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Beauty

I’ve been using this mascara since middle school—and I love it

What’s in a (nick)name?

Credit:

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In the 8th grade, I had the privilege of having the best English teacher ever. I had heard stories of his hilarious lessons and outlandish nicknames. I was excited to experience his classroom first-hand. He gave out nicknames to all of his students, for better or for worse. You could end up with a nice, meaningful one or a really bad one that would be stuck with you for the entire year, or longer if you had the misfortune.

My best friend Lily ended up with the nickname Lilybelle, which is simply adorable. A boy in our class wasn’t so lucky. We were given a writing assignment that required drawing artwork to go along with it. This boy was no Picasso and the teacher thought his drawing of a lighthouse was so bad and amusing that he snorted with laughter and called him Lighthouse Boy for the rest of the year. That was honestly one of the more tame nicknames, but he said it in such a mocking tone, I thought it was hilarious.

I was relieved when my own nickname was adorable and flattering like Lily’s. In the first few months of school, the teacher noticed my long eyelashes and started calling me Maybelline. Little did he know, I have incredibly short eyelashes naturally. They’re few and far between, they’re short, and they’re light in color, so when I’m not wearing mascara I look quite sickly. Hey, I’m proud to look sickly when I’m not wearing makeup. I don’t need to impress anyone, am I right ladies?

But in all seriousness, I had a secret weapon that would carry me through high school, college, and get me SO MANY COMPLIMENTS on my nonexistent eyelashes: Maybelline mascara. I don’t get eyelash extensions or even use an eyelash curler. I've just been using this $5 mascara since I was 12.

Credit: Reviewed | Betsey Goldwasser

Before and after using Maybelline Volum' Express The Colossal Mascara

Why I love Maybelline "The Colossal" Mascara

It's super affordable

Credit: Reviewed | Betsey Goldwasser

I use Maybelline's "The Colossal" brush to be exact. It’s a whopping $5 dollars. They say you’re supposed to throw away your mascara every 2-3 months, so I like that it doesn’t break my wallet every time I replace it. I don’t like to spend a lot of money on makeup in general, so this is perfect for me. Although I have used the same mascara for the past 12 years, I have dabbled in other brands to see if the grass is greener. Honestly, I feel like it works just as well as the expensive mascaras on the market, if not better. You can buy it anywhere and the price stays relatively consistent. You can find it at your local drugstore, Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.

The mascara feels great on my eyes

Credit: Reviewed | Betsey Goldwasser

It’s very lightweight and easy to apply

I love how it feels on my eyes and how it makes them look. It’s very lightweight and easy to apply. I apply 2 or 3 coats with virtually no clumping. If I do more than 3 coats it’ll start to clump a little, but who wants to do more than 3 coats of mascara? That would diminish the value of the product in the first place if you had to apply that many coats. It claims to give your eyelashes 9x the volume because of its collagen-infused formula. I am living proof that it does. You can get it in several shades, but I prefer to get it in “Glam Black” because go big or go home!

It lasts all day

I apply my makeup at around 8 am before work. I have a 9-5 office job so I’m not really subjected to extreme sweat or weather, admittedly. When I get home around 6, my makeup still looks nice and clean. It’ll stay on for a light gym session, too. It lasts all day, but if I wanted to go out for dinner or drinks I might do a little touch-up to make it look more fresh. And if I want to call it a night and binge watch Parks & Rec in my PJs, it’s super easy to remove. The majority of it comes off right in the shower. I use Neutrogena Makeup Removing Wipes to remove my foundation after I shower and it cleans any last remnants of mascara right off, although there’s rarely any left to remove.

Should you buy Maybelline "The Colossal" Mascara?

The answer is absolutely. At the very least, give it a try. It’s only $5 and odds are, you’ll fall in love with it like I did. Just imagine NOT breaking the bank every time you buy new makeup. It’s magical. If you’re like me and you don’t really care about brand names and expensive price tags, this is the mascara you need.

Get Maybelline "The Colossal" Mascara from Amazon for $5.25

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