[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things – full service by the end of the week I hope. Mr BBB has been struck down with a lurgy although managed to get up from his sick bed to make my birthday cheese & pineapple hedgehog! Max is going back to Sweden today and Lucy is back at work already. The house looks like a tornado has been through it. But, here we are – the first proper review of the year and it’s Sensai 38° C Tubing Mascara which is just incredible. I get asked a lot to recommend tubing mascaras and I never remember about Sensai but I’ve used it all over the holiday period and I just love it.
Not only is the brush utterly perfect on new lash lengthener, but it lives up to its name by giving long, separated and luscious lashes. Really, I don’t have a single complaint about this at all (perhaps the price…). The reason it’s called Sensai 38° C is because that’s the temperature the filaments come away from the lashes at – anything lower and it will stay exactly where it began on your lashes. So, when it comes to removal, you will need your cloth to be warm. It’s very satisfying seeing the tubes in lash shapes on your washcloth as you gently press and pull away.
The original version, Sensai 38° C Lash Volumiser, is as effective as you could hope and gives nicely plumped lashes. If you like a big lash look rather than a spiky lash look, this is the one for you. If you have short lashes that are hard to reach with a regular brush, use Lengthener, but if you have long lashes that are spindly, use Volumiser.
I’ve got sore eyes at the moment (dry eyes) and am having to apply drops so this really couldn’t be a better because there’s no smudging or running. So, 38° C is roughly the temperature of a bath that feels comfortable and embracing without feeling too hot. There’s no ouching when you dip your toe in or that slow ease while squeaking a bit – that’s too hot for around the eyes. I mean, there’s no need to get the thermometer out – whatever feels naturally and comfortable warm will be ok. The price is £31 for either variety HERE. It’s quite a price hike as previous iterations were £26 (still available at Harrods HERE). We have the luxury of budget mascaras being really pretty good so in my mind, this is reserved for holidays, rainy walks and anything that makes you laugh til you cry. 100% good.
(non affiliate HERE)
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7 comments
I love the Trish McEvoy one which is also tubular, in fact I purchased a new one in Liberty yesterday, think that one was £22.50? £24.50?
Anyway, I love that one because, as you say, if you only want to wear mascara on your top lashes it does not smudge on the bottom.. a revelation.
I think so too but they’re really weird about calling themselves ‘tubing’. It’s so annoying because that’s why I forget about them.
It’s weird that ‘tubing’ seems to be a dirty word in mascara product descriptions. It’s frustrating and baffling. I now only look for tubing mascaras as I have oily eyelids and tubing mascaras are fantastic for not producing panda eyes + the ease of removal. I end up having to look for descriptions such as ‘removes with water’, ‘film forming’ or reviewing the ingredients lists to look for ‘vinyl’ or ‘polymer’. Glossier’s Lash Slick refers to ‘film forming’, Essences Bye Bye Panda Eyes (looks sadly like it’s been discontinued – which is hugely annoying), states it “wraps itself around the fine hairs like a soft film..can easily be removed with warm water”. Trish McEvoy mascara kind of refers to it (not on the packaging, but on the website); Hourglass Unlocked doesn’t refer to tubing at all, yet it is one (and an excellent one at that). Why the coyness?
I don’t understand it Carrie at all – I’ve made the mistake of reviewing mascaras without realising they are tubing – even film forming will do for me but to just leave it out of the description altogether is inexplicable.
Years ago, in the days of The Clothes Show with Jeff Banks and Caryn Franklin, John Gustafson used to advise on beauty. I wrote to him asking for his recommendation for a mascara that would work for someone who had very watery, blinky eyes and oily lids (all the problems). He recommended the Sensai 38 ° mascara and I have worn it ever since. I have tried the Clinique Lash Power, as recommended by Sali Hughes and Victoria Beckham’s. Both are good but the Sensai is best even though you can only buy it at Harrods.
Oh gosh, I remember John so well – what a lovely man. The one thing I remember very clearly is that he had kept all the Chanel nail polishes he had ever been sent so had a library of them in his shed :-).
I will always be grateful to him for that. Hilarious about all the nail polishes. They are nice, though.