Put a Funky Brush On It (And I'm Sold)
It's well established that I'm a stone cold sucker for gimmicky Korean beauty products (that actually work). I'm also a devotee of using two mascaras because one just isn't enough, okay? So when I was having a browse around Korean beauty boutique The Face Shop and saw the brush for their Face It Maxx Eye Mascara (#02 Double Curling) I basically turned into that pervy wolf from Tex Avery cartoons.
I think I audibly gasped, some sort of Yakko and Wakko "Hellooooo NURSE!" exclamation may have happened... in any case, it was a very small store and some Korean shoppers who were able to simultaneously shop and contain their emotions gave me some looks. But I've had decades to get used to my own nonsense, so I was unshaken. I desperately wanted to buy one of every mascara The Face Shop offered, but their prices were surprisingly high, even with the 40% off the store was offering for Black Friday, so I settled for the one with the most bonkers brush, and bonkers it IS.
This brush on the Face It Maxx Eye Mascara (#02 Double Curling) is two sided, and curved like a typical curling mascara wand. The inside bit (The little spoon? The inner crescent?) is your typical mascara brush. Nothing special about it, really. The outer side, the big spoon if you will, is where things get nontraditional. It's a plastic brush, more firm than the plastic mascara brushes that are becoming more and more ubiquitous, but not as firm as a lash comb. There are two rows of teeth, but they are spaced in a V formation, so you can use just one of them at a time or sort of rotate the brush as you comb through your lashes and use both. Don't worry if this seems like a confusing apparatus to add to your beauty routine - it comes with instructions!
The back of the package is mostly in Korean, but there are instructions in English as well. Basically, though, these pictures tell you all you need to know. First you use the plastic comb, then you flip the brush and use the regular mascara brush, then you flip again and use the plastic bit again. I really like these diagrams because if you notice, as the mascara is applied, the lashes not only get fuller, but there are actually more eyelashes. This mascara works minor miracles!
I've been wearing this mascara a lot over the past few weeks, and switching between this and my other method of layering mascaras to see which I prefer or what differences I notice, and I have to say, they're almost entirely the same. Which is both good and bad. Bad because this mascara, at it's normal price, is too expensive not to be life changing (more on that in a second). It's good, however, because some days I had trouble remembering which mascara I had applied that morning, because both looked really, really good, and this one is an all-in-one version of my typical two mascara method. I see this as a great option for traveling or, because I usually wear waterproof mascara and this, sadly isn't waterproof, when I want to be able to easily remove my eye makeup later. I will mention, though, that even though the plastic comb is good for adding length and eradicating clumps, because it is still coated in product (it is part of the brush, after all) I still like to use a lash comb after I finish my three million coats of mascara. I do this after applying any mascara though, it may be that it's just part of my process.
I mentioned that this mascara (and all the mascaras at The Face Shop) were pricier than I was expecting. It was also a bit jarring because this mascara was sold in a blister pack, exactly like a drugstore mascara, but was priced at $32. Yeah. To put that in perspective, that's the price point for Yves Saint Laurent and Georgio Armani mascaras. I was there on Black Friday, when the whole store was 40% off, so I paid $19, which I think is somewhat high, but fair. $32 is ridiculous. I like this mascara and that's ridiculous. I tried to find out what The Face Shop charges in Korea, but they don't do online sales outside the US and this particular mascara isn't even on their US site, so I don't know if it's a crazy high markup for the US market or what, but you can get this from other third party sellers online for significantly cheaper. I'd recommend being cautious though - there are some third party sellers that are completely trustworthy and some that will sell you a mascara that if you're lucky will only give you pink eye. Do your research and be sure that the deal you're getting is worth it. I'd say if you're like me and you love a gimmicky makeup product that does its job and does it well, then this mascara is $19 well spent.
The Face Shop retail locations can be found here.
