Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Review: hyped cult favorite that’s good, but a bit fussy

I’ve seen this Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara everywhere for years – YouTube, TikTok, friends raving about it – but I always stuck to cheaper drugstore options. When my usual mascara started drying out, I finally gave in and ordered the full-size tube in 01 Black on Amazon. I used it as my main mascara for about three weeks, almost every day, in normal “work and errands” conditions: some days long office hours, some days just quick runs outside, and a couple of nights out.

For context, my lashes are pretty average: not super short, not super long, slightly downward pointing, and I have mildly oily lids. I usually curl my lashes and I’m picky about two things: clumps and smudging under the eyes. I don’t mind some volume and drama, but if it flakes or gives me raccoon eyes by 3 p.m., it goes straight to the bin. That’s the bar I used for this one.

Going in, I was honestly a bit skeptical because the hype around this mascara is huge and that usually means disappointment. Plus, some friends told me it either gives them perfect lashes or a clumpy mess with no in-between. So I tested it in a few ways: one light coat for everyday, multiple coats for nights out, with and without lash curler, and even on lower lashes to see how bad the smudging could get.

Overall, it’s a good mascara for volume and length, but it’s not miracle makeup. It has some strong points – especially how it makes lashes look in photos – but also some annoying quirks like how the formula behaves when it’s fresh and how fast it seems to dry out. If you’re curious about the real-life experience and not the marketing, here’s how it actually performed for me.

This mascara sits firmly in the higher price range for what is essentially a daily basic product. You’re paying more than you would for drugstore brands like Maybelline or L’Oréal. So the real question is: are the results that much better? In my experience, it does outperform most cheap mascaras in terms of volume and the overall look of the lashes, especially when you hit that sweet spot in the formula’s life. The lashes look thicker, darker, and more "done" with less effort once you know how to apply it.

But there are trade-offs. The tube seems to dry out quicker than I’d like, which basically shortens its useful life. If you use mascara every single day, you might go through it fast enough that this doesn’t bother you. If you only wear it a few times a week, you could feel like you’re throwing away half a tube that turned too dry. Some people might actually like it slightly drier, but once it passes that stage, you’re stuck with a clumpy product you don’t enjoy using.

Compared to cheaper options, the main advantages are: richer black color, better buildable volume, and that "false lash" vibe without actually wearing falsies. The downsides are: price, some smudging on oily lids, and the formula being kind of fussy – too wet at first, then perfect, then too dry. So I’d say value is decent if you really care about how dramatic your lashes look and you’re okay spending more and replacing it regularly. If you just want something simple that you don’t have to think about, a good drugstore mascara might give you 70–80% of this result for half the price.

For me personally, I’d buy it again for special periods (like events, vacations, or times when I know I’ll be taking a lot of photos), but it’s not going to be my permanent every-day-all-year mascara. The cost versus the slightly high-maintenance behavior doesn’t fully balance out. So: good, but not a bargain, and definitely not the only option worth considering in this price bracket.

The first thing you notice is the heavier metal-feel tube. It’s thicker and a bit weightier than typical plastic drugstore mascaras. In the hand, it feels solid and not cheap. That said, the weight doesn’t really change how it performs on the eye; it just feels a bit more premium when you pull it out of your bag. The pink tube is easy to spot in a crowded makeup pouch, which I actually found quite handy when I was rushing in the morning.

The main design point is the hourglass-shaped brush. It’s not tiny – it’s a big, fluffy, bristly wand. On my medium-sized eyes, it covers a lot of lash in one go, which is nice for speed, but it’s also easy to hit your eyelid or the outer corner by mistake. The hourglass shape is supposed to hug the lash line and catch shorter lashes, and it sort of does, but you have to angle your hand just right. If you’re used to slimmer, tapered wands, this one has a learning curve.

On the upper lashes, once you get the angle, it builds volume fast. One or two passes and you can see a clear difference. On the lower lashes, though, I found the brush a bit too chunky. It’s very easy to get smudges under the eyes when you try to grab those tiny bottom lashes. I ended up skipping lower lashes most days or switching to another mascara with a thinner wand for that job. So if you like precise work, this brush might annoy you.

Overall, the design looks nice and feels solid, but practically it’s a bit clumsy, especially if you’re not super careful. It works best if you take your time and apply in front of a mirror you can get close to. If you’re the type who does mascara in the car or in a hurry, expect a few Q-tip cleanups around the eyelids, especially during the first week of using it.

The packaging is clearly trying to look high-end. The tube has that matte, slightly metallic finish and feels heavier than a typical plastic mascara. It looks nice on a vanity and the branding is clean. If you care about how your makeup looks lined up on a shelf, this one fits the vibe. The cap screws on tightly, and I never had issues with it accidentally opening in my bag.

From a practical point of view, the weight and size are a bit of a mixed bag. The heavier tube feels solid and durable, but it also takes up a bit more space in a small makeup bag. It’s not huge, just chunkier than average. I carried it around in my everyday pouch for a couple of weeks, and the print didn’t scratch off or fade, so at least the exterior holds up well to abuse.

The inner wiper (the part that scrapes excess product off the brush) is okay but not perfect. Sometimes when you pull the wand out, there’s a little too much product near the base of the brush. That’s probably part of why it can feel gloopy when the tube is fresh. I often had to wipe the brush lightly on the edge of the tube or a tissue for the first few uses to avoid overloading my lashes. Over time, as the formula thickened, this was less of an issue but still something I noticed.

So overall, packaging looks good and feels sturdy, but it doesn’t really make application easier. It’s more about the aesthetic than functionality. If you just want something slim and super easy to handle, this isn’t it. If you like your makeup to look a bit more "premium" on the outside and don’t mind the extra bulk, you’ll probably be happy with how this is packaged.

I’m not going to list the full INCI line by line, but I paid attention to three things: how it feels on the lashes, whether it irritates my eyes, and the cruelty free aspect. The brand markets this as cruelty free, which is a plus if you’re trying to avoid brands that test on animals. One of the reviewers mentioned needing vegan because of a beeswax allergy and said this one worked for them, which is interesting. I don’t have that allergy, but I didn’t notice any weird smell or stinging, even on long days.

In practice, the formula goes on as a fairly wet liquid when the tube is fresh. The first few days, it felt almost too wet – it took a bit longer to dry, and if I blinked too soon, I got transfer on my upper lids. After about a week, it thickened slightly and honestly became easier to manage. I agree with the Amazon reviewer who said it’s better once it dries out a bit. At that stage, it coats each lash more evenly, and you get that tapered lash tip look without as much clumping.

On the lashes, once it dries, they don’t feel crunchy like some super waterproof formulas, but they’re not soft and flexible either. I’d call it medium stiffness: you can feel product on the lashes if you touch them, but it’s not painful or heavy. Through the day, I didn’t get flakes in my eyes, which is a big one for me because flaky mascaras drive me nuts. I did get a tiny bit of powdery flaking towards the end of long days, but nothing that made my eyes itch or water.

So, formula-wise, it’s pretty solid but a bit temperamental at the start. You almost have to "break it in" for a week to reach the sweet spot. If you’re sensitive, patch-testing around the eye area or wearing it a few hours at home first is not a bad idea, but for me (and my sometimes-dry, sometimes-oily lids), it behaved fine and didn’t cause redness or burning. Just don’t expect a super lightweight, barely-there feeling – this is more of a "you can tell you’re wearing mascara" type of formula.

Day-to-day, I tested this in pretty normal conditions: 8–10 hour days, some time outside, some time in heated or air-conditioned rooms, and my usual mildly oily lids. Wear time is decent but not flawless. After about 6 hours, I usually saw a bit of smudging under my lower lash line, especially on days when I applied it on the bottom lashes too. It wasn’t full raccoon eyes, but there was a faint gray shadow I had to tap away with my finger or a tissue.

On days when I only used it on the upper lashes and skipped the lower ones, it behaved better. I still sometimes got a tiny bit of transfer on the outer corners, but it was manageable. It doesn’t really flake badly; I didn’t get a shower of black dots on my cheeks. The main issue is that soft smudging that appears after several hours if you have oilier skin around the eyes. If your lids are dry and you don’t touch your eyes much, you’ll probably see less of that.

Another point: the tube seems to dry out relatively fast. I felt a clear difference between week one and week three. At first it was very wet, then in the second week it hit the "perfect" texture, and by the end of week three it was already noticeably thicker and needed more work to glide through the lashes. It was still usable, but I can see how some people say it dries up quickly. If you only wear mascara occasionally, you might feel like you’re wasting product because it hits that dry, clumpy stage before you finish the tube.

Removal is easy with a regular micellar water or oil-based remover. I never had to scrub, and it didn’t leave a stubborn ring around the eyes. So from a performance standpoint: good impact, okay longevity, slightly annoying drying curve. It’s not the most low-maintenance mascara I’ve used, but it’s not a disaster either. It’s more like: works well if you’re willing to babysit it a bit and maybe accept that you’ll replace it sooner than some other mascaras.

This is the standard full-size Too Faced Better Than Sex Volumizing Mascara in the shade 01 Black (their deepest black). The tube is 0.27 fl oz, which is in the normal range for high-end mascaras. It comes in a branded box, and inside you just get the tube – no extras, no mini, nothing fancy. It’s clearly positioned as a more premium product compared to typical drugstore stuff, and the price reflects that.

The formula is described as volumizing with dramatic length, and it’s labeled cruelty free. It’s ophthalmologist-tested and supposedly suitable for contact lens wearers. I wear contacts sometimes, and I didn’t have irritation, so that claim checks out in my case. The color is a true black, not grayish, which I liked. If you want that very dark lash line look, it does that right away, even with just one coat.

In terms of promises, the brand pushes: dramatic volume, longer lashes, multidimensional effect, and all-day wear. Based on my use, I’d say they deliver on volume and length quite well, the lashes do look more defined and thicker. On the other hand, the “all-day” part is a bit optimistic if you have oily lids or you rub your eyes. After 6–8 hours, I noticed some light smudging under the eyes, nothing crazy but noticeable if you’re picky.

If you’ve been using cheaper mascaras, this feels like a step up, but not a total revolution. You’re basically paying for a formula that can build up nicely, plus the name and reputation. The presentation gives off a slightly “luxury” vibe, but functionally it’s just a tube of mascara that tries to give you big lashes without being too clumpy – and it half-succeeds, depending on how you use it.

This is where the product actually does pretty well. If you want obvious volume and length, it delivers. On my average lashes, one coat already made them look darker and slightly thicker. With two coats, they looked way more dramatic: more volume at the base and clearly longer tips. My lashes also held a curl decently – not rock solid all day, but they didn’t immediately droop like they do with some very wet formulas.

The nice part is how it separates and thickens when the formula has slightly dried out in the tube. I noticed that around week two, I could build up two to three layers without getting huge clumps. Each lash looked more defined, and from a normal talking distance, it looked like I had more lashes than I actually do. In photos, my lashes looked pretty intense without needing falsies, especially when I took the time to wiggle the brush at the base and comb through the tips.

However, the performance depends a lot on how fresh the tube is and how many coats you do. The first few days, when it was extra wet, it tended to stick a few lashes together, which gave that "three big lash chunks" look if I wasn’t careful. Also, if I went beyond two coats, it started to look slightly spidery. So for me, the sweet spot was 1–2 coats max, applied slowly, with a lash comb on standby just in case.

Overall, in terms of pure lash effect, I’d rate it pretty high. It genuinely makes lashes look fuller and longer than most cheap mascaras I’ve tried. It’s not completely foolproof – you need to control your application – but if your goal is visible volume and length without needing falsies, it definitely gets the job done. Just don’t expect it to be perfect right out of the box; it behaves better once it thickens a bit and you learn how it likes to be applied.