Please help me find my holy grail of mascara!

[CarpeJugulum]

Right, after advice from the wonderful mrsmartin, I gave black mascara a try using a free sample from a magazine (Clinique High Impact).

Colour is fine and doesn't make me look stupid, but I'm finding it very "clumpy" and it doesn't seem to make my eyelashes stand out. It also makes my bottom lashes look like spiders legs with feet at the end - so not going to buy a proper sized tube.

So I'm looking for recommendations for a mascara that is:

• relatively smudge proof (will take an accidental hand, but not a full on rub with both knuckles as I am prone to do when tired )
• clumping free
• under £10 (about £7.50 would be ideal as that's what I've got on Boots points )

Also a bonus if it make eyelashes curl as I don't get on with curlers!

Any suggestions?

Maybelline lash stylist, but it's been discontinued.

You might find some on the web though.

Boots No 7 waterproof mascara is fab.

Max Factor Masterpiece Max

Max Factor 2000 calorie or Masterpiece Max are both very smudge proof and volumising and unclumpy. I've tried loads of mascaras and they are the only ones that don't leave me with panda eyes at the end of the day (I have very curly lashes that touch my skin, so anything not smudge proof doesn't work for me. Even waterproof ones don't work as it's the oil in your skin that causes them to smudge, not water.)

Clinique - the one in the white tube for long, defined lashes is good, or the one in the silver tube for thicker, curly and smudge/waterproof until you rinse your eyes in hottish water then it just comes off really easily with no remover. Both stay all day for me, but I use the silver tube one when I will be out in the rain.

Blinc - brilliant stuff.

Maybelline Lash Stylist was the Holly Grail of mascaras, for me.

Why do they do that? Discontinue the really brilliant, innovative stuff. Not everyone wants to look like a porn star in "false lash effect" clumps.

Holy Grail....Holy...Grail.

Thank you, iPad.

With my ease of mixing letters and your exclamaion mark, I read your op as 'mackrel' and wondered what the hell this was doing in S&B

I have recently started using this Body Shop one and I really really rate it.

I have used Clinique High Impact for years before and it is good but smudges like crazy, it the worst for panda eyes. The Body Shop one I have slept in a couple of times and it has not budged it is also not irritating at all. Despite it volumizing name I would say it relatively natural looking.

Lots of offers for Body Shop if that helps

new30 is £10 off a £30 order
new25 is 25% off

There is also loads of stuff really cheap in the sale to make it up to £15 free ship.

Will stop now, I don't work for them, honest.

I hate to be the cheap one, but...
Aldi mascara has been the best one for me that I've found- after trying almost every single one in Boots! And it's under £3, can't say fairer than that!

Maybelline False Lash effect is excellent

Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Treatment Mascara has serum in it so it's like a Revitalash and mascara combo. Worth every penny.

Barry M's Lash Modelling one is very good, think that's what it's called ( purple tube ). That's about £6.00

And Bourjois Ultra glam, the one for sensitive eyes in the white tube.

If you want to go really cheap, there's a free Jemma Kidd one in Red magazine at the moment, worth about £15, it's full size too. Or Glamour has a sample size of the a Benefit Mascara.

Mally- I've got the most rubbishy eyelashes in the history of mankind.

Mally Mascara makes them look respectable (with the addition of my trusted Body Shop eyelash curlers).

Max Factor false lash effect fusion - £8.99 in boots at the moment (normally £11.99). I thought I'd try the new 24 hour version -big mistake! It stayed wet for ages, leaving those black marks under my eyebrows and was really difficult to remove.

Then tried no.7 extravagant volume to use up my £5 voucher and that was crap too, very clumpy, looked like I had four eyelashes.

So £20 later I just went back and got the false lash effect fusion again. I love it and should never have strayed...