[UPDATED 9/9/20] Review: Em Cosmetics Pick Me Up Mascara

Hello, hello! It’s been yet again, a while since my last blog post. Pandemic is still going strong, I’m very luckily working, and just kinda floating through the remainder of 2020. Can you believe it’s September already? Anyway, let’s just jump into the review.

This is not an ad or sponsored (LOL as if!) and all opinions and thoughts are 100% honest and my own.

Em Cosmetics recently dropped a new “Pick Me Up” mascara (FINALLY!)—I have been WAITING for them to make this drop because I’ve been on the hunt for a new mascara for some time, but had settled on Glossier’s Lash Slick for around a year or two now. I’m not new to tubing or fiber type mascaras (let’s say like 15 years now—it’s the only type of mascara I like). I was religiously using the Koji Dollywink mascara (famous by Japanese model Tsubasa Masuwaka) for years, but it got more difficult for me to get my hands on and wasn’t worth all the shipping etc.

I’ve tried out the following mascaras recently in the last month or two because I was in search of something that didn’t flake, held my curl, and being clean/vegan/cruelty free would be a bonus:

Em Cosmetics new Pick Me Up mascara claims to be:

  • Lengthening and volumizing

  • Tubing & fiber technology for a buildable formula

  • Good-for-your-lashes ingredients to condition

  • Lightweight

  • Non smudging, smear, run, & flake free all-day-wear

  • Easy to remove

  • Ophthalmologist tested, cruelty-free & gluten free (NOT vegan because it contains beeswax)

I have been wear testing this mascara for about a week now—on lazy days at home in self-isolation and at work (I am a barista at a cafe). To keep this review short and succinct, I took lots of photos at different intervals of my day off. You’ll find my thoughts/opinion and overall “grade” of this new mascara at the end of this post, after my photos.

About my lashes:

  • They lay or stick straight and sometimes/some individual lashes stick straight down or point in different directions.

  • I have a “good eye” and a “bad eye” where my lashes lay better on one eye than the other. My left eye is my good eye, and my right eye is less cooperative.

  • My biggest issue is a mascara that will hold my curl and not smudge or flake all day.

  • I have somewhat oily lids.

  • I can’t see without my glasses, so I wear them all day, every day.

Ok, now it’s picture time. Photos are unedited i.e. no filters or correcting, just timestamps added. Click on the individual picture to enlarge.

Bare & uncurled lashes.

Bare & curled lashes.

Curled & 1 coat of mascara.

I noticed after finishing my brows, that my lashes have fallen just ever so slightly already!

This is a couple hours later. It’s hard to capture on camera, but I personally felt that my lashes fell significantly in the short amount of time that I had the mascara on. The curl isn’t completely gone, but you can see that it does begin to stick straight forward in the photos below, specifically at the tips of my lashes.

Here, you can see a progression from my bare lashes & uncurled, to bare & curled, and then the 1 coat application. Can you see how my lashes already lost some of their curl right after application in the 10:45am photo? You can then see that the lashes continue to very slightly, stick straight out/fall throughout the afternoon.

Final Thoughts

Here is what I think about the new Em Cosmetics “Pick Me Up” mascara based on a week of wearing and testing.

Overall Grade: 4/5

Curl: 3/5
Lengthening & Separation: 5/5
Volume: 5/5
Smudging & Flaking: 4.5/5
Removal: 5/5
Cost: 5/5

Pros:

  • Formula overall lasts all day, even through an 8 hour shift at the cafe.

  • Very minimal flaking, and absolutely no smudging or smearing.

  • Buildable formula—I got amazing length & volume with just two coats, without getting clumpy or spidery.

  • 1 coat is enough for great length and a nice kick of volume for a natural lash look.

  • Astoundingly easy to remove! I can remove this mascara alone, with just warm water and gently rolling my lashes between my fingers to remove the tubes/fibers. I double cleanse to get any leftover residue.

  • Non irritating, no itchy or watery eyes here!

  • Great, good-for-your-lashes ingredients to help keep them soft and conditioned. Can’t go wrong with mascara that’s good for your lashes.

Cons:

  • Did not hold my curl. ***edit: curl can be held if heated lash curler is used.

  • Formula isn’t as lightweight as I expected. I can only get away with 1 coat and 2 or more really weighs down my lashes faster.

  • Not 100% flake proof.

Overall thoughts and notes:

“Pick Me Up” unfortunately isn’t new HG status in my vanity. I absolutely love wearing it for the amazing lengthening & separation properties as I love a natural, yet defined, and fanned-out lash look. Removal is a breeze and I couldn’t ask for anything more on this point.

Before I ordered Pick Me Up, I scoured YouTube and Google for reviews and thoughts on this mascara’s performance and ability to hold a curl, I found plenty of reviews that raved about the mascara and lots of photos of it’s amazing lengthening properties, which I found personally to be true. I also noticed lots of people asking influencers/reviewers how Pick Me Up compared to Glossier’s Lash Slick specifically. Since I’ve been using Lash Slick for a little over 2 years now, I can say they do compare, but are still fairly different. I would say their formulas is what separates them—Pick Me Up is claimed to be a “tubing & fiber technology” mascara on the website, but I’d say it’s more of a tubing than fiber formula. I think since it flakes so little and doesn’t really smudge at all is because of the nice tubing tech. Lash Slick is definitely a fiber mascara and seems to be a lot more lightweight than Pick Me Up. Lash Slick flakes like crazy and I’m left with lots of little fibers on my lower lash line, and it does smudge noticeably on my lower lash line by the end of the day. Where Pick Me Up lacks, Lash Slick shines just a bit brighter when it comes to holding my curl. I’ll also point out that Pick Me Up is $24 USD per tube, while Lash Slick is a pretty $16 USD per tube—I believe Pick Me Up’s price point is justifiable because the ingredient list is slightly nicer/luxe than Lash Slick’s. Though, both claim to have good for your lashes ingredients and conditioning properties. I didn’t notice much difference between the two when it comes to the condition of my lashes. Neither mascara really makes my lashes feel better or worse.

I’m on the fence on my repurchase of Pick Me Up, solely based on its lack of strength in holding my curl. Being a glasses wearer, my lashes 100% hit my glasses all the time wearing this mascara because my lashes end up pretty much sticking straight out. I won’t beat Em Cosmetics up too bad for the price point or the claims on flake free/smudge proof all day wear, because of the nice ingredient list and the mascara hardly smudges at all and the flaking is so minimal (which is SO rare!). That being said, I am disappointed in the mascara’s inability to hold my curl for $24 USD a tube. Though, it should be noted that Em Cosmetics doesn’t even make any claims on holding a curl (that I can find in the product details page of their website).

If I repurchase this mascara it wouldn’t be for the curl holding capabilities, but for the length & separation, natural lash look that is achievable, easy removal, lash conditioning ingredients, and minimal flaking and smudging. I may give the Kiss Me Heroine Make Long & Curl cult classic another try, or try going back to Dolly Wink’s Long formula after I finish this tube of Pick Me Up.

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[EDIT 9/9/20] Today, Pick Me Up did a much better job at holding my curl during a work shift with a few tweaks to application and lash prep! I stuck with one coat of mascara but made it a light coat—no wiggling at the base of the lashes and basically blinked onto the applicator. I also went in after applying the light coat with an electric/heated lash curler (I use Panasonic) to really set the curl. If you have stubborn, straight, Asian lashes like me, I’d highly recommend the heated lash curler trick with Pick Me Up! Overall, I wouldn’t change my rating, but would still recommend this mascara because of its amazing performance lengthening, volumizing, and the minimal smudging & flaking experienced. A solid 4/5 ⭐️.
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Have you tried the new Em Cosmetics mascara? If so, what did you think of it? If not, is it something you’d like to try? Let me know in the comments below! If you’ve read this far, thanks so much and I hope you’ll come back for the next post!

Skin & BeautyAnnaCupofCoffeeProduct Review, First Impressions, Skin & Beauty, Makeup, Em Cosmetics, Glossier, Glossier Lash Slick, Em Cosmetics Pick Me Up, EmByYou6 Comments