Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Falling Short: Kjaer Weis Mascara in Black

I rarely fall for a high-end mascara; and then, more rarely still, I deem it falling short of my expectations. But recently, I was pretty excited to spot the Kjaer Weis Mascara in Black ($38 for a whole tube/ 0.19 oz, $24 for refill) at a sample sale, and without too much deliberation, I snatched it up... only to find myself rather annoyed with it.
Some key points from the press release: the Kjaer Weis Mascara is certified organic, refillable (and thus, more hygienic and sustainable), and it's supposed to be longwearing and durable (not sure what they mean by durable... the insert/refill has a shelf life of 3 months). The ingredients featured include cupuacu butter, beeswax, castor oil to nourish and protect lashes, lavender water and rose oil; the product is formulated without synthetic polymers, propylene glycol, parabens and polyethylene.
First off... this tube is tiny. I don't have big hands by any means, and you can see how small it looks in my hand - or compared to a sample size Clinique mascara below (the Clinique sample tube is actually fatter than the full size Kjaer Weis). I actually really like this simple, small silver tube - very easy to fit in any size make-up bag, and very elegant to pull out for a quick application on the go. My only gripe is quite OCD in nature - the cap doesn't perfectly align with the tube when fully tightened, which you can see below; and you wouldn't want to leave your tube only half-closed, would you?
The mascara wand is made of plastic/rubber and is very small and slim, with short, dispersed bristles that resemble a comb rather than a brush. The product has a subtle rose scent and the tube stopper wipes off the excess product efficiently, but leaves a glob on the very tip of the brush that has to be wiped off manually, as with most mascaras.
 I usually much prefer plastic/rubber brushes because they tend to give a more separated, lengthened effect; with this mascara however, I feel like the bristles are too sparse to really define my rather full lashline (you can see my bare lashes in the top photo of this Jack Sparrow-inspired comparison). With one coat, the brush does a decent job of subtly enhancing the lashes, giving them mostly length but little volume (middle). So, to amp up the volume, I go for a second coat (bottom)... wrong! Second coat results in spidery, sparse, stiff, clumpy lashes - the wand fails to separate individual hairs while the formula makes them stick together and deposits clumps left, right and center. Combing through with a clean spoolie doesn't help much - it removes large globs of product randomly, leaving your lashes half-bare, half-covered in random clumps. Just... clumpy clumps!
But, you know, you could stop at one subtle coat if natural-looking lashes is what you're after (I'm not. Gimme volume!). I could live with the realization that it's just not a mascara for me personally. Where I begin to be rather annoyed, though, is the fact that this mascara absolutely does not last at all - a couple hours in and my husband zeroes in on my cheeks to ask what the black flakes are doing there. It doesn't smudge, it doesn't transfer; it just flakes, and when I remove it with my cleansing oil, it comes off in big clumps as well. It's rather unpleasant if one of those gets stuck in your eye... Not fun at all.
But again - it could be the one I scored at the sale is just old. Or it dried out right away, because of the faulty packaging. However, at this point, I don't really care - I'm just glad I didn't shell out $38 for it... otherwise I would be really, really annoyed. Have you bought any expensive make-up products recently that fell short of your expectations? Any mascara formulations I should cross out from my shopping list?

17 comments:

  1. I can see what you mean by clumpy but....MY GOD WOMAN. Your lashes are gorgeous.

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    1. Thank you dear! It's all due to Lilash though, can't really take credit for it ;)

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  2. That's too bad, because WOWZA your lashes are amazing!

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  3. Oh boy, you call this falling short? Your lashes look phenomenal!! I've purchased quite a few disappointing expensive makeup (and couldn't return!). A D&G eyeshadow duo, Chanel Notorious, a Dior 5-color eyeshadow LE, a Paul & Joe eyeshadow palette LE to name a few......

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    1. Oh, Joanne... But other mascaras make them look more fluttery, less crispy! You didn't like Chanel Notorious? I thought everyone was crazy for it!

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  4. Holy cow, your lashes, Monika! Smoking! It's too bad about the formula. I am beyond picky about mascara, so I couldn't handle it.

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    1. I think I may be quite picky too - I've probably tried about 6 different mascaras so far this year and only liked half of them :) Surprisingly, two of them had the traditional, dense wiry wand!

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  5. Boo hiss! Although I have to say your lashes look incredible, all the weird flaking off is really sucky. I don't mind slightly cruchy lashes (a la WP or some Japanese mascaras) because that's an acceptable tradeoff her exceptional long-lasting performance. But KW! NO LIKE!

    Also, what are you wearing on your face? Your skin looks beautiful!

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    1. I haven't really tried any Japanese formulas yet, but I hear they're apocalypse-proof... Thank you, Belly - I was just staring at my pores. It's Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, my trustiest base recently.

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    2. You have to try some out, they are not expensive and awesome.

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  6. I love your lashes! Too bad about the formula, but wowza, still looks amazing.
    Most Lancome mascaras don't work for me, but I like their Hypnose Doll and Hypnose Star. I tried the Dior 360 revolving mascara and that was just gimmick too. Love their Diorshow New Look mascara though!

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  7. I think of all the natural type products, mascaras seem to be the toughest to get right. It's too bad about the clumps but your lashes look about a mile long. :O

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  8. I think it is retarded to leave a review of a product when you bought it on sale knowing it is old. You look like a full grown woman. Do you not know any better?

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    1. Lol, I didn't KNOW it was old - how could I know? And how is it retarded to write a review on my own blog; is it your favorite mascara? Did I offend your make-up preferences? Come on.

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  9. Just purchased this mascara and MY GOD THE FLAKES. EVERYWHERE!!! Wore it once yesterday and am returning it today! Very disappointed because I was looking for something organic/no animal testing/etc. but this is just unwearable to be quite honest. Sorry Kjær Weis maybe next time lol

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    1. Good to know it wasn't just my experience, and a brand new tube is flaky as well! I'm happy for you that you can return it :) I've heard that the W3LL mascara is really good for an organic brand, but I haven't tried it myself - hope that helps!

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  10. Im a bit late to write hre but i have been suing this mascara for 2 months and not a single flake. Maybe I'm the one doing something wrong :P

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