Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

With the promise of lashes looking as if you have falsies on, who can resist? No sir, not me! Ever since I heard that Max Factor was back in town, I was itching to go see the goods. Sadly, to hear that this brand is no more a 'drugstore' brand was upsetting as I do remember seeing items from this iconic brand in the boudouir's of several aunts back in the day.

This mascara looks rather bulky but I have no problems with that. The wand is rather big and long but I like the grip of it as it gives me good control. As you can see from the picture below, the applicator has short stubby bristles which are rubbery in texture. They work very well to grip the lash and dispense product to it. As for the mascara itself, to me it seems a little on the dry side and sometimes I wonder if I do have enough product on the end of the wand - I do not pump the wand vigorously up and down to get more product as I don't like the idea of introducing too much air into it. So what I do is gently swirl the wand in the tube as I open it.  

The before and afters are quite dramatic and speaks volumes! Please note that I did this at night without any makeup on my face.....

The picture below shows you my lashes without mascara. (Sorry for the red veined eye!)

And this picture below is with mascara! KA-BOOM! Look at that! Lengthened, thickened, darkened - all in two coats! I do not curl my lashes partly because I am lazy and also because I think the method I use to apply my mascara gives it a natural curl which stays all day long. I have never experienced limp lashes and the humidity does not affect them once my mascara is on.

Here is what I do - I apply mascara to the top side of the lashes from the root in a left to right motion and then sweep from root to tips from the outer lashes to the inner ones. I then move to the underside and do the same. Only as I am sweeping the wand from the root to the tips, I press the wand against the lashes that are close to the root and push the lashes up to create the curl and keep it. What happens is, when the product that you put on the top part of the lashes dries, it holds the curl and keeps it that way without going limp. 

You can see that the eye on the left looks light and sparse whereas on the right, lashes are thicker and longer.

What do you think readers? Do you have this lovely mascara? Will you purchase and give it a spin like I did?

Review: Maybelline The Magnum Volum' Express Super Film Mascara (what a mouthful!)

This mascara practically barked at me when I walked past with its bright yellow packaging and bold red words declaring what it can do for lashes. Being the sucker that I am, I picked it up immediately of course.

Its not pretty and luxe looking, the packaging, yet there is something about it that made me want to get it and take it for a spin.

Maybelline The Magnum Volum' Express Super Film Mascara promises a few things, volume (minus the clumping), long lasting wear (up to 24 hours, it seems) and easy removal (use warm water and BAM....gone!).

Volume

I was not blown away. I think my lashes are quite full and hence what I look for is a mascara that can make them look nice and thick with just one coat. I normally do not put on more than one coat on work days as I do desire that clumpy effect and I do not have the time to use a lash comb to separate them in the mornings.

Look at the brush from two different angles. To me this sort of gave me hope that my lashes would come out very thick and curled. Unfortunately I did not experience that.

Let me tell you how I apply my mascara. I apply one coat on top of my (upper) lashes and another coat on the underside of my (upper) lashes and that’s how I do it. Sometimes I will use two coats on the outer corner of my lashes. To get a nice wispy effect and add more definition to my eyes, I do make an effort to attack the lashes on the outer corner of my eyes. For me, those couple of lashes out there are easily missed and I need to move my hands and head this way and that to ensure that they are coated too. 

Very rarely do I apply any on the bottom lashes as my bottom lashes are long and I tend to get mascara all over that area if I try to be a hero and apply it there.

As for the inner corner of my eyes…..I pretty much leave them alone too. After trying many times to coat them as best as I can without (a) poking my eyes with the mascara wand (b) poking my nose with the mascara wand – I do have a high bridge on my nose! (c) smudging mascara all over the inner corner of my eye, I gave up as this would have resulted in me having to take the morning off work trying to get the smudges off! All three options are not at all appealing so I leave the inner lashes alone.

I only use two or more coats if I have a special occasion to attend and want to wow everyone with my super long (natural) lashes but then again....they have invented falsies for that bit of cosmetic deception! 

So back to the verdict on Volume - most mascara's out there do have volumizing effects and give better results. This one is just so-so.

Long Lasting Wear

I am blessed with slightly upturned lashes and always notice that my lashes do not droop despite reading this gripe from many other bloggers out there. Some mascara’s curl my lashes more and some keep my natural curl but I have thankfully not come across one that causes my lashes to droop. Perhaps it lies in the way I apply mascara - I really wiggle the brush all the way as close to the waterline as possible upwards. I also do it in sections – once close to the inner lashes, once the middle lashes and lastly once on the outer lashes.

As far as lasting wear is concerned, for my eyes, this lasts and don’t droop on me at all.

Easy Removal

Love how easily I can wash this off with my cleanser! I dislike the waterproof one’s where even a facial wipe soaked with oil remover does not remove all traces of the mascara and I have to practically triple wash my eye area until it becomes rather sore. Washing once is good enough if you have a great cleanser. Using facial oil to remove all traces of makeup prior to cleansing is good too but having to wash twice and still not get all traces of the mascara off really upsets me. I hate that heavy / clumpy lashes feeling when I don’t get it all off after washing!

All in all I think this is a cheap and good mascara for light day wear – I would definitely use more coats or use a different brand of volumizing mascara altogether for a thicker, fuller look for evenings.  

Here is the before leashes:-

And these are the After lashes:-

Quite curly and this curl holds until I get home after work....so on that count alone its pretty good for me.