Stephanie Perry
This story originally appeared on InStyle.com.
I recently moved to Austin, Texas, where 80 degrees is considered a chilly day. Thanks to the city's 84 percent humidity, desert-like conditions, and blazing sun, sunscreen has been the only thing I've been applying to my face for the last few weeks—until I heard about Kosas' new relaunch of its internet-loved Big Clean Mascara. The clean beauty brand just released its new and improved formula, and since it promises to stay put for 12 hours, I decided to put it to the test.
Kosas' Big Clean Mascara is more than just a mascara—it's also infused with haircare serums, like castor oil and provitamin B5, to nourish your lashes so they can grow stronger. The thick, teddy-like curved brush grasps each lash, making them appear fuller and longer. As someone with thinner lashes, volumizing mascaras usually make my lashes look clumpy, but I was pleasantly surprised to see this mascara fanned my lashes out nicely (see photo above).
The mascara now also uses biodegradable plant-based sugars, not "film former" microplastics, to provide a long-wearing formula that won't rub off or smudge for up to 12 hours. Plus, it's safe for sensitive eyes. According to the brand, 87 percent of women did not notice any smudging while wearing the mascara, which is a pretty impressive stat I hoped to be a part of.
Test #1: The Morning Dog Walk
I started my Kosas mascara experiment bright and early at 7 a.m. This is the time I take my dog for her daily walk, and although it's typically cooler in the mornings, I still come back sweating thanks to the aggressive humidity. This morning was no different and our 30-minute walk had to be cut back to 20 minutes because of the heat. As you can see from my "after photo," the mascara held up nicely and looks exactly the same as it did pre-walk. The same can not be said for my sweaty face, although we can just pretend that's highlighter.
Test #2: The Midday Outdoor Coffee Break
My dog has a lot of energy so in addition to our morning walk, I take her outside in the backyard for an hour or so midday. I usually sit on our porch with my laptop and coffee, and while I try my best to stay in the shade, I'm still pretty sweaty by the time I come back inside because that midday southern heat is no joke. I sat outside around hour five wearing the mascara so this was when I was expecting it to start to smudge. As you can see from my photo, it prevailed.
Test #3: High-Intensity Spin Class
The Kosas mascara doesn't promise to be waterproof so testing it in a high-intensity spin class was a bit unfair of me, but hey, that's what my 12-hour day included. After nearly an hour of sprinting it out to Travis Scott, I was expecting my eyes to look a bit like a raccoon, but a peek in the gym mirror proved different. My lashes were still just as long and as full as when I first applied the mascara at 7 a.m.—and it was now 12 hours and a 45-minute, sweat-inducing workout later. There was just the slightest bit of smudging under my eyes—which was expected — but that could have been easily fixed with some water and a cotton swab.
Thanks to the updated Kosas Big Clean Mascara, I'll no longer limit my morning routine to a swipe of sunscreen out of fear that my face will look melted by the end of the day. This mascara can hold up to the Texas heat, intense workouts, dog walks, and more. Shop it now to see what I mean.
Shop it! $26, kosas.com
