Thursday 23 January 2014

Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara #01 extreme black review


I'm always on the lookout for a volumising mascara that does not smudge, transfer nor interfere with my concealer. I'd read a number of raving reviews, seen some 'demos' and thought that could be 'the one'.   

I'm not normally a fan of Clinique packaging as most often it looks like drugstore brand, but this time it's different. The mascara comes in a pretty, quite bulky silver tube. 
The silicone wand is neither ridiculously big nor too thin, the spikes are quite short and dense and they go over the head of the wand as well. This shape of applicator makes it easy to apply the mascara on upper and bottom lashes and even in the inner corner.

The formula of the mascara is very dry and thick so one coat gives my lashes incredible volume. Just imagine what two coats can do! Even thouth the formula is dry, the lashes retain some kind of elasticity and you can keep building it up as much as you like.
This formula does not give you the effect of natural, separated lashes, so if that's what you're after, don't get this mascara.  

False lash effect is not that rare in the make-up business. Maybelline Rocket Volume will probably give you even more stunning results. What made me fall for this mascara was not what it looked like but how it performed. 
This is the mascara I can trust. 
No matter what undereye cream or concealer I use, whether I set my undereye with powder, whether I cry or sweat or get caught in the rain or blizzard, I know I won't arrive at work with panda eyes.
It doesn't say anywhere that this is waterproof formula, but it acts like one. It's also not the easiest one to remove, so I prefer oil-based removers to break it.

It lasts all day, survives my naps without smudging, crumbling or transfering.


But unfortunately all that glitters is not gold. 
The mascara reveals its drawbacks in the long run. 
It's dry formula dries out very quickly. After about two months of non-daily use the mascara went so dry that I was almost unable to use it. 

Also the volumising effect means that you use a lot of product. After two months I noticed that there was barely anything left in the tube. I needed to swirl the wand around to get some product. This hardly ever happens. I usually discard my mascaras for hygenic reasons, after less than 6 months of use as you're not supposed to use them for more than 3 months actually. Clinique High Impact is the one I did really use up!

And the last thing I didn't like was the gross-looking crust that built up on the nozzle of the tube. And I didn't wipe the wand against it, this just resulted from the daily use.

If you want to buy this mascara, my advice is: don't stash it, use it on daily basis, otherwise it'll dry out or shrink in the tube  before you manage to use it up. 


This mascara featured in my favourites of 2013 post and I still cling to my opinion that this was one of the best mascaras I used in 2013, almost perfect, but I'm sure there are better mascaras out there which I need to discover in 2014!


  Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

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