Impulse Buy Monday: elf Studio 3 in 1 Mascara

Happy Monday, lovelies! Monday can only mean one thing: time to share with you yet another beauty impulse buy! Today's post features the elf Studio 3-in-1 Mascara: Lengthen, Define & Volumize.

I was recently on my way to a friend's house after work, and I stopped to beef up my makeup. Unfortunately I realized that my purse makeup bag didn't have mascara in it, and I wasn't wearing any! Instead of just going with the flow and not wearing any, I ducked into Target and headed straight for the cosmetics. Since I already have a ton of mascaras at home, I didn't want to spend much money getting a new one. At $3, this mascara seemed like the perfect choice to get me out of the pickle I was in.



elf's website promises that this professional formula, with its uniquely shaped brush, will deliver a long-lasting and dramatic look. The brush is meant to be held horizontally for volumizing, and then held vertically to define and lengthen. This sounds suspiciously like Benefit's They're Real mascara...

However, this is nothing like my beloved Benefit mascara. I *hate* this product. The second I took it out of the package, I knew I didn't like it. The tube felt absolutely weightless, to the point where I thought I had somehow bought an empty bottle. I untwisted the cap and took out the wand and, although at least some mascara was evidently in there, I was struck by the awful chemical smell and the very little product that was actually on the wand.

Still keeping my hopes up, I put the wand back in the tube and swished it around to get more product on the wand. I took it out and a little bit more was on the short stubby bristles. I tried applying the mascara to my lashes, but it took several coats to make it look like I was wearing any mascara at all. I'm talking at least four coats. I noticed no lengthening, no defining, and definitely no volumizing. The formula seemed more like a tar consistency than a mascara, it was terrible. I've tried this mascara again a few more times, just to make sure, and still no better.

The one saving grace of this mascara is the brush. I actually really like the unique shape of this wand:

Like Benefit's They're Real mascara, the wand has an extra nubbin at the end with a sphere of bristles. This extra little piece is perfect for coating the lower lash line. When it's held vertically, it really gets in there and easily grabs those tiny lashes without difficulty. For typical application of mascara, the wand is bulky and useless, but for the lower lash line it is ideal.

I find that elf products are truly hit or miss with me, as I either love them, or really hate them. I also believe that their lines are never consistent between batches. I bet some of you out there have tried this mascara and haven't experienced anything like I did. But this particular tube for me was a total dud.

Impulse Buy Verdict: Put your $3 towards a better mascara! This mascara has no place in my makeup bag. Total fail.