I’m not a really big “obvious makeup” person, but I have one notable exception and that’s mascara. I’ll do multiple steps to make sure the rest of my face looks like I have no makeup on, but I want my lashes bold, thick, and unmissable.

The downside of this is that unlike the so-called everyday mascaras—a concept I’ve personally never understood—mascaras that scream “I have lashes!” come with a lot of problems. First of all, half of them are just plain bad and don’t do what they claim to do. They’re too dry, too gunky, or too clumpy. And they’re always huge pain to take off. It’s hard enough to get me to wash my face at night, let alone use 10 cotton pads to meticulously remove black goop lash by lash.

I have found a few formulas that meet my strict criteria. Dior’s Diorshow, with its super fat brush and dark-as-night color, is as good as everyone says for real lashes that look like fakes. Too Faced’s Better Than Sex has also lived up to its name at least 50 percent of the time in my experience. (The mascara rarely disappoints me, so IDK how bummed I should actually be about that statement. Hmmm.)

But they’re not perfect. Both are prone to smudging, which means I’ve spent a majority of my adult life with a mirror attached to me like an extra appendage, obsessively checking to make sure my under-eyes don’t look like a raccoon.

Then along came Maybelline’s Total Temptation, which I like to refer to as the drugstore Diorshow. The brand first revealed this mascara backstage during the spring 2018 shows to so much fanfare that Maybelline’s lead makeup artist, Grace Lee, said tubes were “going missing.”

After one swipe, it wasn’t hard to see why. Without clumping, flaking, or smudging, my lashes are instantly transformed. Where some mascaras start to get gloppy after too many coats, this one builds with ease, all while maintaining a curl. (The trick is to wipe the wand on the top of the tube first to deposit any excess; otherwise, it can get gunky.) I’m lucky to already have fairly long lashes as is, but with this, I swear sometimes they reach my browbone. The formula itself, meanwhile, goes on jet-black and airy, and it has a faint coconut scent.

I’m normally someone who hates scented beauty products outside the occasional vanilla lipstick. (Like, I’m sorry, but why do my eyelids need to smell like chocolate? And who is smelling my eyelids?) But the fragrance on this is surprisingly subtle and actually even enjoyable. That’s likely due to the fact that the mascara is infused with coconut extract to help nourish your lashes, so it smells more natural as opposed to a chemically added fragrance. The coconut extract’s benefits can also be felt when you’re taking it off. Some thickening formulas leave my lashes crunchy and shriveled; I’ve found my lashes look slightly more lustrous after regularly wearing Total Temptation.

I could probably do without the thirsty name, but its “irresistibility”—as the brand’s marketing puts it—is real. I freaking love this mascara.

Maybelline Total Temptation Mascara, $10, ulta.com

Related Stories:
–10 Mascaras Glamour.com Editors Couldn’t Live Without
–The Best Drugstore Makeup of 2018
–The 10 Best Mascaras for People With Sensitive Eyes

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