Ellis Faas Mascara review – great lashes, no gimmicks
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photos: we heart this
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve let go of a few bad beauty habits that I had as a teen. I take my makeup off before I go to bed. I make sure that my jaw line is blended. I do not use glitter as a daily accessory. And I’ve finally accepted the fact that they will not bring back Cherry Cola Kissing Coolers.
But there is one holdover from my younger years that I just can’t shake, and I don’t know that I want to…lots and lots of mascara. And when I say lots, I mean lots. When I bat my eyes at a stranger, I want to knock him over with the gust. I want my glasses to constantly slip down my nose as my lashes knock them over when I blink. I want thick, fluttery drag queen lashes without the hassle of glue and horsehair. Okay, I exaggerate a little. But I do likes ‘em big.
So when I received the Ellis Faas Mascara, I was little skeptical. It’s just called Mascara? Where are the promises of volumizing, curling and lengthening?? And it only comes in two colors, black and brown? Where are my fancy brushes and vibrating wands?? How can I get giant lashes with THIS?
The answer? I don’t. But I totally get something better.
The wand for Ellis Faas Mascara ($34) is standard; straight bristles with slight tapering at the end for shorter lashes. But what the brush holds is one of the best mascara formulas I’ve ever used. It goes on smoothly and achieves what everyone else just claims – no clumps. Ever. This mascara is light and smooth and when it dries, your lashes feel as soft as they do before you applied it. I know, I know, this seems like an infomercial-type claim, but I’m really really not kidding. And I’m really really impressed.
And here’s the best part, you really can’t apply too much. Really, I SO tried, but I just wasn’t able to gunk on the mascara at the stoplight like I usually do. If you apply a light coat, you get lovely, subtly darker and longer lashes. A few more coats will get you lashes that are thicker, longer and even sexier. But at no point did I reach that “Dear Lord, woman, what did you do to your eyes?!” look that I’ve sported for so long.
The packaging is sleek and sexy; shaped like a bullet and longer than average, it looks dangerous – like a female Bond villain.
The only drawback to this is a really long handle(4 inches long); it looks nice but is unwieldy. It’s made this way so it can fit in the ultra-fancy Ellis Faas holder. But if you don’t own that, it’s a bit too much. I would love a shorter handle, especially when navigating those tiny baby lashes.
The formula is long-wearing and did not flake, a BIG bonus. It’s not waterproof, so beware in sad movies. HOWEVER, I forgot to use eye makeup remover one night when washing my face and it resulted in the SEXIEST grungy supermodel raccoon eyes that I’ve ever achieved. I was one step away from Helmut Newton photo shoot…
Ellis Faas Mascara gets 5 stars from me. Its long handled brush and hefty price would normally take off a star for me, but when a mascara does its job and does it SO WELL, it’s worth the full five!
Review Team – Were you once again wowed by Ellis Faas? we heartsters – have you discovered this gem of a line? Talk Ellis Fass in the comments!
Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.
I too received the Ellis Faas mascara. As usual I love the awesome packaging. I always think that it looks like I am pulling out a piece of secret spy equipment! Yes, this is an insanely long wand. But with regular use I have gotten used to it.
I am a fan of natural looking mascara. I don’t like clumpy, hard, or spiky looking lashes. Ellis Faas mascara provides me with the natural look that I crave. But you can build it up for more drama if you want to. This is not waterproof. But I only had a few smudging problems when my allergies were particularly bad.
My favorite thing about this mascara is how soft my lashes feel with it on. And when taking it off I usually lose no lashes or at least very few. And my lashes still feel super soft after as well.
My least favorite thing is the price.
But overall, I would give this mascara an average of 4 stars. Pretty good stuff!
I love the image of you batting your lashes and knocking people over, @lyssachelle! I also love the way the brush looks– like I could get every lash with it. Great review!
I love this mascara too, @lyssachelle But I disagree on one point: I think this makes HUGE lashes! But, I’m not from Texas, so our definitions of “huge” must be different. Usually, I’m all for mascaras that are kind of on the thin side, coating each lash individually to create really defined lashes (I’m clump-phobic!) I’d much rather have length then width. For me, Ellis Faas provided visible plumpness. My lashes looked longer AND thicker. All with amazing softness, no crunchy lashes here. My lashes were so much thicker that I kept seeing them out of the corners of my eyes and thinking there was something in my eye! (you know how that happens with falsies?)
Yes, it’s pricey for a mascara. But I totally deem this “special occasion” mascara. So, I’m ok with the splurge. It’s the mascara I’m going to be grabbing for every holiday party I go to. It’s a lot easier than putting on fakes!
Love it, 5 stars.
Oooo! The price tag is steep, but like @Stef, I too would use this as ‘special occasion’ mascara! I’m jealous!
@lyssachelle , I’m with you on the “I want drag queen lashes.” No matter what I’m doing, what I’m wearing, I want eyelashes that boggle the mind. It’s hard to do without getting into spider leg territory sometimes! This mascara sounds great, it’s totally going on my wish list.
I’m a sucker for a great mascara so I would splurge for the one that gives me the biggest and best lashes in the west! I’m with you ladies…wishing for this one too.
It’s always fun knocking people over, @lyssachelle …That’s one impressive tube of mascara; like all of Faas products!This packaging is really serious eye candy! I also like what Kellie says about how soft her lashes were with this on. That’s something that really makes me like this product.. You know how hard some mascara gets once it dries.. you can poke an eye out with them! I’m a sucker for a great looking lash, so I would spring for one that does this too!
I love the sound of this too! Lengthening, thickening and soft lashes? I’m in. I hate how mascara makes lashes stiff and brittle and/or clumped.
And while I love the minimalist vibe of the Ellis Faas line, I’m begging for one addition – a WATERPROOF formula for the Mascara!
I have one rule, if it ain’t waterproof, it ain’t coming home. That and I won’t spend more than $20 on a mascara even if it’s laced in 14 karat gold. Why? I have the most watery eyes in kingdom come. It does not come home with me if it isn’t labeled “waterproof” somewhere.
If it came $16 cheaper and in a waterproof formula, I’m in. I’m just not going to pay $34 for a tube of mascara I will religiously throw out three months from now. It just isn’t happening!
I, too, had the joy of testing this mascara and really liked it! I agree it goes on very easy and doesn’t leave a hard, crusty lash, but instead a soft and smooth lash! I found myself packing on more and more and was clump free. It gives amazing volume and that made me very happy! I didn’t have many issues with smudging and found this mascara stays put the whole day. I really adore the packaging! The sleek, smooth, silver wand looks elegant and it made me also want to save this one for special occasions! All and all, I give this mascara 4 solid stars, one less just because of the price point, but other than that it’s a great mascara!
Gorgeous packaging! Great review @lyssachelle. Mascara is one item I like to splurge on because it’s hard to find one that does everything I want. Keeping this one on my list of things to try.
I can’t tell you guys how much I hated being busy at work yesterday and unable to respond to these great comments! I’m so glad everyone else like Ellis Faas mascara as much as I did. And you can tell I wasn’t exaggerating on the softness, the other testers noticed it too!
But now that I’ve been using it a few weeks, I’m with @tyna and @kellie76, I wish they had a waterproof formula. (Unless that would make it lose that lovely soft-lash feeling!)
I do wish it was lower in price, but I’ve justified it in my mind this way. If I use it for three months, I’m spending less than 40 cents a day to be happy with my lashes in a way cheaper mascaras don’t offer. Plus, I’ll probably just ask for it for Christmas and not spend ANY money on it. ;-)
@lyssachelle – I, too, am devastated by the absence of Kissing Koolers from my life–the Cherry Cola one was the BEST!!!
Great review!
I just love how any Ellis Faas product looks like it could double up as a weapon in a pinch :)
I don’t know about the mascara but their lip colors sure are amazing!
I’m in love with the absence of gimmickry in these mascaras. After trying great mascaras that have been totally relegated to the “would be perfect if” pile because of a gimmicky wand or brush or what- have-you, I find it refreshing to see good product presented well. Isn’t that really what we all want?
I forgot to mention that I loved the imagery here…gusts of wind from batting eyelashes, drag queen, horsehair…You got my attention @lyssachelle !