I had never heard of Kush mascara until I was standing in line at Sephora and saw Milk’s Kush Mascara in the travel-sized items section. Interest peaked by both the name and the silver packaging, I picked it up on my way to the register.

This mascara has a unique formula that separates it from the rest of the market: cannabis oil.  The cannabis seed oil is meant to both condition and thicken eyelashes, continuing to hydrate even after the makeup is removed. At first, I thought putting oil on my eyelashes didn’t sound like something I would want.  Oily mascara just sounds like a recipe for smudged black eyelids. Inside the box, the tube has surprising weight to it, and a spoolie with soft bristles designed for high volume coverage. I don’t normally like mascara spoolies of this stature because due to it’s large size I have the tendency to get it all over my eyes instead of actually on my eyelashes.  Something else I was worried about going into the mascara trial was my eyes potentially watering — whenever I go into a grow room, my eyes are always streaming by the time I leave.

I tried the mascara for a week. While it took about four coats to get the mascara how I wanted it to look on my eyes, the mascara proved itself notable in the way it lasted a full eight-hour shift and kept my eyelashes looking curled throughout the day without any touch ups.  The smudging I was worried about did not occur, and despite its great staying power, the product is easy to remove at the end of the day. I use makeup wipes, and there was not much effort involved in it’s removal which I consider a bonus, since I hate rubbing my eyes until they’re sore just to get my makeup off to go to bed.  The only major downside to the mascara is that the spoolie is quite large, and as someone who does not have big eyes I came close multiple times to knocking it against the bridge of my nose while applying the inner corners. It might not be best for a quick time-pressed morning, but was great otherwise. 

Milk’s Kush Mascara comes in a regular full size for $24.00 and a travel size for $12.00.  Milk makeup is both vegan and cruelty free, which is my favorite type of brand to support. The packaging says 95% of the 21 women who tested the mascara saw higher volume, and longer lashes, while 90% saw thicker and lifted lashes.

I will continue to use my little travel sized mascara until I use it up, and then I might consider just purchasing a full size!  My eyelashes do feel conditioned after several days of using this kush mascara, and the cannabis seed oil so close to my eyes actually doesn’t bother me at all.  I highly recommend this mascara to anyone who wants a non-waterproof mascara with incredible staying power and is easy to take off at night.