Beautenizing!

I recently “went off” a bit about mascara advertising, because it's basically the worst way to learn about a new mascara. Well, no sooner had I written that, than I was presented with the BEST way to learn about a new mascara. A SAMPLE! Trying a mascara is obviously the best way to see how it works before buying it, but that’s not always an option.

You’re obviously not going to put the germ-wands at the store anywhere near your eyes. Even using the disposable spoolies, DON’T DO IT. Those mascaras have seen things that would make your skin crawl, and you could probably catch something from them that would actually crawl on your skin, or make your skin crawl off of your face. While the manned (womanned) makeup counters in department stores or at MAC are probably a little safer, I am convinced most of the self-serve testers in stores are infested with flesh-eating bacteria. Especially the eye and lip stuff.

The very best thing is when you get a brand new sealed tube that is just for you. They are kind of rare, but trial-size mascaras can be had as part of gift sets, with promo codes, or with VIB points. Most rare of all is when someone just hands you a free sample. My friend recently managed to get TWO full-size free tubes of d.j.v. beautenizer Fiberwig LX, and was kind enough to share one with me. How did she score two? She walked around the block and had another opportunity. Ka-ching!

First of all, you’ve gotta love that name. Beautenizer? And even better, Fiberwig! A wig for your eyes! Which I guess is what false eyelashes technically are, even though they aren’t called that. I may start calling them that in the future, though. Anyway, it isn’t false lashes, it’s “a false lash formula that’s applied like mascara.”

Like other mascaras with fibers, you can see the little pieces on the brush before you apply. (You can see them again when you take it off.) The point of the fibers is to adhere to the lashes and extend them. Basically, you are physically building longer lashes. The formula goes on smoothly, and the shape of the brush really helps to reach even the littlest lashes. And it really does lengthen.

Here is the thing though. I have really long eyelashes already. I’m sorry if you’re jealous, but I kind of don’t need them to be any longer. Sorry! (Not really.) My lashes just seemed too long and thin proportionally with this product. I need some VOLUME. This formula doesn’t claim to be volumizing. (Just beautenizing, ha!) They have a different formula for volume, which I have not sampled.

Sephora.com offers the d.j.v. beautenizer 3D & Fiber-In Film-Coating Lash Kit (a name which obviously needs more words) that has both the lengthening and the volumizing formulas. They recommend using the volumizing formula first, and then the lengthening one. Ah-HAH!

I decided to try the lengthening formula layered over my favorite mascara, Buxom.The results were quite lovely! (If you do it the opposite way though, it’s a mess. Fibers go LAST.) The combination provided a nice balance of volume and extra length. Are my lashes much longer than they would be with two coats of Buxom? No, not really. I just tried that too, so I could compare. (Yay for having two eyes!) The lashes wearing the lengthening formula do seem more “organized” though.

Side note: I have so much mascara on at this point I feel like I’m going to blow stuff off my desk with the breeze from my eyelashes. Or that I’ll make that cartoon eye- batting noise when I blink. Not necessarily a bad thing, though. I should try two coats of mascara more often.

Basically, what we have here is mascara for your mascara. Is that worth $24? Not for me. The kit is $34 for the two mascaras, which makes more sense to since it really doesn’t work that well on it’s own. As always, it depends on your budget and your eyelash needs. Also, how far you’re willing to go for great lashes. You can probably layer a drugstore brand of fiber mascara over a plumping formula and get similar results. And then you can get one of those white eyelash primers too, so you can put on three different products in three different layers, and be late to everything forever and ever. But you will always arrive with really fantastic eyelashes, so you even won’t care.