Review: Australis Eye Primer and Extender Lash Mascara

Picking these up was a bit of an impulse buy. Due to sweaty summery-ness, my TFSI just wasn’t performing as well as usual, and my beloved Covergirl Lash Blast was starting to get a bit old and clumpy. I don’t remember if I picked these up from Priceline or Price Attack, but these are quite readily available to Aussie ladies and they’re both under $15. Australis does a few other mascaras as well which I miiiiiiight pick up later on.

Anyway! I gather the primer is sort of new, since I certainly hadn't noticed it around before and it's listed under the 'new products' section of the Australis website (ME SO SMART, DO MY RESEARCH HURRR) The primer tube is made of metallic pink plastic in this sort of… serrated parallelogram? It has a doe-foot applicator.

It’s fairly sturdy, but it’s not heavy. The texture of the primer itself is really quite thin and wet-feeling (hence the doefoot applicator; I could see lots of accidents happening with this if it was in a squeeze tube!) It felt strange after using TFSI for so long, which is really creamy and thick. The instructions say to let the primer set for 30 seconds before applying product. I held my watch up to my ear and waited 30 seconds exactly. After that the product had set, it was no longer liquidy and had become transparent and creamy-feeling. My eyeshadows went on quite smoothly – there was ‘grab’ but not enough to make blending difficult.

In terms of wear, I would rate this up there with TSFI for those with oily eyelids. Overall, I experienced no fading and minimal creasing in the inner corners of my eyes. I would even go so far as to say this was a little bit BETTER than TFSI! In terms of price and availability, it is much better for us Aussie girls. A tube of TFSI retails at Kit Cosmetics for $34.95, whereas you can get the Australis Primer for $12.95 on their website (which is the price I paid for it as well).

The mascara tube is a lightweight, rounded-square shape with the product name on the tube in metallic pink writing, the same colour as the primer tube. It clicks shut really nicely BUT never ‘looks’ properly closed, there is always a gap between the lid and the rest of the tube (which in a way is good, since the writing is the only other indication which end of the tube is which…)

Is it definitely an ‘extending’ mascara only. Compared to my Lash Blast, there is a good deal less volume, so I would rate this as a good lengthening mascara, for those who have thick lashes or who don’t want a lot of volume. I always curl my lashes before applying mascara, and it held the curl quite well.

Another great thing about this mascara is the brush – it’s small enough that you can exert a lot of precision and control over your mascara application. To really test it out, I applied it on my bottom lashes for a full day at work. While applying I only smudged my lower lid once, and I was able to very quickly and easily correct my mistake. The formula is really non-clumping, my lashes looked defined and natural.

During the day I noticed my eyeliner did smudge a little bit, but it was definitely ONLY my eyeliner and not the mascara. Usually I would never mascara my lower lashes due to A) difficulty with brushes, especially the giant rubbery Lash Blast brush, and B) smudging due to sweating/oiliness.

If you’re not big on volume (har har, pun) and you’re looking for a nice daytime mascara to get you through summer, I definitely recommend Australis Extender Lash. I did get the waterproof formula so you will need a fairly strong cleanser to get it all off. I've been using Silk Naturals Apricot Cleansing Oil followed by my HG OHWTO Black Magic face soap and it leaves my face super-duper-uber clean, but not feeling squeaky/stripped.

Lid/browbone shade: 'Browbone' shade from Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette.
Crease: 'Eyelid' shade from Comfort Zone.
Primer: Australis
Liner: 'Crease' shade from Comfort Zone.
Waterline: Nyx JEP in Milk
Mascara: Australis Extender Lash
Make-up applied approx. 8am, photos taken approx. 7:30pm (touch-up on inner corners done 3:30pm with eyeshadow palette and clean finger).

Love what it does to my bottom lashes!

Nekky lashes to compare.

Minimal creasing = happy Jade!

If anybody would like to see a more detailed vibrancy and wear face-off between TFSI and Australis EP, please let me know, and I’ll do it when I’m NOT at work and can use something a bit brighter! I also need to test out Pixie Epoxy over the primer. Hopefully there won't be any compatability issues.