Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Mascara Review – 2024
Alyssia Chang
- Published
- Editor’s Rating: 4
- Price Range:
- USD: $20.00
- CAD: $30.00
- 0.45 fl, oz / 13.5ml
- Made in the Italy
Product Story
Ahhh, the eyelashes. Mascara is one of the best ways to make your lashes stand out, set the frame for the eyes, and is great way to elevate your look. It’s no wonder mascara is one of the most common used and purchased makeup staples.
There’s a reason why every brand makes and sells their own line of mascara, people don’t want to leave the house without it.
In this article I will show you the benefits and features of Rare Beauty’s Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara (a very long name, I know) and my testing results for a true, honest review!
Benefits and Claims
Benefits
- Great for all types of lash shape, growth, and length.
- Has a universal, curved brush to lift, lengthen, curl, and volumize.
- Weightless formula.
- Ultra black colour.
Claims
- Clump resistant.
- Water resistant.
- No flaking or smudging.
- Vegan
- Paraben-Free
- Cruelty-Free
- Dermatologist and ophthalmologist tested.
- Safe for sensitive eyes.
- Safe for contact lenses.
Not so Good Ingredients:
Stearic Acid: It has a stabilizing emollient quality (not bad), but it can irritate the skins surface.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The mascara wand and formula are made for all lash lengths, shapes, and thickness.
- The colour is very black so that the lashes are very defined.
- Long-wearing.
- Has caster oil to condition and moisturize the lashes.
- Washes off easily.
- Easy to open and is very lightweight.
- Made in Italy (which has a great reputation for producing high quality cosmetic products).
- The wand isn’t too big so it doesn’t easily hit your eyelids.
Cons
- Only comes in black, no brown, dark brown, or other colours.
- You can’t recycle the actual mascara tube packaging.
Testing and Results
The Rare Beauty Mascara has a beautiful concept to make it literally universal for everyone’s lashes! I was surprised that more companies aren’t talking about the different kind of lash types. On Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty website, she explains that there are 4 main types of lashes:
- Fine and Sparse.
- Straight and Downward.
- Full and Thick.
- Curly.
It doesn’t matter what lash “type” you are, Rare Beauty claims that their Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing mascara will give you everything you need and want in a mascara tube.
Let’s see if it actually lifts, curls, volumizes, and gives length to my tiny, Asian lashes!
A little history about my eye area and lashes before we begin:
- Eye Shape: Tapered Eyelids.
- Lash type: Fine and Sparse.
- Straight, down, or curly?: Straight.
- Sensitivity: Mild.
- Wears contacts and glasses.
Smell:
Very mild formula smell, you can’t smell anything when applying the mascara or wearing it on the eye lashes.
Texture
The texture is super smooth! It goes on the eyelashes very easily and doesn’t clump. The way it builds onto the lashes is surprisingly lengthening.
It doesn’t feel heavy or like I’m wearing thick mascara formula on my eyes. I’m impressed.
Quality
Whenever I see that something is made in Italy, I always assume that it is going to be well made. The Perfect Strokes Volumizing mascara didn’t disappoint. The overall quality of the packaging, formula, and wand is impressive.
Packaging
This volumizing mascara comes in a really pretty, neutral, recyclable cardboard packaging. The tube itself is made with a soft, satin light pink finish. Her branding is clean, simple, and elegant. I love subtle the R logo on the top of the lid!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rare Beauty Mascara Clump?
I used the universal mascara with and without a lash primer to see if it would clump, and it didn’t as long as I stayed within two coats. As soon as I tried it alone and/or with lash primer applying three coats is when it started getting thick.
This is very normal when working with higher-end, high quality products. Less is more. Two coats MAX is all you need for gorgeous eyelashes!
Does Rare Beauty Volumizing Mascara Curl, Volumize, and Lengthen?
I was so surprised. I always have to use a lash curler for my thin, sparse eyelashes. When I tried this mascara without a lash curler, it looked just as curled as WITH using a lash curler! AMAZING!
It gave it lots of natural looking length (none of that clumping buildup), and made my lashes volumized.
Does Rare Beauty Universal Mascara Transfer?
My skin is combination but my eyelids are very oily. The mascara didn’t transfer which was relieving because my eye shape can make mascara transfer easily. If you have that problem, you can use an eye primer which will help your mascara stay put.
When Should you Replace your Mascara?
A good rule of thumb is to always check the PAO Label. This stands for the period-after-opening symbol. In this case it is a (six month period) from when you open the lid and expose the package to air. If your mascara doesn’t have this symbol, then 3 to 4 months is a good time estimate. Pretty much if you do not hear a “kiss smack” sound when you take the wand out of the tube, then it is dried up/too old/ or has too much bacteria in it to perform well.
How Do you Know if your Mascara Expired?
If it smells off, is clumpy or flaky, past the number of months from the PAO label, and if there is no “kiss smack” sound when you take the wand out of the tube.
Why Does Mascara Flake?
Mascara flakes off the lashes because of a couple factors, usually it is because the mascara is too old or has too much bacteria and breaks down while wearing it. Another reason why this happens is because you’re using too much product and it doesn’t last all day on the lashes. Sometimes flaking happens because of the formula and it is cheap.
If you experience flaking, it is a good sign to invest in a different mascara, replace your old one, and try something new.
Trying new mascaras is hard. When one works for me, I stick with it because it is less frustrating that trying something new and have it not perform well enough for my nearly non-existent lashes.
So, when I tried this, I was very happy that I loved the results. I would recommend this mascara to any one of my clients and know that it would give them everything that they should need/want in a volumizing mascara!
Would I Purchase This Again?
A 100%, yes. The price is really affordable for the quality, I love the packaging, and it made my eyelashes look and feel beautiful.
Thank you for taking the time to read this review and checking out my product test findings.
I would love to know what your favorite mascara is and what qualities you look for in a mascara!
If you have any questions about my testing experience or this product, please comment and I’ll respond to you as soon as possible!
