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I picked up the new Milani Highly Rated Lash Extensions Tubing Mascara along with the other new products they came out with recently. Tubing mascaras are supposed to wash off with water in clumps instead of breaking down by liquifying. I’ve only seen this available in black and there is no waterproof version. It retails for $14 and can be purchased from Milani and Ulta.
This mascara has a very wet formula and coats the lashes heavily right away. It is noticeably blacker than my Loreal Voluminous Noir Balm Mascara and Benefit Roller Lash. One light layer is about all I can get away with before I start seeing my lashes sticking to each other and pointing in several different directions. I can use this but I have to be careful and quick about it. No more than a few passes of the wand and definitely no second layers.
It isn’t the type of mascara that gives me fanned out fluttery looking lashes. I don’t find it super lengthening nor super voluminzing. It defines decently well and helps the lashes stand out starkly against my eyeshadow but I don’t love the effect.
I always curl my lashes before applying mascara and I didn’t have any trouble with this one uncurling them but it didn’t help to “lift” them either. I think it generally looks best for “everyday” makeup that I’d wear to work or just to get ready for the day. I don’t like it much for close up photos.
This is much easier to remove by washing my face than by using a makeup wipe. The makeup wipe required lots of passes and rubbing to loosen the mascara and it wasn’t worth the irritation it would cause my skin to do that. I don’t use regular makeup remover or cleansing balms so I’m not sure how it’d do with those. Even just warm water without cleanser was plenty to get the mascara to come off.
Flaking and smudging were super minor. After 12 hours worn on both upper and lower lashes without using setting powder, the little bit of smudging I noticed looked like a faint shadow. And I only saw like 3 tiny specks that flaked off during that time.
Pros:
- Very black, shows up well against dark eyeshadow
- Somewhat glossy look
- Not too difficult to wash off with just cleanser and water
- Doesn’t uncurl my lashes
- Not clumpy
- Somewhat lengthening
- Small brush makes it easy to apply without getting mascara on my skin
Cons:
- Causes lashes to stick together a bit, though I’ve had other mascaras that do this worse
- Easy to over apply, 1 layer looks best on me
- Feels kind of heavy
- Very wet and takes a long time to dry down
- Not good for layering or building up slowly
