NO GOO-LASH - THIS IS EYELASH PANACHE! (Maybelline Define-A-Lash)

Member Name: Skyedame

Product:	Maybelline Define-A-Lash
Date:	26/07/07 (312 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great wand design. No superfluous product on wand.

Disadvantages: Barrell is a dreadful lurid lime-green colour - not a classy look!

Like a Soho bondage cellar, this product promises sensuously long lashes.

I don’t usually make impulse purchases if I can help it, but I was standing at the checkout in Superdrug a couple of days ago and right slap bang by the till was a display of Maybelline Define-A-Lash Mascara. It was either perfect product placement or the lurid, lime-green barrel of the mascara, which caught my attention. Whichever, I needed a new one, the mascara was on special offer (reduced by £2), I knew and trusted Maybelline so paid up my £5.49 and tried it the next day.

The first thing I noticed when I withdrew the wand from the barrel was that the brush itself wasn’t thick with product. I can see quite clearly the green fronds of the brush, (which appears to be some kind of elasticised plastic rather than bristle), and the actual amount of product on the brush was quite sparse. This is good because the last mascara I bought had the brush loaded with product – so much so that I had to wipe half of it away before I could apply it. Wasteful, and the result was still clumpy lashes.

The product has a ‘built-in clump remover’. This must be a special narrowing of the barrel or some kind of scraper, which cleans the brush bristles as it is withdrawn from the barrel. Whatever the secret, it certainly works and the result is a nice, clean-looking brush with minimum product adhering to it.

The wand is lightweight and the brush is bendy and this makes it very easy to apply the product. Maybelline boast that the unique shaped-to-the-lash brush is ultra flexible, designed to reach and accentuate each and every lash.

The result:

The lightweight forumula and unique built-in clump remover meant – just as Maybelline promises – zero clumps on the brush meaning zero clumps on the lashes. For this particular test, I used the product as a daytime cosmetic i.e. wanting the minimum of fuss. The result was natural-looking lashes enhanced by clumpless colour. They weren’t ‘sweeping’ as some mascara-manufacturers lay claim to with certain magnificently-priced mascaras and which I’ve never found actually do give me the Betty Boop eyes posed by the models on the packaging. But my lashes were nicely separated and looked longer.

The mascara stayed on all day. There are no fibres to irritate the eye, particularly mine as a contact lens wearer. Most importantly, the product didn’t smudge or migrate to my under-eye area: the ‘been poked in the eye with a stick’ look is not one I yearn for.

I would highly recommend Maybelline Define-A-Lash Mascara – it has the most well-designed mascara brush I’ve tried because it looks good and is totally functional. The only thing I don’t like is the barrel’s lurid lime-green colour. I prefer my cosmetic packaging to show a little restraint but, hey, I suppose Miss Whiplash prefers a touch of the exotic.

Price & Availability: Normally £7.49 but, as with most things these days, can be purchased cheaper through a little internet research and obviously, special offer at Superdrug for £5.49 as of date of review (July 2007)


© Louise Saunders – 2007

Summary: Gives natural-looking lashes without clumps of excess mascara