Product Review: Maybelline New York Great Lash Mascara

In soft black, waterproof.

The claims:
A mascara that conditions as it thickens.

• Lash-doubling waterproof formula glides on smooth to build great-looking smudge-proof lashes
• Lash building brush makes it easy to get a full lash look without clumps or globs
• Contact lens safe and hypoallergenic
• Waterproof; also available in washable formula and washable with curved brush

I haven't had great luck when working with my lashes, so I'm going to make my best effort here to cover the product and my experience using this product objectively as I can.

I don't know if this mascara conditions as it thickens, I didn't use it enough to get a good feel for that; however, I really liked how thick yet still natural my lashes looked after applying the mascara.  I was surprised by how well this mascara holds curl in the lashes.  I'd apply it at 7:15am and I still had a nice little curl 12 hours later. 

Smudging and raccoon eyes, however, were a constant problem for me.  I learned that I needed to curl my lashes just right and be vigilant throughout the day to avoid smudging.  If my lashes were curled properly, I wouldn't see smudging until 6-7 hours later and that would be it.  But if I didn't curl my lashes just right, I could expect to see smudges by 11am and raccoon eyes by 3pm.  Constant vigilance be damned if my lashes were not curled properly to begin with.  Most of the time, I didn't know if my lashes were curled properly or not until after the smudging occurred. 

Side note: I have never appreciated the importance of curling lashes until I started using this mascara.  Curling one's lashes not only opens the eyes and makes one look good, but it also serves to lift lashes off one's cheek when one blinks or closes one's eyes.  However, I have hooded monolids and my curled lashes wrap around the hood of my eyelids like a taco shell to taco filling.  Judging by the pictures I take, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference if I have mascara on or not, unless it was a close-up picture.  But really, how many people do you come face-to-face with on a daily basis that you allow to stand within 2-3 inches of your face?

I can't comment too much on the contact lens safe or hypoallergenic statement because I've had 3 eye infections since beginning to use this product.  I don't know if I contaminated the product, or if I truly am one of those people who develop allergies with age, but I have not fared well with this mascara in my beauty repertoire.

So, now's the question:
Would I repurchase this product again?  I would not because I may be allergic to it.  If I weren't allergic to it, my answer would be different.  ^_^

--

Kus

"Smile on!"