Trying Cake Mascara - Vegan, Zero Waste Beauty

2/3/2021

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I finally used up every single mascara product I had laying around from a year of beauty subscription boxes (which was a couple years ago??) plus a couple tubes randomly gifted to me so it was the perfect time to finally give Cake Mascara a try!

What is Cake Mascara?

Cake mascara typically comes in a small tin with a spoolie or brush. The mascara is dry and formed into a little ‘cake’ that fits in the tin. To apply it you follow the instructions from the shop you bought it from, moistening the cake of mascara slightly first.

What are the benefits to cake mascara?

A huge benefit is that most cake mascaras are made with few ingredients that are not toxic or questionable unlike many major mascaras (cheap and expensive) that you may be used to. They are also zero waste as most often they come in a metal tin which can subsequently be refilled or recycled! It’s a multi-use product as you can use it for mascara, eyeliner, and even brows depending on your color choice. You have the opportunity to clean your mascara wand and eyeliner brush, unlike traditional tubes, so with proper care cake mascara can be more hygienic than tubes!

Is Cake Mascara New?

Nope. Apparently in the late 1800s - early 1900s it was all the rage. Then we slipped into the modern convenience era where we lower certain standards for convenience, and now we are cycling back to slowing down and being willing to do more work for safer options.

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Clean Faced Cosmetics

I ordered the cake mascara from Clean Faced Cosmetics on Etsy and it came with a muslin bag, spoolie, and liner brush. A few days later they did such a cool giveaway and I snagged their liquid eyeliner to try as well.

Awesome Low Waste/ Zero Waste Packaging:

Clean Faced Cosmetics Cake Mascara Review

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Day 1:

At home, no one to see, no pressure.

Liquid liner was a great experience, just dipped into some product that was in the cap actually. You always have to learn how your new eyeliner brush works with the first few uses - is it stiff all the time or just when its new, or is it soft and flexible? This affects your technique for sure!

Mascara started off exciting, getting it activated with some almond oil.

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From there it was a total, amusing, and expected disaster. I definitely had too much on the spoolie and when I sneezed or blinked I had a hilarious raccoon situation going on. I then added some setting powder I had on hand to a brush and patted the lashes with it to try to prevent that crazy transfer. The thing is, this mascara takes some time to dry. So I’m thinking you want a tiny amount on the spoolie, then very thin coats. Then setting powder, then possibly repeat after it dries. I’m not foreseeing this as a swipe and go situation even with experience, but we’ll see!

I knew going into this that using cake mascara would be a learning experience and take some time and practice to understand and get proficient with. That’s part of the fun for now and today was great since the stakes were low not seeing people and all. We’ll see what tomorrow brings...

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Day 2:

Day 2 went better than day 1 in some respects. I made it through the day without raccoon eye-ing it. I used some setting powder in between each coat and after the last coat. Still, I didn't have the results I am hoping to achieve and that seem possible by looking at the photo reviews for this cake mascara. I need more practice! I had zoom meetings all day and didn't have time to fiddle further, so I was glad to at least not be transferring mascara to my already-a-bit-dark under eye area with each blink.

As for the eyeliner, again it went well, I just have to remember that with my hooded eyes, I need to make sure my winged liner is beneath the crease enough that when I look up it isn't transferring into that awkward arch shape in the upper lid.

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Day 3:

Day 3 didn’t happen. I got too rushed in the morning and couldn’t be bothered finangeling with difficult mascara. I repeated this trend for the rest of the week, unfortunately. So I’ll have to start the trial on Monday.

Okay so...

From this point on I started to struggle with waking up too late to mess with this and I reverted to using my seriously dried up mascara that I had not thrown away yet (typical). Grateful for that this time, though. On some following days I decided to try to activate the cake mascara with water instead of oil and this went way better! I still found it difficult to build on the application, though. I started to wonder if the brush style was the issue. I cleaned out my old mascara tube and wand and started using that brush and instantly had better results. Still, not super buildable, BUT faster application and no raccoon eye transfer like on day 1. I do find that I get little bits of fallout, though. I'm attributing this to user error still. Time will tell.

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For Now This Is What I'm Doing...

For now, I resorted to keeping a more traditional mascara on hand because when you're running late you don't need the added stress of struggling with mascara if you really want to wear mascara! I picked up Pacifica Stellar Gaze in Supernova which I've heard great things about for years (See January 2021 Purchases). Not zero waste, but that's okay. :-)

On less rushed days I'm going to keep playing with Clean Faced Cosmetics Cake Mascara. I hope I can master it with time!! If not, I found it works great as an eyeliner, so that is always an option. It will definitely not go to waste, whether I use it as mascara or not!

Overall Review
Functionality: 3.5/5 may increase with practice!
Concept: 5/5
Sustainability: 5/5

I think everyone should give cake mascara a try. If nothing else it will be a fun experiment and a trip back in time, but who knows? You may just fall in love with this zero waste/ low waste beauty swap!