Colourpop BFF Mascara Review – Friend or Foe?

The BFF Mascara from Colourpop is one that I’ve read incredibly mixed reviews on since it launched, I’m pretty sure it was an item I threw into my online basket in a bid to get free shipping a few months ago, and since then I’ve only seen more reviews pour in, and they’ve been pretty polarising. So I was very intrigued to see what way it was going to me, and I end up kind of sitting on the fence in the middle.

First off the packaging of this mascara reminds me more of old school Colourpop, the original white packaging which they seem to have moved away from in the past few years to more colourful and slightly more chic. This mascara comes in many fun colours  but I stuck to the classic black, as much as I’m intrigued to have a play with a mustard mascara, It’s something I’d use a few times and then never use again. Each of the different tubes feature the same design, but with different coloured writing, which makes a nice way to know if you have multiples which one you’re wanting to grab.

I’ve had this tube rolling around my drawer and makeup bag for a few months now, and one of the critisisms I’ve seen from this mascara is that the printed detailing on the tube rubs off and looks pretty scruffy, mine has so far seemed to stay in tact, but I’m prepared for it to start flaking off any day soon.

Colourpop describes this as a Volumising mascara which tends to be what I’m after, my lashes are quite long and something that adds a little extra length and a lot of extra volume is what my favourite ends to me. On first impression I had high hopes as I inspected the wand for the first time I saw that it was a bristle wand (my favourite), an hourglass shape (my favourite) and a good medium size, being not too fat or too skinny (my favourite).

This mascara took a few weeks to air out I found, so it’s the kind of mascara I’d recommend rotating in when your old mascara is at it’s end to give it chance to reach peak performance when needed. The first few applications weren’t horrendous, but I didn’t find that it was great at creating a the promised voluminous lash in the first few uses, more an everyday lengthening. I used it a few times, put it away in my drawer for a week or two, and voila, that did the trick.

The mascara adds a okay amount of volume on the first coat, but with a second coat around 30 seconds after the first, it amps up the lash a little more without going clumpy. I find if you wait longer between coats then the mascara does seem to clump up and not create a more cleaner lash. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing as sometimes people like a more clumpy lash and it offers some versatility. I don’t think the mascara is anything particularly staggering and doesn’t compare to my favourites, but for something that is about a quarter of the price it’s a nice affordable option to YSL for an every day lash – but it doesn’t manage to create the same kind of fluffy flutter.

Colourpop BFF Mascara Applied

Eyeshadows used in these looks are the Colourpop Orange You Glad or the Main Squeeze Palettes.

But (and there’s a big one) – this mascara doesn’t last particularly well at all. If you are prone to watery eye, the Colourpop BFF mascara will be your biggest enemy, if you are somewhere in a warm, humid climate the mascara will be your enemy and if you’re in a wet, drizzly environment this mascara will be your enemy. Any kind of moisture this starts smudging immediately, I tried this out on some of the last warm days we had in September in the UK, and I looked like I had been crying after an hour of being outside in moderate heat. I wore this on a day where we was caught by a sudden light drizzle in town – I had to find a bathroom to tidy up the mascara which had suddenly transferred all over my eye sockets and underneath my bottom lashes. I will add that this is not a problem I normally have with mascaras – my eyes aren’t sensitive and usually only water when I wear a specific colour of eyeshadow (light pink with a gold pearly shimmer, I’m looking at you!).

I should also note that it’s not easy at all to remove, no matter how many times I cleanse my eyes, and even with the most luxe and powerful cleansing balms there always seems to be lingering black pigment. If I remove this at night and manage to get my eyes looking pretty much clean I can wake up in the morning and discover that I’ve got panda eyes as more pigment has escaped and smudged everywhere!

If you’re after a budget mascara to take some instagram eye look pictures with and immediately take off (baring in mind it does seem to leave a trace), this isn’t a bad option it’s cheap and cheerful adds volume and a bit of length, and if you live in a neutral weather environment then it might work for you everyday. But I highly recommend you don’t take this mascara anywhere warm on holiday, wear to the gym or anywhere moderately dewy, it will not be your BFF, it will be your foe.

Now we’re in autumn, I am being really careful about when I pick to use this mascara. If I’m going to my parents for the evening and I’m putting my makeup on and know I’m inside for the rest of the night – this is my choice, but I never pick this mascara for running errands in! I don’t think I’ll manage to finish it, or come close to finishing it before it passes it’s suggested lifespan.

I’m really disappointed I have to say – I’m a big Colourpop fan, especially their eye products and their first attempt at a mascara isn’t a good one in my opinion, i’m not sure how it made it into production when all the reviews I’ve seen have been so split between it being okay and it being awful, when I first saw Youtuber’s trying this out the reviews are pretty positive if you’re using them in a studio environment – but that’s where first impressions fail proper wear tests!

Have you tried the BFF Mascara? Was it your friend or foe?

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