Beauty Too Faced vs L'Oreal: Ultimate Volumizing Mascara Showdown
Too Faced Better Than Sex and L'Oreal Lash Paradise are the two most compared volumizing mascaras in beauty. Too Faced is the luxury icon with a devoted global following. L'Oreal is the brilliant drugstore dupe at a third of the price. Both promise genuinely dramatic volume and length. Your budget decides here, but the performance gap is much smaller than you might think.
| Factor | Too Faced Better Than Sex Volumizing Mas | L'Oreal Paris Lash Paradise Volumizing M |
|---|---|---|
| Volume level | Extreme | Very high |
| Brush | Hourglass | Soft wavy |
| Smudging | Can smudge | Can smudge |
| Removal | Standard cleanser | Easy |
| Price | Check price | Check price |
| Flaking | Minimal | None |
| Cult status | Iconic | Dupe favorite |
Our Verdict
Choose Too Faced for maximum drama, prestige, and iconic status in your bag. Choose L'Oreal for nearly equal volume at roughly a third of the price. Budget-conscious shoppers lose remarkably little with L'Oreal. Luxury lovers genuinely enjoy the Too Faced experience and packaging. Honestly, most observers cannot tell the difference between the two once they are on your lashes.
More Top Picks in This Category
Not sold on either of these two? Here are more bestselling options worth considering.
Best for: Best for waterproof drama on the tightest budget.
essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara Waterproof, Black
- Conic fiber brush for false-lash effect
- Waterproof formula
- Dramatic volume and length
- Cruelty free
Pros
- Unbeatable price
- Serious volume
- Waterproof holds in humidity
Cons
- Very hard to remove
- Can clump easily
- Tube dries fast
Best for: Best for straight lashes that need serious curl and lift.
Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash Curling and Lifting Mascara, Black
- Hook and lift brush curls lashes
- Holds curl for up to 12 hours
- Water-resistant formula
- Lengthens and lifts
Pros
- Excellent curl hold
- Great for straight lashes
- Does not smudge much
Cons
- Less volume than volumizing mascaras
- Premium price
- Brush takes practice
Best for: Best for bold everyday volume at a drugstore price.
Maybelline The Colossal Bubble Pop Volumizing Mascara, Black
- Bubble-shaped brush builds volume
- Up to 10 times more volume
- Clump-resistant formula
- Bold black pigment
Pros
- Big volume, low price
- Fun, effective brush
- Easy to find in stores
Cons
- Can get clumpy
- Not waterproof
- Smudges on oily lids
Want the Full Picture?
Waterproof vs Water-Resistant vs Tubing: A Real Decision Matrix
Volumizing mascaras come in three water behaviors, and picking the wrong one is why so many buyers end up disappointed. Waterproof formulas, like the essence Lash Princess Waterproof in this comparison, use water-repelling polymers that survive swimming, sweaty workouts, and tears, but they demand an oil-based remover and punish lazy removal with lash breakage. Water-resistant formulas, which is what most washable volumizers are, handle humidity and light mist but dissolve in a real downpour or a good cry. Tubing mascaras form tiny polymer sleeves around each lash that slide off with warm water alone, giving you smudge-proof wear with the gentlest removal of all three.
Match the formula to the scenario, not the marketing. Daily office wear in normal weather: a washable volumizer like Roller Lash or Colossal Bubble Pop is plenty, and your lashes will thank you at night. Outdoor weddings, beach days, or allergy season with watery eyes: go waterproof and commit to proper removal. Oily lids or contact lenses: tubing is the sleeper winner, since it resists oil transfer without the harsh solvents waterproof formulas need. Our L'Oreal Telescopic waterproof vs washable comparison walks through the same tradeoff with another classic pair, so you can see how the decision plays out across brands.
Removing Volumizing Mascara Without Losing Lashes
Volumizing formulas are built to coat lashes thickly, which means removal technique matters more here than with any other mascara type. The lash-loss culprit is almost never the mascara itself, it is the rubbing. Soaking a cotton pad with remover and pressing it against closed lashes for 20 to 30 seconds dissolves the film so it slides off, while scrubbing side to side snaps the fragile tips where volume products pile on heaviest. For waterproof volumizers like the essence pick above, only an oil or dual-phase remover cuts the water-repelling polymers; micellar water alone will leave you rubbing and losing lashes.
Washable volumizers are more forgiving, but the order still matters: remove eye makeup before you cleanse your face, so dissolved mascara does not get massaged into the delicate under-eye skin. Never pull dried clumps off with your fingers, the lash usually comes with the clump. If you wear volumizing mascara daily, give your lashes one or two bare nights a week, and watch for the warning signs of over-processing: lashes that look shorter than they used to, or gaps where the outer corners shed. A full breakdown of gentle techniques lives in our makeup removal guide on removing makeup without damage.
Curl Hold: Pairing Heated Curlers With Volumizing Formulas
Straight lashes plus volumizing mascara is a tricky combination, because the extra coating weight pulls the curl down as the day goes on. The fix that actually lasts is a heated lash curler used before mascara, not after. Heat sets the keratin in a curled position the way a curling iron sets hair, while a cold manual curler only bends lashes temporarily. Wait about ten seconds after curling, then apply your volumizing formula in thin coats, wiggling at the base. The heat-set curl acts like scaffolding that the mascara coating reinforces instead of dragging down.
Two mistakes undo this combo. The first is applying mascara before the heated curler, which bakes the product onto lashes and causes breakage. The second is overloading the tips: keep the heaviest product at the base and mid-lash, and let the tips stay light so the curl does not collapse under its own weight. Among the three formulas here, the lighter washable volumizers hold a heat-set curl longer than heavy waterproof ones, simply because there is less mass fighting the lift. For fine, pin-straight lashes, this curl-first routine matters more than which volumizer you buy.