and it has a big fluffy wand. My favorites – Mirabella Waterproof Lasting Lash, MAC Upward Lash, and L’Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Intenza – work for me, but they most likely wouldn’t be a good choice for you. I think that when you find a mascara that works for you, stick with it! With the sales at Sephora and the upcoming one at Ulta, now’s the time to pick up an extra!