Hourglass Caution Mascara

Where I got it: First of all, I am a big fan of Hourglass Cosmetics and when they launched this new Caution Mascara I was on the fence for a few reasons. First of all, I have a fear of trying new mascaras because even the most waterproof mascara would melt and run on my eyes and having mascara all over my under eye area is like my worse nightmare. Secondly, most of the time I see rave reviews of a certain mascara, they are from people who have long, luscious lashes already who doesn’t understand the struggles of Asian lashes. We tend to have short, sparse and straight lashes. After using the Revitalash for at least 6 months, I can say that I have fuller and longer lashes than before and with the correct mascara, I can get them to curl for long hours so that is not a big problem. But I would never get those crazy looking long-luscious lashes you see from before and after pictures. So I always expect a discounted effect on how mascaras would look on my own lashes.

Long story short, I saw Sophie Chung’s Instastory (she is the beauty editor of M2Women magazine and she is hilarious with perfect skin!) and she has first dips in the mascara which is available from Meccabeauty.co.nz. After a quick check she did for me, she has confirmed that the mascara is a “tubing” mascara that removes with water. Her before and after looks ridiculously amazing and that got me sold. I ordered this on the Meccabeautyco.nz website the next day for $46 along with another top seller mascara from Kevyn Aucoin. Review on that later.

What I got: This is the Caution Mascara by Hourglass (9.4g). From the Hourglasscosmetics.com website: An all-in-one mascara that delivers endless length, intense volume and sky-high lift for extreme, dramatic lashes. The combination of the innovative 4D Amplifier™ brush with the continuously buildable formula create lashes that defy the boundaries of traditional mascara.

• 4D Amplifier™ brush combines 2 brushes in 1 to deliver volume, length, lift and definition for extreme lashes
• Saturates lashes from root-to-tip for the most volume in a single stroke
• Perfectly coats the bottom lashes without smudging onto the lower lashline
• Tapered end reaches even the smallest lashes in the corners of the eyes
• Smooth, buildable, ultra-black formula creates dramatic but weightless lashes that don’t smudge or flake

How I find it: First of all, let’s talk about the packaging of this mascara. The gold chrome packaging makes this mascara stand out from a lot of my other ones. The triangular shaped wand makes it easy to hold and there is a weight to the packaging which makes the whole thing a little more luxe.

With all mascara application, I curl my lashes before I do any eye makeup and mascara is always my last step in the eye makeup. Usually, I use a mascara base, but for the sake of the review, I did not use any. I apply the product directly to my lashes and the first layer is already quite impressive. It builds so much volume to my lashes and doesn’t weight my lashes down. I apply a layer on both eyes then I go back to my first eye immediately before the product doesn’t fully dry down. This does dry down to a bit of a flexible finish so that my lashes are not crunchy, but not so soft that doesn’t hold the curl.

Overall: This mascara is gorgeous! Just look at my lashes in the photo above! They are just with two coats of the Caution mascara and they stay curled like that for the whole day without smudging, melting or crumbling. The brush is a little big for my eye shape but with a careful hand, it won’t get messy. If you are pedantic and doesn’t mind wasting a bit of product, you can wipe off any excess on a tissue before applying, especially the tip of the brush. Otherwise, this mascara gives plenty of volume on the first coat. I can kinda tell that this mascara can get clumpy if you layer on too much or when it dries up a bit in a few months.

Oh, as for removal, I was a little disappointed. The one special thing about tubing mascaras, or should I say, my favourite thing about tubing mascaras are when they get removed. They should be easily removed with warm water and come off like tubes from the lashes. You should be able to see the mascara comes off as lash-length rubbery pieces. However, with the Caution mascara, that is not the case. It did not really come off with water and when I do use water and gentle pressure, it felt like waterproof mascara and melted to my undereye area instead. Some of it came off, but not cleanly like normal tubing mascaras (i.e Blinc).

Nonetheless, the issue with the removal is easily dealt with so I can live with that. I absolutely love the packaging and the formula and I am so glad I tried it. I will definitely repurchase. And for the Kevyn Aucoin The Volume Mascara… I will have that review up very soon!