The only one I've purchased repetitively years ago was L'Oréal Voluminous but for some mysterious reason there came a point where it wasn't working for me anymore. I don't know if it was the formula or my lashes that got really stiff but it wouldn't hold the curl anymore. That's when I started to heat my lash curler with my blow dryer. Even doing this, Voluminous let me down after an hour or so.
Last Winter, in need of a more tenacious formula, I purchased L'Oréal Voluminous Mascara Waterproof and was quite pleased with it despite the fact that it was a pain to remove. Since I don't need to wear this type of mascara often, it was an affordable alternative and next Winter I'll surely repurchase. It's what one has to wear on those snowstorm days since raccoon eyes are never a good look.
This week I stumbled upon the new incarnation of this old favorite, L'Oréal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess and decided to give it a go after reading Tracy's review on her blog Beauty Reflections, here. It was on special and so I figured for $8.00? Why not?
I must admit that I much preferred the old packaging which was less flashy
but I guess the red and gold will make it easy to find in one's makeup bag.
Below, on the left, I'm showing you the difference between the new L'Oréal Voluminous and Benefit They're Real! my current favorite. The brush is similar except for the slight hourglass shape and the tip which is more pointy. Benefit's is a little bigger but both have similar bristles.
On the right, the new vs the old. It's clear to me that the new brush makes it easier to evenly coat each lashes more quickly. Do note that both the regular and waterproof of the old version had the same brush. The old version's wand was a little longer and the brush was almost identical to Estée Lauder's Sumptuous which is also a favorite of mine.
Again a little blurry I know but I believe you can get the idea.
Ok so a good brush was a good start!
How does L'Oréal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess perform? Very well thank you!
The formula is a little thinner than both Benefit and Estée Lauder but goes on quite smoothly. No clumps, no mess (I feel like a commercial here) the brush is as I thought, excellent. What a difference if I compare this one to Telescopic Shocking Extension also from L'Oréal. The brush on that one was such a pain to use for me but I know that it did get lots of love. It just wasn't for me. Voluminous Million Lashes Excess gave my lashes good volume in one go and gave them a bit of extra length. Like Tracy mentions in her review, in about two weeks of regular use the formula will be dryer and just about perfect!
Does it keep the curl? YES!!!
I know you're not suppose to but I curl my lashes with mascara on. I've always done this and never had any issues. Curling without just doesn't work, my lashes are super extra stiff and point down. Nice I know! So I apply a good coat of L'Oréal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess mascara (honestly, they could have made the name shorter!), heat my Shiseido lash curler with my blow dryer, let the heat do it's thing and boom!
My lashes kept their curl a good seven hours and even in the evening just before I removed my eye makeup they still had a bit of a curl. Not quite like Benefit or Estée Lauder but still super impressive for me. Remember, my lashes have a mind of their own!
If I have one bad thing to say about it it's that at the end of the day I did have a few super tiny black specs below my eyes, like black eye shadow fall out. I saw these looking in a magnifying mirror and it was truly minimal, easily removed with a small powder brush.
This mascara is going straight into my emergency makeup bag! I wouldn't want what happened to my friend Stacey to happen to me!
The horror! One morning she was in her car and realised she had forgotten to apply mascara! Now for a makeup addict this is just plain horrific! She had to make a stop on her way to work to get one from the drugstore. Good thing she had time to do so. Can you imagine an entire morning with naked lashes? Ouch!
Do have a read of her "nightmare", here. She got a Maybeline mascara that I just might try myself. :)
About the reviews Voluminous Million Lashes Excess has received so far I was stunned! It's quite new and can seem pricey if one only purchases makeup from the drugstore especially since L'Oréal is one of the more expensive brands in that market but I was still surprised by the poor performance comments. I don't think this mascara is made to apply several coats. It has some thickness on the first coat so I believe applying more than two coats would make it clump. Also, it seems some expected their lashes to double in length, that's just not possible!
Lastly and this made me smile, several reviewers mentioned L'Oréal's television commercial which I haven't seen and, well, just don't believe everything you see on TV! :)
Reviews:
Makeup Alley: 2.5 / 5 lippies for 17 reviews.
Beauté-test: 3.5 / 5 stars for 6 reviews.
What was your last drugstore purchase? Any great discovery?
