Review - Maybelline the Falsies Volum' Express in Black Drama

I have very short, thin, and straight lashes. Without mascara they look like curtains in front of my eyes, sigh... I have been on the quest to find the perfect mascara, a mascara that lengthens, curls and volumises...and all this without clumping. I have not yet found my HG mascara, but I have stumbled across some very good ones.

Around a month ago, I purchased this mascara. I have always been interested in mascaras that claim to give you that false lash effect. Is it really possible? I had to find out. I purchased the Black Drama version of this mascara, because it has a concentrated black fibre formula, and it's in the colour blackest black! I never knew this until recently, but mascaras lengthen because the fibres within them act as extensions on your real lashes. The extended lashes then get coated with mascara, blending the real and the synthetic together, achieving a lengthening effect! I bet this is common knowledge haha...

Onto the review...



The wand 

I was worried about the size of the wand when I first saw it, I could just imagine the messy application! Because of my eye shape, it is very hard not to get any mascara on my lids, regardless of how small the wand is. Being used to this, I just messily apply and clean up afterwards using a cotton bud :P. The wand did not leave as much mess as I had predicted! I think this is because of the spoon brush design, as the bristles are bent away from the eye area. On the back of the mascara, it instructs you to use the brush in a certain orientation.

I thought, surely the product on the other side of the wand will just dry and make the rest of the mascara horrible? It seems like such a waste...

Application
I did follow their instructions though, and the results are far from pleasing. It seemed to glue my lashes together, and I was left with perhaps 5 fat clumps of eyelashes on each eye. Not attractive. I stopped using this mascara completely for a while, because I was just so disappointed in it.

I went back to it a week later, wanting to give it one last go. I realised that the mascara clumped because by using the wand in the way they suggested, your lashes were only coming into contact with very short bristles, which basically have no separating power. So I turned the wand, and used it in reverse for the base coat of mascara. This coated and separated each lash! You do have to be careful though, as the brush does have a tendency to generously deposit product, which again will make horrible clumps. Then I used the brush the 'right' way round to add curl and volume. I do this twice for each eye, so that's three coats in total. And here's what it looks like:

[Okay, so I very badly PSed the area around my eye (I'm learning haha)...there were just too many blemishes! The eyelashes were left alone though (like I'd know how to edit them anyway). This may not look very impressive, but it is a dramatic difference for me!]

It does curl a little and add volume, but you need to spend so much time on the application process! It's almost as if you're working for it, rather than it working for you. My eyelashes don't always come out like this though, one wrong move and it will clump like crazy! Using the reverse of the wand just deposits more product, which makes the situation so much worse. In these cases, I just grab an old, clean mascara wand to separate the lashes whilst the product is still wet.

Oo and curling your lashes before application makes a lot of difference!

Formula
I am fairly happy with the formula. The fibres are visible on the brush so the brush might look like someone has used it before. But don't worry, that's the lengthening goodness! I do sometimes see the fibres working, and it's pretty cool. The formula is quite wet, but that's not an issue for me. If you prefer drier formulas, you can just leave this for a few weeks and come back to it. The mascara dries quickly on the lashes, (provided the coating is not too thick!) so it does transfer onto my clothes when I get dressed in a hurry. (Mornings are such stressful times...).

Packaging
The packaging added many points as I was browsing in Boots, love the lace! However there are problems inside. The neck of the tube does not remove any excess product, so it is always heavily loaded, the tip especially. Wiping this off can create a mess, and I found putting the wand back in at an angle deposits a lot of product around the rim, making it messy and unhygienic. I kept the evidence so I can photograph it, I will clean it soon, promise.

After a day's wear...
It smudges. I have oily lids, and by lunch time I will be sporting the panda eye look. This would not be a problem if the skin around your eye is primed though. Nor would it be an issue if you do not have oily lids! 

Final Thoughts
This mascara does what it says on the packaging, but it is not effortless. It can get (very) frustrating when my eyelashes don't coat right. It might suit those with thicker lashes better, as it did not seem to get along with mine.

Rating: 6.5/10
Repurchase: I'm afraid not!

Hope this was a helpful review!

Chuui

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