Budget supermarket Aldi are best known for their sturdy carrier bags , speedy checkouts, low prices and of course, their knack for creating cheap dupes of expensive products. And this week, I’ve been putting one of their mascara’s through its paces.
It’s not instantly obvious what the Lacura ‘Larger than Life’ mascara is a dupe of. But when you consider that comparative name, and look closely at some of the details, it’s safe to assume it’s inspired by the Too Faced ‘Better Than Sex’ mascara.
The Aldi budget beauty buy comes with a £5.99 price tag, which I consider fairly high for the retailer. Particularly when there are some drugstore mascaras available in Boots for less.
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In fact, the 17 extreme extension lengthening mascara is just £4, while the volumising version is only £2.
However, when you consider the fact a full sized Too Faced mascara is £24 , then it makes Aldi’s look like pennies at a quarter of the price.
Instead of splurging, I got a mini travel sized Too Faced mascara for a much more affordable £12.
The high end mascara has racked up more than 5,000 five star reviews on the Boots website, and has been a cult classic in the beauty industry since its launch in 2013.
The smaller tube contains 4.8g of product, while Lacura’s larger than life carries 8g. Both come packaged in boxes, with metallic packaging in pink for Too Faced, and blue for Aldi.
Looking at the brushes, both have a curvaceous shape packed with bristles to add drama to lashes. However, Aldi’s seemed a little overloaded with product, and needed wiping on the edge of the tube before use.
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I applied the Too Faced mascara to my right eye, and the Aldi one to my left. The Too Faced product was easy to hold and the brush was a very nice size and shape, with fairly soft bristles.
The formula was wet, which allowed for smoother application with no clumps, and left my lashes looking voluminous and fanned out.
However, I found the Aldi mascara to be drier and more viscous, making it more difficult to work with. It was drying on my eyes almost immediately, which made a second coat quite challenging and left my lashes looking clumpy.
It also smudged onto my upper lash like quite a lot, and was difficult to remove due to being waterproof. After titivating my lashes, I was able to make myself look presentable, but I much prefer a mascara like Too Faced that does all the work for me.
The larger than life product description promises no clumps, smudges or flakes, but the mixed reviews on Aldi suggest some shoppers agree that sometimes, you really do get what you pay for.
One customer said: “Clumps my eyelashes together so impossible to continue using. Only fit for the bin.”
Another added: “Quite disappointed with the mascara was thick and didn't apply well at all the wand also bulky!”
Benefits do include that it’s cruelty free, long lasting and a very black colour for added drama, but it simply didn’t perform as well as other budget beauty brands I’ve tried.
On this occasion, I’d be more than happy to pay £12 for the smaller size Too Faced product . As mascaras typically need throwing away after three months, you’re much more likely to finish the tube and get better results.
