L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara + Primer (Do You Need a Mascara Primer?)

The recent L’Oreal Paradise collection includes a mascara and a primer in a beautiful rose colored packaging. I just put out a review of the L’Oreal Paradise Enchanted Blushes which I love, so definitely give that a read if you’re interested in new drugstore blushes. Today I’ll be focusing on the L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara and the L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara Primer. I’ll be first be doing a full review on the mascara. Then, I’ll show you how the mascara wore with and without primer. We’re gonna figure out whether you need a mascara primer or not!

There is 8.5mL of product in the mascara and 8mL in the primer. The primer is in the shade 250 Millennial Pink while there are 4 shades of varying degrees of black to choose from in the mascara. The retail price is $12.99 CAD or $9.99 USD based on what I can see online. These should be available at your local drugstore. I’ve also found it online at London Drugs, Ulta, Walmart, and Well.ca (yay support Canadians!).

L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise

As much as I love high end makeup, I consistently love drugstore mascaras. I mean, it’s not very practical to be tossing away $35 every 6 months for a mascara. The L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise features a classic hourglass shaped wand applicator. The bristles are natural and well spaced out with no big gaps but also not too crowded.

The shade I have is 200 Blackest Black and I’m happy with how dark it makes my lashes. The mascara focuses on volume and length but I think it falls slightly short on both. There is nice separation of lashes and I get some length! There is not a whole lot of volume building. I would say the result is a solid OKAY. I do enjoy the soft bristles though as I find rubber bristles prickly especially first thing in the morning.

On another note, the mascara claims that the ultra sensorial application will fulfill your lash desires. But mine didn’t come with any smell? I think it’s suppose to have a tropical coconut scent.

L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara Primer

I have to admit, over the past 5 years of beauty blogging, I have skipped over testing almost all of the mascara primers I’ve been sent. I just don’t really see the point as I expect my mascara to last all day and lengthen my lashes. But, I was intrigued enough by the L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara Primer and thought it’d be neat to do a test. A selling point on this primer is that it has a pink-tint and would therefore be easier to cover with the black mascara. I’ve definitely had issues before with stubborn white tinted primers that would just not be covered up.

The formula contains conditioning rose oil and the wand with more than 200 bristles helps adhere mascara to lashes. I gave it a try by first applying the primer which went on easy. I let the primer dry before applying the mascara on top. It’s interesting because my lashes felt quite dry and brittle when I was applying the mascara but when I touched my lashes with my finger, it was actually quite soft.

All Day Test of the L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara and Primer

I have to say that my lashes are much longer and voluminous with the mascara primer! The pink tint was still quite white on top of my black lashes but I was able to cover it all up. It definitely makes the mascara look better! However, I’ve had results from mascaras that can achieve the same look without the primer! There’s definitely no denying that the L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara Primer actually helps to create more length and volume. But I would have expected the mascara to give similar results on its own.

Right eye (left side of the photo) with just the mascara primer, the other eyelash is bare

Right eye (left side of the photo) with mascara on top of the primer, the other eyelash is with just mascara

As a test throughout the day, I didn’t find that the primer kept my lashes looking better or longer. But I was impressed that the mascara held up really well on it’s own without a primer. After a 10 hour day, I didn’t notice any flaking. The eye with just the mascara had less volume and length but was still impressive after a long day.

Right eye (left side of the photo) with mascara on top of the primer, the other eyelash is with just mascara after 10 hours

So my final thoughts are that this primer definitely helps to length and volumize the lashes. But the results I achieve with both of these products is similar to the results of some of my favorite mascaras. So with that said, I’d rather use a different mascara than to use two steps to achieve the same results. Although the Paradise Enchanted Blushes were a hit with me, these two products were just okay. I’ll happily use them up but it’s not the best I’ve tried.