I less than three you.
We are never, ever ever, getting back together. Ever. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara and I share a lengthy, voluminous history together. I remember a LiveJournal post of mine from about ten years ago, where I go on a dramatic diatribe wondering why I’d even bother trying a new mascara when I know Great Lash is the one. (Yes, I was always a prolific writer when it came to the woes of beauty products.)
I’ve been distracted by shiny new packaging on a few other tubes before, sure, but Great Lash was my lobster. I imagined being old and grey, still lovingly adorning my lashes with luscious coats of it, belying my age with the classic beauty secret that still makes my brown eyes really pop even at eighty. It’s the mascara that makeup artist Bobbi Brown recommends, it’s the one every makeup artist recommends.
But something’s up with Maybelline’s distribution. I was worried when, about a year back, I was at a Walgreens and couldn’t find the waterproof Great Lash. I stocked up with a few tubes from eBay like it was the cosmetic apocolypse, and that got me through till now. But I forgot my former panic until I wandered into a CVS to replace the last waxy-smelling tube of cakey mascara I was still caulking on to my lashes, and lo and behold, there was no waterproof Great Lash. Again. I paced around frantically, trying to Google what was going on, maybe find other Great Lash devotees who were scared and frustrated too. I had to have something to get me by in the meantime though, so I decided I’d stick with Maybelline and try to find a waterproof formula in another one of their mascaras. I grabbed the grape-colored Falsies tube and headed home, a broken woman with little hope.
I tested Falsies out immediately (because I’m a crazy person) and was super happy, and surprised, that my long lashes didn’t wilt as the application dried. They stayed perky and were gorgeously enhanced by the inky black mascara, with no clumps. I cleaned it off with some coconut oil and took a shower, where the rest came off cleanly, without a tickertape parade of tiny confetti-like mascara flakes. Then, with a clean face fresh from my shower, I applied my makeup for the day and gave Falsies their official test drive. The sort of Great Lash dupe, or upgrade really, completely delivered. It didn’t crumb off into my contact lenses, it didn’t run in the summer sun, and my fringes never drooped or looked goopey.
A week later, I can’t stop marvelling at how pretty and full my lashes look each day. Since they’re in the same family, maybe Falsies is finally a mascara I can actually rely on when Great Lash can’t be found. What’s the go-to mascara that you can’t live without? A lot of other bloggers seem taken with Falsies too, is the fabulous new formula getting its own following? Weigh in one the wonders and faults of Falsie in the comments, below. — Casandra Armour
