Too Faced Lash Injection Tubing Mascara review, photos, comparison

If your lashes are incredibly sparse, thin and short like mine, you know that most mascaras will not even make them visible. My lashes are so invisible that, even with lashings of mascara, they look like other people's lashes do without mascara. I finally discovered a Holy Grail in Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara reviewed here in April 2013.
But because companies tend to stop production of HG products, I continue to search for decent back-up mascaras. I haven't tried fibre-lashes or magnetic mascaras yet, hoping that there are excellent normal formulations out there. I got to try my first tubing mascara, the Too Faced Lash Injection Extreme Volume Tubing Mascara, which came with A Few Of My Favourite Things eyeshadow palette.

Here is my review of the Too Faced Lash Injection Extreme Volume Tubing Mascara and before and after photos. 

What is a tubing mascara?

Nope, not just one that comes in a tube, duh. These mascaras contain "3D elastic polymers" that form a tube around each eyelash, thereby making it appear thicker, longer and more dramatic. Don't ask me how the tube is supposed to appear - the formulation just settles in tubes around the eyelashes. This is supposed to be great for hot and humid days, as tubing mascaras do not flake or smear. And now, back to the product at hand.

Packaging of Too Faced Lash Injection Tubing Mascara

A black tube with a beautiful gold lace pattern at the edges, and pink writing. Nice. Somehow, I can't stand non-black tubes for mascaras (yes, none of those coloured tubes).

The wand is traditional, no gimmicky spikes there. The bristles are stiff and non-plastic, which I like. I find the brush a little too large to reach everywhere - Lancome's wand is quite large but the shape is conical so it gets into the nooks and crannies better. And, I find it near-impossible to apply this mascara on my lower lashes without the dreaded panda eyes.

Formula of Too Faced Lash Injection Tubing Mascara

Ingredients listed on the website are water, Acrylates Copolymer, Ammonium Acrylates Copolymer, Butylene Glycol,  Cera Alba/Beeswax/Cire d’abeille, Diethylhexyl Sebacate, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Laureth-20, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopherol, Iron Oxides (CI 77499). I have no idea what most of those things are; you'll have to do your own research. No parabens, hurrah!
Here is a swatch on the skin so you can judge the intensity. There is only one shade - black - in this range.

Before and after photos

Don't dwell too long on the photo of my lashes without mascara. I know, I look like Grima Wormtongue in LOTR. Blame my genes.

Now for one coat of  Too Faced Lash Injection Extreme Volume Tubing Mascara. I've left out the lower lashes, obviously. There isn't much "extreme volume" or drama. And there is slight clumping in some parts. But it certainly makes a difference to my otherwise non-existent lashes. Length is not as dramatic as Hypnose Doll Eyes. I haven't noticed flaking through the day. It is easy enough to remove with a dab of Nuxe Micellar Water. I really like the curl this mascara gives me. I have not used an eyelash curler. Decent curl, innit?

In case you can't be bothered to wade through my entire review of Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara, this is a picture from that review; just the one coat.

Bottom Line
I like Too Faced Lash Injection far better than Le Volume de Chanel (shocker), Smashbox Hyperlash and any of the Estee Lauder mascaras, Max Factors and Rimmels, but my Holy Grail remains Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes, so far. There is better curl from Too Faced Lash Injection than from Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes, though, and I'm debating using them together to see if I can combine length with curl. I want to try Too Faced LashGasm, Size Queen and Better Than False Lashes in the meantime.
Disclaimer: No PR samples here either. I always review mascara on non-curled lashes.
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