Fix Your Face Review: e.l.f. Studio 3-in-1 Mascara (A $3 Tubing Mascara!?)

Disclosure: Affiliate links.
Spoiler: I've already revealed that I love this stuff, so you know what the outcome is going to be. Let me get straight to why.

First things first: I believe this is a tubing formula (here's a pretty good description of what that is). So if you like tubing mascaras, you should try this out. If you don't, it might not be for you. I have never personally used a tubing mascara, and I don't own one, and I'm not willing to spend the money right now to buy one just to compare with this. But if you have tried any of the tubing mascaras out there, like Blinc or the one from Too Faced or L'Oreal's, and you've tried this e.l.f. mascara, I would love to hear from you. If it is directly comparable, then what we have here is a $3 version of a type of mascara that usually costs $10-30.

Let me talk about the qualities this stuff has that lead me to believe it is a tubing mascara, which are also some of the things I like about it. Once you put this mascara on and it sets, it's not going anywhere. It's not waterproof, but it will not run from tears or rain, etc. I also have a bad habit of touching my face, and I have oily skin, and I always wear sunscreen, etc. Despite that, this doesn't smear. Basically, it doesn't dissolve. If I happen to I wake up in the morning with this mascara still on, it hasn't transferred to my pillow and it's barely flaked. It's still there. Now, I know that no one's necessarily looking for a mascara that will hold up over night, but I think that's a good demonstration of its tenacity.
It removes just with warm water, though. It seems to sort of melt the mascara a little, and it comes off in long, eyelash-shaped, rubbery strands. That is why it seems to me to be comparable to the descriptions I've read of tubing mascaras. It's really easy to remove in the shower.

Also, look at that brush! At first I was skeptical. I thought I was going to stab myself in the eye with it. As it turns out, I LOVE this shit. The bristles are great for separating, and that bulbous thing at the end can be used to reach all the little lashes in the corners of my eyes and on the bottom. I haven't poked my eye with it yet. It's much easier to use than the normal pointy end of most mascara brushes.

I also like how it looks on me. This is where things get really subjective. I think mascara is one of the types of makeup that is most dependent on individual taste. There are huge variations in the types of lashes people have and the results they want. I have fairly short, light, sparse lashes. I like some definition and separation, volume, length, and lift (i.e. curl). I hate messy clumps. Here is the before and after:

Without mascara.

Without mascara.

With e.l.f. Studio 3-in-1 mascara.

This is a mascara that is not best suited to close-ups.
Though it looks a little spiky here, it looks pretty natural at a normal distance.
You can also see me wearing it here.

This mascara is supposed to do 3 things, hence the name: lengthen, define, and volumize. It definitely gives me length and definition. No clumping! You can keep adding coats without getting clumps. If anything sticks together, you can use the bulbous end to separate it. It doesn't give enormous volume, but I don't mind so much. Because I don't have a lot of lashes, I don't like formulas that create volume by using goopy globs to fill in the spaces. That just looks weird and unnatural on me. Totally my personal preference. This works by making each individual lash thicker, and you can add more volume by adding layers. It also lifts my lashes so that they look curled. I haven't tried putting this on after curling them, because curling is a step I almost always forget (or just don't bother with) when doing my makeup. But I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

The main downside to this mascara, as far as I can see, is that it only comes in one shade: Very Black. If it came in a brown, I would definitely get that too. I like to have options. But it's 3 bucks! Fuck yeah.