Apply - Blink - Wow!

Author's Rating:

Pros: really provides high impact to your lashes

Cons: only two shades, not waterproof, price (maybe for some)

The Bottom Line: 
This was a gift with purchase, but I will buy as soon as this one's empty.

Author's Review
I very seldom splurge on make-up. Usually the cheapies from Walmart or other Department stores are just fine for me. But lately I decided that I am worth a little bit more and shouldn't agonize over spending more than $4.00 on a tube of Mascara.

So when Clinique offered this HIGH IMPACT MASCARA as part of a gift with purchase program, I thought I'd give it a try. Granted I had to spend a little bit of money (about $20.00)to get all the goodies, but it was money well spent.

Over the past twenty years or so I have tried a variety of mascaras. Some worked for me, most didn't; so when Clinique billed theirs as "high impact" mascara, I was somewhat skeptical.

Mine was a "trial" size, but the tube contains .14 ounces, which makes it almost a full-size tube. At least I knew I could get much more than three or four uses out of it.

This mascara looks like any other tube out there. The top part contains a screw-off lid that contains the brush. The brush part is a bit longer than most mascaras out there and the bristles are tightly coiled. I was afraid that this might lead to clumping of the mascara in between the bristles, but so far (after almost ten days) that did not happen. The brush itself is straight and not curly or bend like some others out there. Still it's very easy to get the mascara on my lashes.

The tube is labeled in both English and French. A warning is given to discontinue use in case of eye irritation, infection or scratches.

This mascara is of a fairly thick consistency. No running or smearing here. There are two shades available. Black (mine) and black/brown. Despite the fact that my skin is fair and I have grey eyes, the black works well for me. My natural hair color is a medium brown and I thought that the black color would make my lashes look stark and harsh. That did not happen.

This mascara only needs one coat to apply. I usually curl my lashes before I apply mascara, but for some reason I forgot to do that and applied the mascara directly to my lashes. No clumping, no smearing, no sticking together. It just went on the way it was supposed to. Day after day, after day.
And to my surprise my lashes did the curling thing all by themselves. I spend almost ten dollars on my eyelash curler and I know I have to use it one of these days, but with the HIGH IMPACT MASCARA I might have to find other uses for the curler.

This mascara is not water-proof. It stays on my lashes all day, even through high-impact exercise and not once have I had a problem with mascara running in my eyes or finding it smeared halfway through a tear-jerker movie.A regular eye make-up remover takes it off just fine and in a pinch a bit of lotion will probably do the same.
My lashes also don't break or dry out after using this mascara.

The actual retail price for this product is $13.50 for a full-size tube. That's a bit pricey, but if you buy it when other "gift with purchase" items are available (usually right before Christmas and in the spring) you will get a bunch of Clinique products free. And even if you can't wait that long, this mascara is well worth the price all by itself.