Urban Decay Perversion Mascara review, photos

I know that mascaras work differently on different people. In my case, most mascaras do make a difference to my non-existent eyelashes, but very few give me extraordinary, "wow" results, combining length, separation, volume and curl. So far, only Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara, reviewed here, had made the fuzz on my eyelids look like well-defined eyelashes, giving length, volume, separation and a bit of curl without using a primer or torture device curler.
But I have a habit of looking for backups. What if they discontinued the product suddenly, or availability stopped for some reason? I tried a dozen mascaras from drugstore to high-end, but nothing gave me the oomph that Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes did. Nonetheless, I have persisted. And, the latest to come under the scanner is Urban Decay Perversion, which created quite a bit of hype when it launched a few months ago. I haven't tried any of the other products from the Perversion range so I did not have many expectations.

Read on for my review of Urban Decay Perversion mascara.

Packaging of Urban Decay Perversion mascra

I received a mini Perversion mascara in my August 2014 Ipsy bag, reviewed here, so I cannot talk about the packaging of the full-sized product. I'll just say the mini looks fancy-free. The brush is non-gimmicky with stiff bristles and just the right width for me. I am kind of tired of seeing weird shapes now - irrespective of what the wand looks like, if the formula is clumpy or flaky, the bristles will not do you any good, will they?

Formula and claims of Urban Decay Perversion mascara

The Perversion mascara claims to be bigger, blacker and "badder". While the product is incredibly black, it is also more watery than Hypnose Doll Eyes or most other mascaras. This does not pose any real issues, except that you would have to apply a tad slower to avoid the lashes from sticking together.
Perversion claims to give you dramatic eyelashes, with a long-lasting, nourishing and voluminising formula.

The packaging has a picture of Urban Decay's social media coordinator Kristina, wearing the mascara on one eye and a "leading competitor mascara" on the other. Now the picture of the UD mascara was not too seriously, insanely dramatic, so I did not expect a gazillion-fold increase in volume and length.

You are supposed to use Subversion Lash Primer for even more dramatic eyelashes, but I'll be happy with just a mascara - first of all, I am a real klutz who manages to get mascara on her chin, after foundation is done, so you can imagine where the lash primer would end up. Secondly, I have really sparse eyelashes, so more volume usually creates stubbier-looking lashes, so I prefer minimal coats. Nor was I in love with the way the primer was pimped out with the mascara's packaging.

Before and after photos, results with Urban Decay Perversion mascara

Normally, most mascaras find it easy to elevate my non-existent fuzzy excuse for eyelashes into something better. But very few give me extraordinary results. Please note that all photos are without use of eyelash primer, powder or a curler and are, as always, unedited. Bad enough that I have to take photos at all, but edit them as well?!?!?
Here are my eyelashes without mascara. What eyelashes, I hear you ask. They could sign me up for Grima Wormtongue from LOTR, only, I have thicker eyebrows.

Below: after one application - with multiple wiggles - of Urban Decay Perversion mascara, only on the top lashes. I cannot find my own bottom lashes. Sorry about my oily lids.

This is from an angle so you can compare the results. The fuzz I had when I was born has never really grown into proper eyelashes.

Now after UD Perversion. Length: check. Volume: check. Curl: check. Separation: check. My lashes seem to have multiplied, haven't they? We will come back  to this picture in a couple of minutes.

Check out what happens with one lighthanded coat of Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes. It is an old picture - ignore the unblended eyeshadow - but the mascara does this to my lashes every time! Also, the tapered wand makes it easier to reach the corners.

Summary and comparison

Urban Decay Perversion mascara does make a huge difference to my sparse eyelashes, giving me length, volume and curl. I love the results I get. It really opens up my eyes and the curl holds nicely. I have not noticed flaking but that is because I do not apply multiple coats. However, while the product is certainly intensely black, it is not as insanely dramatic as claimed - not that anything is insanely dramatic on my horrible eyelashes. So far, this is the closest length I have seen to Hypnose Doll Eyes.
So how does it compare to my Holy Grail Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes, reviewed here? As you can see above, Lancome Hypnose gives me more length, drama and volume, but less curl. And, I don't know if you can notice this from the pictures above, but Urban Decay Perversion looks... um... powdery on my lashes while Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes looks more even and homogenous. The powdery effect is visible only in photographs. I have not seen this in the mirror despite having 20/20 vision post-lasik. Nor, I repeat, does this cause flaking even at the end of a work-day.
The curl and pricing are in Perversion's favour, while length, drama and volume are in Hypnose DE's. At $22, Perversion comes with a free sample of Subversion primer, while Hypnose Doll Eyes, which Lancome has recently repackaged as "Hypnose Doll Lashes", sells for $27. But as I just bought another tube of Hypnose, followed by the Sephora Upside Down Mascara, I doubt I will need to buy a new mascara immediately. Plenty of time to think about it.

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