Review: Three battery-operated mascaras

Mascara isn't just a tube of black goo that you slather onto your eyelashes anymore. Three relatively new mascaras have integrated motors in them that make them vibrate, rotate, and pulsate. They're supposed to do everything for you &mdash curl, separate, lengthen, and volumize &mdash no need for eyelash curlers or glue-ons! Mostly, I think it's another clever marketing scheme that makes women believe that technology can help them become more beautiful, but hey, maybe it really works. I decided to try them all out and see for myself.

1. Maybelline Pulse Perfection vibrating mascara

Pulse Perfection claims to vibrate 7000 times per stroke. Sure enough, when you push the button on the wand handle the thing starts shaking very softly. There was definitely no clumping with this one, though it did nothing for the curl factor. You can buy it on Walgreens.com for $15.

2. Estee Lauder TurboLash

Using Estee Lauder mascara just makes me feel pretty because it's such a fancy brand. TurboLash claims to use a timed release technology that keeps curling and lengthening as you slather the stuff onto your lashes. The motor starts automatically when you twist the top, kind of like a conventional vibrator. My eyelashes were dramatically thick but still clumpy after several strokes. It's $32.

3. SpinLash

SpinLash is from infomercial-land. Unlike the previous two, which just vibrate, this one actually rotates sideways, so it's literally brushing your lashes the way a rounded bristle brush would do to your hair. I actually thought this worked the best &mdash my lashes were thicker, separated, and kinda curlier than when they first started although, in my true opinion, nothing curls better than a conventional eyelash curler. You can buy two for $30 on their web site.