The £3.25 Wilko mascara better than Benefit, L'Oréal and Maybelline

Jul 17, 2023

I'll spend hundreds on eyeshadows and push my overdraft on foundations, but my Wilko go-to mascara costs less than a Big Mac

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I have more eyeshadow than one single person with two eyes could possibly ever justify. I have matte ones, satin ones, bright ones and neutral ones. Eyeshadows that cost £20 for one single shade and palettes ranging from Primark to those I had to pay import tax on to get them over from abroad.

I really love make-up and my favourite part of it all is experimenting with eye looks, from classic and crisp black winged liner to complex, rainbow designs with cut creases, glitter and little gems glued on for good measure. When I tell you I've tried loads of mascaras over the years, I'm not joking.

I don't like the feeling of wearing false eyelashes and so I need a mascara that's going to be a deep black, that doesn't flake off throughout the day, or smear into the creases of my hooded, 36-year-old eyes.

Read more: I tried a full face of Primark's cheapest make-up and my favourite products were all £3 or less

I hate mascaras with wands that are too spiky or too chunky. I like formulas that are not too wet, that offer good hold, volume, length and colour. Like Goldilocks, I'm fussy. And like Goldilocks, I've found one that's juuuust right.

I've tried, to varying degrees of success, mascaras from Urban Decay, Benefit, L'oreal and Maybelline. I've taken punts on Body Shop, Primark and Kiko Milano. I really enjoyed Too Faced's Better Than Sex mascara, but at £25 a tube, it grieved me to purchase every time I ran out.

And then I discovered my absolute favourite, in the most unlikely place. In Wilko, I filled a basket with items from the brand Essence and I couldn't believe it when I got to the till to ring me up. Mascara for £3.25, cool and trendy colour-changing lip balms for £1.50, matte liquid lipsticks for £3 and concealer for £2.75.

Over the year since then, other more luxurious items fell back into my daily make-up bag instead of the Essence stuff but one thing stuck - the Lash Princess mascara. I tried all the colours, but it's the mint green 'False Lash Effect' that I love most.

It lengthens and separates my lashes and adds great volume. The formula is just the right consistency to build up, not too wet. I prefer mascara when it's been open for a couple of weeks, but Essence is perfect from the first swipe.

It doesn't flake off on to my cheeks by the end of the day, when I accidentally bump my eyelid during application, it flakes straight off when I let it dry, with no need to wet a cotton bud or smear it all over my skin.

It removes easily with micellar water at the end of the day and a tube, with 12ml inside, is more product than a £25 tube of Better Than Sex, which contains just 8ml.

I've done friends' make-up for special occasions and weddings and every time I do, I buy them a fresh tube of Lash Princess because I know I can rely on it to make their lashes look good all day.

There's only one problem with it, and it's a big one... Getting your hands on it before it sells out.

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