Love Lancôme Definicils Mascara? Try This Switch, Save $16!

I went out to the opera with a friend recently, and I noticed a tube of mascara in her car.
“You have to try this!”  she exclaimed excitedly.  “A friend of mine in the cosmetics business recommended it!  She said it was comparable to Lancôme Définicils!”
Well, Lancôme Définicils happens to be one of my all-time favorite mascaras, so I decided to go ahead and investigate her alternative, which was (*drumroll please*) none other than Maybelline Lash Stiletto.
Ingredient Analysis = Nearly the Same, But…
The key to analyzing cosmetic ingredients is to start by inspecting the first five ingredients.  The entire ingredients lists are featured below:
Within the first five ingredients of both formulations, there are water, paraffin, cera alba/beeswax, and acacia senegal.  The only difference is that Lancôme Définicils has stearic acid, while Maybelline Lash Stiletto has potassium cetyl phosphate.  Stearic acid is a naturally occurring fatty acid, whereas potassium cetyl phosphate is a potassium salt.  Both are commonly used as surfactants in cleansing agents.  Here they give the wax of the mascara formulation a more liquid composition.  Altogether, the first five ingredients in Lancôme Définicils and Maybelline Lash Stiletto are more or less synonymous!
The differences in Lancôme Définicils and Maybelline Lash Stiletto occur further down in the ingredients list, as Maybelline Lash Stiletto contains dimethicone, palm oil, jojoba oil, and hydrating alcohols.  The reasons for this are two-fold:  one, Maybelline Lash Stiletto is designed to make your lashes “dark and shiny,” and two, Maybelline Lash Stiletto is advertised to keep lashes soft.  On the one hand, this is great, but on the other, the extra ingredients in Maybelline Lash Stiletto don’t really do it any exceptional favors, as more traditional types probably would prefer less shiny lashes, and Lancôme Définicils always leaves lashes reasonably soft anyway.  Both also contain panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), which would ideally make your lashes stronger with time.  While it is true that panthenol in shampoos makes hair stronger with time, it is hard to say if it does the same thing in mascara, since it has to diffuse through all of the wax!   At any rate, a good addition.
Brush Analysis = Almost Exactly the Same! 
The secret between the similarities between Lancôme Définicils and Maybelline Lash Stiletto are the brushes.  Take a look (the brush of Maybelline Lash Stiletto is on the right):
Both have a finely-spaced, long-bristle, finely tapered brush that is designed to grasp each lash for maximum length.  For best results, wiggle the brush slightly from base-to-tip, and hold your mouth open slightly while you apply (this helps to stabilize your eye muscles, preventing you from blinking as much).
Overall Opinions
Lancôme Définicils and Maybelline Lash Stiletto are truly almost synonymous, with very similar main ingredients and virtually identical brushes.  Of the two, I still like Lancôme Définicils a little better, considering that it doesn’t have the slight sheen of Maybelline Lash Stiletto.  Still, if you’re looking to save money or are forget your mascara one night without a department store in sight, Maybelline Lash Stiletto makes a fine substitute for your Lancôme Définicils!
Ingredients in Lancôme Définicils
Water/Aqua, Paraffin, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Acacia Senegal/Acacia, Beeswax/Cera Alba, Carnauba Wax/Carnauba, Simethicone, Sodium Polymethacrylate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Panthenol, Polyquaternium-10, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. May contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide/CI 77891, Carmine/CI 75470, Iron Oxides/ CI 77490, CI 77491, CI 77499, Chromium Hydroxide Green/CI 77289, Chromium Oxide Greens/CI 77288, Ultramarines/CI 77007, B4177/1
Ingredients in Maybelline Lash Stiletto
Aqua/Water, Paraffin, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Cera Alba/Beeswax, Cera Carnauba/Carnauba Wax, Acacia Senegal/Acacia Senegal Gum, Acrylates Copolymer, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, PEG/PPG-17/18 Dimethicone, Steareth-20, Phenethyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Sodium Polymethacrylate, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Simethicone, Rayon, Disodium EDTA, Silica, Panthenol, Hydrolyzed Silk. [+/- May Contain: CI 77499, CI 77491, CI 77492/Iron Oxides, CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, Mica CI 75470/Carmine, CI 77288/Chromium Oxide Greens, CI 7728977007/Ultramarines77289/Chromium Hydroxide Green, CI 77742/Manganese Violet, CI 77007/Ultramarines, CI 77510/Ferric Ferrocyanide].
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