Right off the bat, I loved the look of the Roen Beauty Cake Mascara wand. It's got a fairly dense cluster of fluffy, flexible bristles that taper off at the top, and the smaller tip was perfect for getting at little lower lashes, too . . . even with my shaky hand. Even though the bristles were very close together, it was still easy to wiggle this through and, now that I think about it, the longer, more spread out bristles I've found with other mascaras likely cause more product to pack onto the brush and lead to the clumping I hate so much.
I was also impressed that this product is vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free, and designated Clean at Sephora, but still managed to lengthen my lashes. It turns out the waxes that help with this hold are sunflower, bayberry, and carnauba waxes (vs. the beeswax in my waterproof alternative). I didn't notice a major difference in the texture of this mascara so I'd say those are a mighty fine substitute.
