Amazon fans are raving about a budget £4 mascara that is said to make your lashes look “lovely and long” while “holding a curl.” Essence's £4.31 Lash Princess mascara, which is said to rival high-end makeup brands such as Lancome, Mac and Benefit, has more than 200,000 five-star reviews from Amazon shoppers, with many claiming it feels more like a luxury product than a budget one.
The £4.31 Amazon mascara features a special, conic shaped fibre brush that provides lashes with length, dramatic volume and gives a false-lash effect. It lengthens eyelashes and boosts volume by coating the lashes with an intense black colour while separating individual lashes with precision.
The budget £4 mascara has more than 200,000 five star reviews on Amazon's website, with thousands of glowing reviews left by beauty lovers. With that in mind, I tried the £4 Amazon mascara out for myself to see if it can really compare to versions from popular brands which can cost more than ten times the price.
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Before testing it out, my top three go-to mascaras had been Too Faced’s Better Than Sex, Benefits They’re Real and Mac’s MacStack Mascara - all of which are in the £30 price range.
But after using Essence’s Lash Princess for weeks, I can honestly say this product has quickly become my new favourite. It lengthens my lashes (which are naturally quite average in length) and it holds a curl all day long. It provides a really dramatic eye look and gives the illusion that I’m wearing individual falsies.
Many of the online reviews have echoed my own opinion, with one shopper saying: “I am a long time Lancôme Hypnose mascara user. Few times tried to use the different mascaras, but always came back to Lancôme as the others never came even close to do the same job of making my thin lashes look more full.
“But this very affordable mascara did exactly that! I am now on my 3rd mascara and probably will be getting more once this one finishes. Very good product at very affordable price.”
Another said: “This really is a great mascara, one of the best I've ever tried and I've tried many; cheap ones as well as expensive ones. It gives lovely length and volume whilst still separating the lashes so you can put coat after coat on until you get the desired effect without the lashes clumping together. I found the brush a bit clumsy at first as it's longer than your average mascara brush but I got used to it quickly.
The only minus is that it crumbles a little bit a while after application so I end up having to clean that off but it's not exactly covering my whole face and after that it seems to stay just fine and it doesn't affect the look in any way. Worth the price, definitely, and much better than many high-end brands!”
Kelly said: “IF YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR A NEW MASCARA TO TRY THEN THIS IS IT! I've been using the same supershock mascara for probably 20 years, whenever I've tried different ones they've never been as good, after seeing this on a YouTube tutorial I thought I'd give it a try and I have to say I LOVE it, it makes my lashes look lovely & long and doesn't have that clumpyness like my old mascara also I like the fact that it stays on all day but washes off easy without feeling like its pulling my eyelashes out with it and bonus is its half the price of my old mascara.”
Another reviewer said: “This stuff is amazing! Love the bristles, love how good it makes my lashes look. I buy multiple all the time so they're dotted about the place and I give them to friends too. This isn't anything to do with the price, which is also cracking, as I've spent so much more on mascaras and had way worse outcomes. I love this stuff!”
Anastasia said: “I really find it one of the best mascara on the market. Makes your lashes longer, really good bargain.”
T J wrote: “Bought this after someone on YouTube said how good it was and it is ! Gives good length & volume. I like the brush as it’s just a normal old fashioned type no harsh plastic to poke your eyes with.
“I use 2-3 coats as I like a dramatic effect letting it dry in between, it doesn’t smudge or rub off onto your upper eye lid it doesn’t flake but comes off really easily at the end of the day with remover what more can you ask for (well it could hold the curl a bit better after curling them but waterproof ones are usually better at that anyway) I am amazed at this cheap & cheerful little mascara & will continue buying for the foreseeable.”
Another reviewer wrote: "The best mascara I’ve ever used!! My lashes looks like fake after used this mascara! Great value for this price" "I could not believe how great this mascara works, especially for such an incredible price!! I have told everyone I know about this amazing product. I don’t wear much makeup, and have no idea how to put on fake lashes, but there is no need with this mascara! Try it, I promise it’s the only mascara you’ll ever need," penned another.
Other budget mascara favourites of mine include L'Oréal's Paris Telescopic Lift Mascara which is currently £12.49 in Boots. I'm also a fan of L'Oréal Paris' Intense Volume Mascara, which is currently £7.49 on Amazon, and contains Castor Oil which actively helps lashes to grow with every application.
You can buy Essence's five-star rated Lash Princess mascara for £4.31 on Amazon here.
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