UNSPONSORED ILIA FULLEST VOLUMIZING MASCARA REVIEW | pros & cons
I’ve been excited to try the new Ilia Fullest Volume Mascara and I finally have a full, thorough review for ya! I have been primarily wearing “clean” beauty as much as possible for the last few years, but I hadn’t yet found a very good clean mascara. I love other Ilia products but I did not really like their original mascara. I felt like it was too thin and liquidy, it came off easily and I wasn’t a fan of the plastic brush. That’s why Ilia had my interest with their new mascara which was supposed to improve everything I didn’t like about the first one.
I have now tried it with multiple foundations, in waterfalls, in sweat, tears, and a variety of styles and overall, I love it! I plan on buying it again. Here is what I loved and what I would change about it:
PROS
Oil-based: I love any oil-based mascara because it’s like the perfect in between waterproof and not. I like that it’s very easy & quick to remove completely with my facewash but also doesn’t run all over down my face when I sweat/cry (though it does run a little — see below).
Good Volume: This mascara definitely has more volume than their original mascara — it’s thicker and slightly sticky (in a good way). I feel like I can get my lashes to look really full and comparable to my go-to “toxic” mascara, Too Faced Better Than Sex.
Holds A Curl: I feel like at the end of the day my lashes are still curly with this mascara, even moreso than with the Too Faced.
Long-lasting: I like that this hasn’t seemed to dry out much over time. I don’t wear it every day but it has lasted a few months already on just the small trial size and I don’t feel like it’s getting gunky or flakey yet or running out.
Packaging: In Ilia’s usual style the packaging is beautifully minimal and gorg! Love the pretty matte bottle.
CONS
Smears a bit: Compared to waterproof mascaras and the Too Faced (oil based) mascara, this does smear/transfer onto my lower lids a bit more. If I wear powder under my eyes it’s usually fine and doesn’t transfer much unless I’m sweating a lot or out all day long, but it would be nice to be able to wear it bare-faced sometimes! I found that it did this with both of my go-to foundations and without foundation, but adding powder did the trick.
Takes a few layers: It looks good after a single layer but I feel like it takes 2-3 layers to look as voluminous as I want.
Somewhat pricey: The price is actually pretty comparable to other higher end mascaras, but it still feels like a little bit of a splurge to me.
