I worked for years as a beauty editor at a natural health magazine. We had the strictest standards around… no parabens, no sulfates, no petroleum. So, perhaps needless to say, I tested so many products that just, well, failed to do much of anything.
Pretty much this:
“Other brands work. Ours… are very natural.”
Of course, there were plenty that did, though the general rule was the simpler the product (think lip balm and bar soap), the better it worked.
One category of product where I could never find a winner was mascara. Apparently, getting eyelashes to get all voluminous and not bleed down your face all day long takes massive amounts of chemicals.
So I was pretty skeptical when my latest Birchbox arrived with a sample of 100% Pure Mascara.
100% Pure was actually among my more enjoyed brands when I was at the magazine. Always fun scents, cute young packaging, and simple ingredients. I remember liking their lotions and bath salts especially, and they had just started coming out with color cosmetics (like their lip and cheek tint) around the time I left, which I thought were good but not great.
Well, I might just have to give them another chance, because the 100% Pure Fruit Pigment Mascara rocks. The color is rich, the formula smells great (what!), and best of all, it stays on all day–unlike even some of my go-to conventional brands.
It’s better for definition and color than for volume, but I found it provided good separation and a good length for a go-to everyday mascara. For nights where you need the done-up drama… well, chemicals might still be the way to go. At $18, it’s not the cheapest, but it’s not the priciest either. I’ll definitely be snagging a full-size version once my little sample is out… and may have to revisit the brand in general and see what other surprises might be in store.