No7 Mascara VS MaxFactor Mascara

I am currently using two drugstore mascaras (not at the same time obviously... duh) to compliment my everyday makeup look. One is the No7 Lovely Lashes mascara in Brown/Black, and the other is the MaxFactor Clump Defy mascara in Black. I've used the Clump Defy for a while now and I'm contemplating whether or not I should switch to the new Lovely Lashes mascara, so what better way to decide on which to use than to analytically compare them both, whilst maybe benefitting your choice in future mascara purchases?

First of all, the packaging. I like the colours that both brands have used: for the Clump Defy its a shimmery purple with a very subtle red-ish tint, and for the Lovely Lashes its a lighter, shiny lilacy purple ma-doo-hickey. I prefer the shape of the Lovely Lashes packaging, because it stays stood up on my shelf, where as the Clump Defy, though it will stand up, when nudged or hit by a gust of wind it will collapse completely, knocking everything else that's stood up on my shelf over and causing a very frustrating mess, because its all curved and shizz.

This is the effect of each of the mascaras:

~ No7 Lovely Lashes (£12.99) ~

~ Click here to view ~

~ MaxFactor Clump Defy (£10.99) ~

~ Click here to view ~

In my opinion, the Clump Defy mascara makes my eye lashes longer and darker, which are both important qualities in a good mascara, however, the Lovely Lashes mascara adds an effect that can almost match it, but it looks a lot more natural, and personally, I like my makeup look to be natural. Although the name of the MaxFactor mascara is 'Clump Defy' it seems to me that this mascara is a lot more clumpy than the Lovely Lashes mascara, especially on the bottom lashes. The Clump Defy does do a good job of fanning out the lashes though. Since the Clump Defy is a more heavy mascara than the Lovely Lashes and to my collection it is older, it leaves more small flakes and specs underneath the eye, which I absolutely hate, but this could just be due to its age. The Clump Defy is also supposed to be water resistant, however whenever I go swimming whilst wearing it or I simply can't be bothered to remove it before I shower, it comes completely off of my eyelashes and ends up somewhere near my chin. It couldn't be less water resistant, which is really annoying.

The Clump Defy brush is a plastic brush and can be kind of painful, especially when you catch it on your eyelid. I'm not really a fan of plastic brushes in general but this one I'm sure is like created to remove people's eyes entirely instead of to make them look better. I also tend to find the fact that its curved a bit of an inconvenience for applying the mascara, but that's probably something to do with the shape of my eyes. I prefer the Lovely Lashes brush because its a bristle brush and its nice and soft and it doesn't try to gouge your eyes out which is always a bonus in my books. The Lovely Lashes mascara is easier and less painful to apply, although I do tend to find myself putting about a gazillion coats on before I'm happy that the mascara has made a difference. Also, the mascara itself is quite liquid-y, and since I'm quite a rough putter-onner of mascara, I will get it all over my eyelids and under my eyes and sometimes even on the tip of my nose and on my mirror - ugh, its a disaster honestly. But that isn't anything a few cotton buds can't fix! Cotton buds are my best friends.

So what do you guys think? Which mascara do you prefer? I hope this post has been helpful to you in some strange way, and I hope it has somewhat aided you in your future purchases of mascara.

Lots of love

Lyllie

xoxo