Is Wander Beauty’s Mile High a Totally Flake-Free Mascara?

Main Image – Live That Glow

I’m always surprised by how many people seem, well, surprised, when they find a mascara that’s flake-free.

Because surely having a product that sticks around through a long work day/drinks with friends/trotting around town is really sort of the minimum we should be able to expect from those little tubes?

But somehow flake-free curls aren’t always guaranteed.  And between the mascaras that look amazing for an hour after you apply them before leaving you with raccoon eyes the minute you’re far enough away from your makeup to usefully do anything about it, to the ones that leave teeny little flakes over your cheeks- just to make really sure all the rest of your makeup gets involved in the horror too- I know I’m not the only one to feel the pain of a disappointing product.

Happily, that all changed when I came across a genuinely brilliant mascara that made me realise it wasn’t my straight lashes/product picking/woeful application skills that had been to blame, after all, I just hadn’t found the right product before now.

And that glorious mascara?  Wander Beauty’s Mile High Club Volume and Length Mascara.

 

Wander Beauty

Created by model Lindsay Ellingson and businesswoman Divya Gugnani, Wander Beauty is a brand with travel in mind.  Think carry-on-friendly sizes and ingredients, as well as multi-purpose heroes to save space in precious suitcase real estate.

With a focus firmly on natural ingredients and simple formulas, the line comprises everything from cleansers, masks and moisturisers to foundations, highlighters and primers.

Wander Beauty also has a commitment to including only what it considers to be ‘essential’ ingredients in its products.  That means no parabens, phthalates, mineral oils or synthetic fragrances here.

 

Mile High Club Volume and Length Mascara

Part of a lineup of two mascaras, Mile High Club is the sister product to the Unlashed Volume and Curl Mascara, one designed for dramatic volume.

In contrast, Mile High Club is aimed at a slightly more subtle look, offering the curl, length and volume of a particularly wide-eyed toddler but without any of the clumps or thickness that could make it look unnatural.

Containing castor oil, glycerin and peach leaf extract, Mile High Club also nourishes lashes as it lifts and lengthens.

The packaging too is fairly unusual, housed in a triangular pouch affair rather than the normal solid cylinder look I’m used to.  This does make it a little more unwieldy in terms of fitting into bags etc, but on the plus side, it also means you get a fairly generous 10 g of product (as opposed to the standard 8 ml you so often see).

Free from fragrance etc, Mile High Club is also cruelty-free and vegan.

 

The Full List of Ingredients

Water/Aqua/Eau, Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate Copolymer, Beeswax, Iron Oxide (CI 77499), Stearic Acid, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Cetearyl Olivate, Triethanolamine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Cellulose, Paraffin, Sorbitan Oilvate, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Acacia Senegal Gum, Polysorbate 20, Pentaerythrityl Hydrogenated Rosinate, Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glycerin, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Dimethicone, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Trehalose, Butylene Glycol, Prunus Persica (Peach) Leaf Extract

 

On the Lashes

As someone with naturally raccoon-like eyes that make me look permanently un-slept, a flake-free formula is non-negotiable, and luckily this is one of Mile High Club’s stand-out features.

Because I can say in all honesty that having used this product nearly daily for over a year now it has never left so much as one flake under my eyes (whoop whoop!).

Instead, its effect is all volume and separation, giving me a natural wide-eyed look which is great for no-makeup-makeup days (so every day then, in my case).

Offering a similar natural-looking volume to Lancome’s Hypnose Custom-Wear Mascara, while this is definitely a mascara more for those who like their lashes on the subtle side rather than the full-on glamour look, Mile High Club can still be built up over several layers for night time looks.

And the way it’s applied has an effect on the amount of volume you get too…

 

How to Use it

I have a fairly well-honed mascara routine, built up over years of tutorials, practice and shamelessly stealing techniques from makeup artists- and this helps achieve a curled, high-volume look with Mile High Club too.

Starting with the bristles at the root of my lashes I give the wand a wiggle (really not intended to be a euphemism) side to side to distribute the bulk of the mascara there (this both makes lashes look thicker and prevents loading the ends with product, weighing them down).

Next, I take the wand through the lengths and ends of lashes, rotating the wand clockwise as I go (this helps to make sure I distribute the product evenly).

If I add a second (or third) layer, I wait 30 seconds or so for the first to dry.

Finally, if I’m adding mascara to my bottom lashes, rather than pulling the product through them, I instead push the wand into the roots and do another side-to-side wiggle.  This helps to prevent that slight spidery look and also adds a look of thickness to the bottom lashes.

 

The Takeaway

If you haven’t already guessed it, I’m a huge fan of Wander Beauty’s Mile High Club, both for its natural-looking volume and its ability to not worsen my already vampire-like under-eye circles.

Now on my permanent re-buy list, it’s also one I always keep at least one spare of in stock for when I run out.

Great for: Natural-looking lashes with no fall-out. Also, conditioning eyelashes.

Not so-great for: Budget beauty since this is around twice the price of its supermarket competitors (although it’s still a lot cheaper than most other high-end brands).

Wander Beauty’s Mile High Club is £25 for 10 g, Cult Beauty UK and $26 for 0.35 oz/ 10 g, Sephora US