Cannonball Fail

Among other things I had planned for last weekend, I wanted to test out some waterproof eye makeup. Earlier this summer, I subjected waterproof eyeliner and mascara to trial by ocean, but I wanted to see how it held up in the pool. I also wanted to try out another waterproof mascara that I heard was really great. I had two pool days planned, so it would all work out fine. Or so I thought.

On Saturday, the plan was to go to my sister’s baby shower, then go over to her house and have a pool party and crab feast. Despite the recent storms, the weather looked glorious. That morning, I carefully applied a cat-eye look with my Make Up For Ever Aqua Liner and a coat of One by One Volum’ Express Hydrofuge mascara by Maybelline. It held up perfectly through the pre-party prep, the shower itself, and the packing-out, as it should.

We didn’t get to the pool until after 5pm. It was later than we had hoped, but it was still pretty warm out. The water, however, was freezing, thanks to the crazy rainstorms last week. Since it was really my only chance to swim in a pool all summer, I got in, but only to my waist. I just couldn’t bring myself to go under, even for a makeup test, even for a blog that no one ever comments on. The air was getting cooler, the whole pool area was in shadow, and I was going to be outside all night; I knew I’d be freezing if I got my hair wet. I did, however, play with my very splashy 8-month old nephew, and the makeup held up well. No raccoon eyes, no flakes. By the end of the night, I’d had that makeup on for 12 hours, and it still looked good. It probably could have lasted longer, but eventually I needed to go to bed. Even though my pool test didn’t work out, after what I put this makeup through in the ocean in June, I would definitely still recommend both the eyeliner and the mascara.

Sunday I woke up to pouring rain. Sometime during breakfast, the sun came out and we began preparations to go back to my sister’s. This time I applied Urban Decay Cannonball Ultra Waterproof Mascara, which I’d heard great things about. It’s a lot more natural looking than the other waterproof mascaras I’ve tried, which is great for when you want to look good but not overly made up. It preserves the fluttery-ness of your lashes instead of making them spiky. The color is a nice dark black, so it’s not too-too natural looking.

When it came time to get into the pool (which was basically immediately upon arrival, in case the rain came back) the water was still really cold. Go figure. Apparently cool temperatures and rain all night and all morning don’t help the pool water get warmer. I had to go in anyway, because like I said, it was my only chance to be in a pool all summer. Plus, my little nephew didn’t care that the water was freezing, he wanted to get in, and I wanted to play with him. So in I went. While I had hoped to actually cannonball into the pool for this test, I ended up tiptoeing in instead, while my sisters called me a baby. Again, I couldn’t bring myself to go under, (P.S. neither did my sisters) but this time I stayed in longer and was subjected to even more splashing from my nephew. The mascara stayed perfectly in place.

Later, we had to load the car in the rain (twice, long story) before heading back to NY. On the ride home, I had some kind of crazy, sneezy, allergy attack, complete with watery eyes and a lot of tissues. Finally, we got home and sacked out on the couch for a couple of hours. When I went to wash my face around 10pm that night, the mascara was still in perfect shape. There weren’t even any flakes under my eyes. It wasn’t impossible to get it off either. Clinique’s Take The Day Off eye makeup remover  cleared it away quickly and easily.

I can say without a doubt that this mascara holds up in a basic waterproof way. Even though I wasn’t able to test it under extreme pool party conditions, it was still kind of a sloppy, wet day. What I like most is that it looks and feels much softer than other waterproof mascaras. Hard lashes was the main reason I rarely bothered with waterproof mascara in the past. The other issue I have with waterproof mascara is that it’s so hard to remove, but like I said, it was not a problem with this one.

I’ll give it the full mermaid test next time I have the chance, but I don’t know when that will be. Summer is drawing to a close so quickly, and even the August weather seems to be rushing us into fall. Maybe a tropical vacation in February? A girl can dream!