For a month now, we’ve been testing out a few mascaras at the drugstore. The first one to catch our eyes was Wet n Wild’s Mega Impact mascara. As big fans of the brand, especially their pigmented eyeshadow quads, we were looking forward to putting their mascara to the test. The Mega Impact mascara is said to create extreme volume and length up to 8X, and is enriched with Kernel Oil to condition the lashes.
APPICATION
In general, any mascara can claim it will make our lashes look incredible. Yet this isn’t always the case. Often times we’re stuck using two products, one for volume, the other for length. All the while wishing we could magically mesh the two together to create that ‘holy grail’ one. So when we see a mascara marketed as an all-in-one product, we take notice. But more importantly, we put it the test.
Unfortunately, the Mega Impact mascara is not an easy mascara to work with, especially if you’re trying to not get your lashes looking clumpy. The dry formula is the first thing we noticed in this product. It only works for the first coat then it gets tricky. So while the dry formula helps to hold the curl (as shown above), as you keep applying more and more coats, the lashes get more clumpy.
What’s interesting is that the mascara works great if you apply only one coat. This might have more to do with the brush then the actual formula. As you can see, the brush is pretty standard for drugstore mascaras. It’s thick at the base but gets smaller at the tip. This is supposed to help curve the lashes while coating each lash. In theory this should work, but it doesn’t. The more you use this product the more buildup you get on the brush. In translation: more buildup on brush, more buildup on the lashes. But if done carefully, the mascara can give decent length, so long as you don’t use more than two coats tops.
Performance
The durability of any beauty product is always key. We didn’t expect the Mega Impact mascara to be as durable as waterproof ones usually are, but we did want to see how it performed. Unfortunately, we we’re impressed.
After an hour of using this product we noticed how flaky it started getting. On inspection, we saw a few smudges below the eyes. It all goes back to how clumpy this mascara is to begin with. If you have oily lids, any eye primer is a must if you’re going to use this mascara. Unfortunately, no waterproof version is available to see if this makes any difference. We will say for an all-in-one mascara, this doesn’t feel nor as stiff as others. Washing this off is also a plus. A little makeup remover on a cotton pad will do the job just nicely.
Overall
The concept of this mascara is in the right place, it just doesn’t quite deliver. Yes it does volume and lengthen a bit, but it definitely does not separate each lash or avoid the clumps. This mascara is budget friendly ($3.99), so you could say you get what you paid for. But with so many great drugstore mascaras on the market, some even a few dollars more than this one, the game has to be stepped up. If you do try this, we suggest applying only one coat of this mascara, taking an eyelash comb and combing through the lashes. Another tip is to steer clear from the lower lashes.
Where to buy/find: Drugstore.com , and most drugstores (i.e Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid)
