The name sounds like some private detective: Tana Stone Private Eye - Wednesdays this Fall on ABC. Well, the actual full name is Tana Extreme Black Stone Mascara Block (a.k.a Makki Beauty - $19.95USD) which I find a mouthful for just a cake mascara.
For those of you who aren't familiar with cake mascara (not cake eyeliner although some cake mascaras can double as eyeliner), it is a solid block of mascara. Think of it as what is in the tube but without the liquid. Cakes aren't made to really thicken or lengthen like regular mascaras because they lack many fillers and ingredients. You could say if you are allergic to many mascaras, cake is one to try since they are very gentle and almost non-irritating.
Way back in the cave girl days, I often saw Maybelline and Max Factor cake mascara just hanging for dear life at the drugstore as the displays began to fill with tube mascaras. (My fave mascara back then was Aziza Mascara with sealer.) My mother started out with the cake mascaras and soon found tubes to be much easier since no water was needed. (The one drawback of cake mascaras.) Soon the product disappeared altogether and finding one became a luxury item like the first cake mascara I bought which was Chanel way back in the early 1980's. If I recall it cost $14USD. The size of it was the same as their blush-very big! The dome had the fancy double c's which disappeared after each rub of the brush. Back then, I was so used to the ready made mascara that I couldn't get the hang of the cake. I disappointed myself because it was a CHANEL!
I didn't try cakes again until the middle 90's and well into 00's. The ones I have tried were Longcils Boncza, La Femme, Tricia Sawyer (which actually was a glossy cake eyeliner doubling as a cake mascara), Paula Dorf, and Diego Dalla Palma (my fave and discontinued). Kryolan has one also and I will elaborate on this one later.
Longcils Boncza and Diego Dalla Palma had the best ones. Longcils Boncza which still exists today thickens the lashes. Lengthening would be hard without an eyelash primer. The formula works into a nice paste that applies easily onto the lashes. The cake is still available although the price of almost $30 is a bit steep. Diego Dalla Palma had a great one that lengthened and thickened. It was part of a limited edition collection therefore it was discontinued. How sad because the formula formed a great paste that balanced the stickiness and goo of wax therefore lengthening the lashes and thickening. I don't think any other cakes came close to this one. La Femme is cheapest out of the bunch and probably the diving board into the cakes but I would skip it. This stuff like Paula Dorf were just okay. The result was just a tint of color and slightly flat (matte). Both had no lasting power and smeared on me as the day went on. Tricia Sawyer had some glossy cake eyeliners which she discontinued. They doubled as cake mascaras which were okay. Definitely better than La Femme and Paula Dorf but not really a great one. Kryolan I haven't tried only because it is a theatrical line and a theatrical cake mascara is made to just tint lashes and really nothing more. Why sell something like this? Well, more on this later.
These take me to my recently acquired cake mascara - Tana. The company is based in Germany and makes other "natural" products for the eyes including a balm, eyebrow powder, eyelash dye, and mineral bronzers. The cake comes in a mirrored compact with the usual brush that is really more useful on the brows than lashes in my opinion. I actually like to use my own mascara fan brush.
Using a cake mascara takes a bit of a learning curve and can be quite tedious if you are scrunched for time.
I usually have a little dropper bottle filled with water handy so I don't have to get up and interrupt my makeup moment. I put about 2 drops of water.
Swirl the brush until a paste is formed on the tip of the brush and apply to the lashes.
You can use a mascara brush from one of the tube ones to apply if you find it difficult to use the brush. I use my mascara fan brush.
The key to cake mascara is to allow it to form a paste on the brush. If it is too watery, it will splatter during application and apply thinly. You can let the paste rest for about 30 seconds on the brush to allow it to thicken. Although, some won't even thicken due to their formula but this one does. Cake mascara is also made to apply many coats. I came from a generation that used to pump mascara in the tube and applied many coats of mascara. I enjoyed that moment. The same thing can be done with cake, just let it dry in between coats.
Here I apply a light coat. The first picture shows my lashes as is, the others show a slight difference. The big one show the comparison of one eye with and one without the mascara.
Why stop at that? I applied more and thickened the lashes. The last two pictures show the comparison. The bottom shows the finished application on both eyes.
For these pictures, I have only used water to make a paste. You can use eyeliner sealant which will make the mascara more water resistant. I found the water alone did a good job for this cake, I wore it all day and no smudges or flakes. And, it didn't irritate my eyes.
Okay, so you may be thinking why have cake mascara? There are several reasons. If you are a makeup artist, cake mascara like the Kryolan will make men's lashes just look naturally tinted. On women, it will give them that natural look that may be needed for a shoot. You don't see many actors/actresses in movies with layers of mascara on their eyes. The lashes have to look clump free. But, they (actresses) are wearing false lashes. Yes, and this is wear cake comes in really handy. It will blend the natural lashes with the false ones without grabbing and pulling the false lashes. If you use a lot of false lashes and apply mascara to blend, cake is your best bet because it also makes them easy to clean. And, this mascara comes off easily with regular non-oily eye make up remover. No tugging or pulling to get it off completely.
This cake does thicken and lengthen somewhat so it is one of the good ones. If you are sensitive to mascara or find you are having sensitivity issues then this one or Longcils is a good one to try. Also, this mascara doesn't expire in 3 months. If you find you won't use it for awhile, just wipe the surface with alcohol and put it away.
Just a little note - For those of you wondering what eyeshadows I used. (Yes, I am wearing eyeshadow!) I used the colors in Viseart Basic Eyeshadow Palette. This is the palette that gives that no makeup look. It does this because of the color and Kelvin temperature of the lights and flash. Too complicated to explain but this palette is great basic palette for men and women.
Ingredients: Stearic acid, cera microcristallina, triethanolamine, paraffin, lanolin, methylparaben, aqua, propylene glycol, propylparaben, bht, ascorbyl palmitate, glyceryl stearate, glyceryl distearate, citric acid, ci77499
