So I recieved this mascara from my Mum as a birthday present. Last year. Yup.

It's been languishing, unloved and unopened since forever in the bottom of my makeup drawer until I finally decided to take it out and abuse it.


My first thoughts as I removed it from the packaging were "Woah, this feels luxe!". It really does. The tube is sleek and black, and it feels weighty in your hand.

It's a pretty black mascara. Black enough to erase fallout with a couple of coats. I generally only use one or two coats for schoool, as I don't need my lashes to be that dramatic.


I find that this mascara (or the brush that comes with it, whatever) gets all over my bottom lashes, and it really annoys me. It also makes them appear nasty and bent at all sorts of odd angles unless I go over them again with a seperate mascara comb. Wtf? If I'm paying like £20 for a mascara you'd better be sure I don't have to use a second brush to not look like a panda.

Every time that I've used this, I've had to clean up under my eyes, a problem that I've not had with cheaper mascaras such as Maybelline (I think that's the brand. Will have to double check that) Define-A-Lash, for example. I also prefer the comb, but mascara combs are as personal as eye primers. What works for me might be a nightmare for someone else, and vice versa.

Also, this mascara is awful to remove. It's not waterproof, but it acts like a waterproof mascara! Put any thoughts of erasing this with water out of your head. It needs a dedicated eye makeup remover, and even them it leaves huge smudges under your cheeks that make it appear as if you have been severly beaten by some criminal.

The final, unforgiveable act of this mascara is that it left me weeping and broken on the floor of my bedroom. No lies. I was applying it and somehow managed to get it in my eye (who knows how? I don't) and within seconds I was a sobbing, mascara covered mess. Oh God, the burn. THE BURN. It hurts so much. It was like napalm in the eye. NAPALM, I TELL THEE.

It screwed up my eyeshadow as well, and there was no time to fix it. Argh.

Reference to the other part of the title - I've noticed a few views coming in from Russian search engines. If you're Russian or currently living in Russia, please do leave a comment! If at least one person does, I'll do the Russian flag on my nails and rave about Russia's stellar hosting of the Eurovision song contest in 2009. Go on. Leave a comment :P