little white truths

I was so excited to try this mascara because it's had such good reviews, so I bought the travel size as soon as it showed up on Mecca's website.

However unfortunately it doesn't work for me at all and I really, really don't like it. I've now been suffering through it for around a month, and I can't wait to review it so I can turf it and move on to something else.

Lancome claims/product details:

• Get show-stopping, next-level lashes in a single coat 
• Loaded with endless volume and jet black pigment
• Your ticket to the baddest, boldest, blackest lashes yet
• Equipped with a seriously big brush and saturated in an ultra-creamy formula
• A single stroke is all that's needed for noticeably fuller lashes
• The 24 hour wear formula means lashes look flawless and smudge-free all day long without the need to touch-up
• RRP $47 AUD for 10ml or $25 AUD for 4ml

 And there it is after I've scraped off the excess:

My bare lashes for reference:

Wearing one coat of mascara:

No mascara:

Wearing one coat:

Verdict

I don't like this mascara at all and I've given it a 'disappointing products' tag. Do note that while it's had a lot of great reviews (see eg Mecca's website), plenty of people have made the same comments I'm about to make - so I'm not the only one who struggles with it.

First, the brush is too fat for my hooded eyes so I find it hard to avoid getting mascara goo on my eye-hoods - although it's certainly not the fattest brush I've had to deal with and people with standard eyes will likely be ok with it.

Second, the wand pulls out ridiculous amounts of product, so every time I use it, I have to spend far too much time scraping off excess goo on the inner neck of the tube - and even then the wand holds too much product. Annoying.

Third, this thing clumps my lashes together like nobody's business. Honestly, it's the worst mascara I've ever used in terms of clump factor, and I have to spend ages working with an eyelash comb in a desperate attempt to separate my lashes - which never works that well anyway and I always end up with 'lash pyramids' when I use this, despite my best efforts.

Fourth, it leaves little globs all over my lashes that make me look like I'm sprouting antennae. So I have to pick those off with my fingers, which of course adds to the time and effort I have to put in to getting this mascara to look borderline ok.

Fifth, given the issues above, this never looks close to natural on me. When I use this, it always looks like I'm wearing badly applied mascara, and plenty of it. While some people may love loads of mascara, that's not a look that suits me and I prefer my lashes to look more natural.

The good news however is that this product does offer some nice volume (not so much length, which is what I really need), and it also doesn't smudge or flake throughout the day - so at least it has those things going for it. It also lifts and holds my lashes well so I don't need to curl them, which is what I look for in mascaras because I can't be bothered with an eyelash curler and I prefer my mascaras to do the lifting work for me. This one does.

Overall I don't like this mascara at all for the reasons mentioned, and I can't recommend it. It's too much work and a damn hassle to use, it never looks good and it's also expensive - which is annoying because I've found plenty of mascaras that are light-years better than this one and cost a fraction of the price.

Disappointing.