As true beauty nerds know, all mascaras are not created equal. In fact, you may even have a personal story about dollar store mascara making your lashes incredibly dry and brittle to the point they started breaking. (No? Just me?)
Well, ever since that disastrous experience, I vowed to look at ingredient lists before putting anything on my precious lashes, which made me immediately interested in Julep's newest mascara, With A Twist. The brand says it actually helps your lashes to grow longer and stronger — so I had to take it for a spin. But first, the packaging: The matte white tube is adorned with graphic eye illustrations. At first glance, the wand seems to be like any other plastic bristle brush, but —surprise! — it's actually adjustable. Twist the cap all the way to the right (there are arrows at the tip of the brush to make it easy) for a longer brush that yields length, or crank it all the way to the left for a thicker brush that adds major drama.
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When I first swiped it on, I used the smaller sized brush to build volume at the base of my lashes. On the second coat, I twisted it all the way to the right to lengthen through the tips. That's seriously all it took to take my lashes from blah to va-va-voom: two swipes. My coworker even noticed the difference.
I know what you're thinking: Get to the part about the lash growth! Jane Park, the founder for the brand, says the magic is the Jeju Jolitdaecha extract, a species of bamboo grass native to Park’s favorite spot in Korea, which strengthens the hair fibers. Plus, the mascara is loaded with peptides, biotin, and vitamins E, F, B5 to keep them hydrated.
Even better, unlike other formula that promise to add length and volume, this one didn't make my lashes feel heavy. In fact, it felt like there was almost nothing there at all. I can't yet contest to the mascara's ability to grow my lashes (the brand says it takes a few weeks to tell the difference), but don't get it twisted: I'm officially hooked.
Julep With A Twist Mascara, $22, available in May at Ulta Beauty.