Is It Truly Better Than Sex?

I've been seriously inactive on my blog, Twitter and Instagram accounts, and it drives me up the wall. I've finished unpacking, more or less, but it just seems like there's no end to distractions here. Mum's going to Japan on Tuesday night for a little over two weeks to spend some time with my sister, so hopefully, I'll have a grasp on blogging again before she gets back. I like being in control, and I don't enjoy having time run away from me. I get really antsy and impatient when this happens.

Now, now, loved ones, this is not an exploration or exposition on my love life. Believe it or not, this is a review on the Too Faced mascara risquély named as Better Than Sex. I'm not sure what it is about brands naming their most popular products with rather suggestive terms (Nars Orgasm, I'm looking at you!) but I think it's all a marketing ploy to make people curious about said products. I actually prefer products with silly puns, and I have a little internal giggle every time I see theBalm's Mary-Lou Manizer or the Balm Appetit palette in my collection.

I'm sorry, I just love puns.

Anyhoo, the Better Than Sex is the latest mascara in my Mascara Trials as I search for my Holy Grail. As some of you may know, my criterion for the perfect mascara is that it has to separate, lengthen, volumise if possible, and be thin enough in consistency to evenly coat each lash without clumping them together or looking dry and thick. Oh, and it must stand up to the humidity behind my glasses and not flake throughout the day. I prefer to avoid waterproof mascara because, in the long run, it has been said to make lashes fall out. I also don't require it for the most part as I rarely cry, and don't suffer from hayfever or have watery eyes.

Let's get right down to the review for this mascara. Is it truly better than sex?

I have the deluxe-sized version of Better Than Sex, which came in the Grande Hotel Cafe set that my super awesome bestie Cat bought for me for Christmas. Luckily, she bought it before they sold to Estee Lauder, so that makes it okay in my books. The packaging for the mascara is pretty basic, with a pearly pale pink, extremely sturdy plastic case with black lettering. The deluxe-sized mascara is no bigger than 10cm, which makes it suitable to pop into the handbag for touch-ups (which I never do) or when travelling. The spoolie is fat on one end, which then tapers down towards the middle before increasing in diameter to the tip. This increases chances of both curl and volume.

I actually liked the length of the applicator, because it made it so much easier to get to the outer corners without smudging the skin on the lid or on the temples.

The formula is not so thick that I have to scrape it off before application, though I have tried it that way as well as straight from the tube. I find that scraping it off takes much longer both in terms of actually scraping it and applying it to the lashes, as you have to cover a lot of ground. Not scraping it means you get an even and quick distribution of product on the lashes, without getting too much on it in one go and clumping them. Both methods separate the lashes nicely, and the volumising effect is quite stunning as my lashes were thickened while being separated, and it showed me that I had more lashes than I expected. I didn't get much length with this one, but I wasn't so hung up on it as I was really happy with the way the volumising effect looked. 

The problem is, though, is that while this lasted all day and looked great from start to finish, this flaked and spread down to my under-eyes like crazy towards the end of the day. In fact, it looked quite dusty at the end of the day, with some settling in my crease, so when I pulled my bottom lid down slightly, you could see a line of black where the crease is. This makes me look older and as if I hadn't slept in days. This aspect is a hard pass for me.

So, is this mascara truly better than sex? Sorry, no, because while I really liked the volume, I wasn't too hot about the lack of length. I can't say much about the curl because my eyelashes are naturally curly and I don't need any kind of hold when it comes to them. And, I'm definitely not pleased with the way it ended up under my eyes towards the end of the day.

Naomi sent over a couple of goodies from Japan a few weeks ago, and the seashell compact mirror was one of them. I'm in love with the mirror, it's just so cute yet classy, and not as girly. The sakura dish was a gift to her from one of her Couchsurfing friends when she went to visit her home for dinner, because Naomi bought them a nice box of fancy cakes, haha. She found theBalm products at a store in Sapporo, but before I had her buy anything, I asked for photos of the shop as well as lipstick swatches. When I saw that swatches were a different colour to what was found on websites, I knew they were total fakes.

People, do not buy fakes, it's seriously unsafe as it is packed with toxic ingredients that can damage your skin beyond repair. Do not buy from eBay/Aliexpress, market stalls, makeup flipping websites, apps and the like, unless you can prove that they're a licensed stockist or if they have the original proof of purchase. Alice wrote a great post on the dangers of buying and using fake makeup, and she also interviewed her sister on the matter. Check out her post here, and leave her a comment!

Have you found this mascara, or any other mascara, to be better than sex? Leave a comment below, my sweets! 

Follow