Is the Better than Sex Mascara Better than I Remember?

Better Than Sex Mascara

Many moons ago (2015 to be exact), I tried the iconic Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara for the first time, I repurchased it once after as it was declared my holy grail, and I’ve always referred to it as my favourite since. But since then I’ve not revisited it for a few reasons, I always want to try new ones to review and I’ve been kept very well stocked by beauty boxes etc so never seem to get to a point where I need to purchase a mascara. When this arrived in the last ASOS Beauty box, I was very happy to see it included and I decided it was worth a re-review to see if it was as good as I remembered.

Better Than Sex Mascara Review

The Better Than Sex mascara seems to have always hovered near the top of the favoured list since it was released, Too Faced (as far as I’m aware) haven’t launched an new mascara since (other than adding a waterproof formula) which shows that it’s still got their faith and backing as one of the best in the market. It comes with at the low-end of high-end price tag of £19.

I’ve put this to the test for the past three weeks and have already decided that it will no longer be declared as my favourite, but that’s not to say that I don’t like this any more or it’s a bad product, I think other products have just caught up in the time that this has been around. Namedly L’Oreal’s Lash Paradise / Lash Extatic which was pegged as a dupe for this when it launched

The tube of this is a lovely baby pink with a soft reflective finish, it whilst this mini black writing lacing the tube which looks a lot like the US’s version of it’s dupable cheaper L’Oreal sister – the full size has embossed lettering instead all in pure pink. The wand inside is bristled in an hourglass shape, again this is similar to L’Oreal’s but I think this one is slightly fatter in comparison – but I’m going off memory for that!

The brush applies the product really nicely and I don’t find the formula too claggy or too thin, it distributes perfectly on the lashes and creates a rich, pigmented black volumised and fluffy looking lash that also adds the perfect amount on length and holds curls well. The formula doesn’t feel heavy so it doesn’t weigh down the lash either. It looks lovely, personally I think it looks better in person than it does it photos as its really hard to capture the fluffy factor in photos.

So where does it fall down? For me it’s wear time, through the day I find by the end of the day it’s been prone to transferring under the eyes which isn’t a problem I particularly suffer with often. It’s not full on panda eyes but it’s too much for an expensive mascara. The upper lashes don’t really deteriorate through the day so I’ve found myself reaching for an alternative mascara for my bottom lashes instead.

Looks wise this has been pretty comparable for me to the dupe sister – those comparisons are right but coming in at around £8 cheaper and with none of the transfer problems either, it’s an option that stacks up better. When I compare to other more expensive mascaras I think I’ve found ones which just work better too, YSL’s The Shock was one I tried earlier in the year and the Tarte Tarteist are ones which are at a similar price point which both impressed me more.

So the Better Than Sex Mascara officially lost it’s vague favourite title I’d given it for a few years and whilst I’m glad I got the chance to re-try it, it’s not where I’d be choosing to spend my money again. If you’ve always wanted to try it, I wouldn’t say don’t bother, but it might be worth trying the baby version out first. If you want to check out my original review which is over three years old you can find it here… photos and makeup skills have improved somewhat in that time.

The mascara is £19 and is available from Cult Beauty here.

Have you tried Better than Sex Mascara before? 

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24 Comments

  1. August 21, 2018 / 7:36 am

    I’m so fussy with mascara and there’s only a handful I’ve tried that I’d repurchase again. To be honest after reading your review I don’t know that I will try this or pick it up unless there’s a good sale or I have gift vouchers or something. Do you think the mini size performs differently from the regular size?

    • August 21, 2018 / 6:36 pm

      No I think it’s the same personally, I like a mini mascara – I like to try for a few weeks, review and not have too long before I can crack open the next one!

  2. August 21, 2018 / 9:08 am

    This is a fun thing to do huh. Revisit old products.
    I got a lot of fallout with this mascara.
    I remember your comment on my blog saying you loved this back then. 🙂

    • August 21, 2018 / 6:38 pm

      It is, after writing over 1100 posts at this point it’s interesting looking back at products that I’ve had before and seeing if my opinion has changed, especially on ones which stand the test of time with other people or used to be my faves!

  3. August 21, 2018 / 5:37 pm

    I got a mini of this for free from Ulta awhile back. I like it and it made my favorites one month, but it’s not a holy grail product for me. I do want to try the waterproof version sometime though. My favorite high end mascara is probably the Clinique High Impact. I still need to try the L’Oréal Lash Paradise. Been working on downsizing my mascaras beforehand though as I had way too many. Now I’m about to the point where I can maybe pick up something new soon.

    • August 21, 2018 / 6:35 pm

      I haven’t tried that one from Clinique yet – the two I’ve had in the past I’ve really disliked though so wasn’t sure whether they’d work out for me either. Mascaras are a hard slog to finish I find, I only try to have one open at a time! I still have a lot to get through before I should consider buying any more, and when I get the list narrowed down I seem to get some through PR, beauty boxes and other ways and I never get to my actual to try list!

      • August 21, 2018 / 6:56 pm

        I’m only going to do travel size ones from now on. Those I can use up in 3 months. Otherwise I’m hanging onto them until they dry out or get too goopy.

    • August 21, 2018 / 6:38 pm

      Thank you! Definitely worth trying to L’Oreal first I think – much cheaper and similar effect on the eye, might at least be worth trying before you purchase the Too Faced’s! x

  4. August 21, 2018 / 6:53 pm

    Thank you Rachael

  5. August 21, 2018 / 10:53 pm

    This has to be one of my favourite mascaras, personally. Spot on with the review as well! Great read.

    Caroline

      • August 22, 2018 / 12:26 am

        The benefit badgyal mascara lengthens so well!

        • August 22, 2018 / 11:30 am

          Ahh I didn’t like that one! Found it lengthening but looked like I’d been hit in the face by the end of the day

          • August 22, 2018 / 12:36 pm

            It worked so nicely for me, it never bled or anything!

  6. August 22, 2018 / 8:32 pm

    A bit out of the topic, but your orange shadow look is bomb!!!!

    I have never tried TF’s mascara. The product name is a bit too much for me. It kind of bothers me enough that I have never considered trying it out. Yes, I am a crazy old gal 😂 My favourite mascaras are from Japanese drugstore brands.

      • August 24, 2018 / 10:59 pm

        Primark’s masks are mostly made in Korea 😉 Selfridges sell a few Korean and Japanese brands, no? Else you’ll always have yesstyle.com **watch out for their gifts with purchase thought, they tend to give away expired goodies lol (a lot of Korea products have expiry dates on them)

  7. August 23, 2018 / 5:04 pm

    I got the sample size of this to try, I love how it looks but like you it ends up flaked off under my eyes which never happens with high street mascaras xxx

  8. August 28, 2018 / 4:21 am

    I’ve tried Better Than Sex before and liked it for a high-end mascara… until I tried L’Oreal’s Lash Paradise in the waterproof formula. And I agree – it’s so much better! I have yet to try the waterproof version of Better Than Sex though. x

    Valerie | avecvalerie.com

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