Product Obsession: Ultraflesh Panthera Mascara

Mascara is my number one makeup obsession. It finishes and feminizes any look and makes you look more awake (something I often need). In my quest to find the perfect mascara, I’ve tested a ridiculously huge amount of different ones, ranging from deluxe to drugstore.

First, let me provide my personal definition of the perfect mascara:

Its first priority is lengthening. Volume is less important, but still good. Clumps are nonexistent. It needs to be flexible enough that it won’t flake when I comb and curl my lashes (which I do somewhat obsessively it makes a huge difference, I swear!). However, it also needs to dry sometime in this century (I am queen of sneezing five seconds after I apply mascara, smudging it everywhere. The sooner it dries, the less likely this is to happen). The color must be the deepest black possible, since I have ridiculously dark eyes and lashes. Finally, the wand is NOT a comb. As much as I wanted to like the comb applicators, every experience I’ve ever had with them has resulted in super clumpy, spider-leggy lashes (Clinique High Lengths Mascara, I’m looking at you).

When I first tested out Ultraflesh Panthera Mascara, I was more distracted by the cool, kind of unnecessary packaging and the undeniably creepy-sounding brand name. But once I applied it, I was hooked. It matches all of my criteria for the perfect mascara with one exception: the brush is a comb sort of. It’s a round brush with flexible bristles, one row of which sticks out longer than the others, serving as a comb. And surprisingly, I actually love it. I use the regular brush side first, then finish with the comb side to add a little bit more length and definition. The end result? Long, flexible, healthy looking but glamorous lashes, no clumps to be found.