I’ve given Maybelline mascaras a hard time. I disliked the Maybelline XXL Mascara and the Maybelline Unstoppable mascara was quite stoppable as far as I was concerned. I bought them both and I binned them both as quickly as I could. But when I have so many people extolling the virtues of the new Maybelline Volume Express Hypercurl mascara, the itchies struck and I had to test it. Reader Monstro swears by it so there had to be something to it right?
I picked one up at Guardian a while ago for RM25+, a promotional rate from its regular RM30.90 retail price and when I got home, I belatedly saw I’d gotten it in BROWN! Brown mascara?! Its a first for me! The mascara is actually lighter than it looks in the photo above.
The Maybelline Volume Express Hypercurl Mascara is the one in the short fat tube with pink metallic wordings. The counter and print ads show models with impossibly long curled lashes and it promises to add volume to your lashes and curl and keep your lashes curled the whole day.
Brown mascara. How does it look on the lashes? Surprisingly natural, that’s what. You don’t get the va-va-voom effect that black mascara gives but what it does is give a soft, more natural look. If you have pale lashes e.g. blondes, then a brown mascara may give you a more natural look than black which is stark. For me – asian with dark hair and lashes – this brown mascara gives me a look for work without looking too made up and fake eyelashed. Forgive me looking a little stunned in the picture LOL..
Does the Maybelline Volume Express Hypercurl add volume? Yes it does. The short fat brush does a good job of adding volume to the lashes and 3 coats will give you nice noticeable lashes if you have sparse lashes.
Does it curl? No. I tried it first without curling my lashes. I have stick straight Asian lashes that point downwards and using the mascara alone does not curl my lashes one bit. The next day, I curled my lashes as usual then applied the Hypercurl mascara. This time, my lashes stayed curled the whole day so I guess the mascara is doing its job of holding curled lashes. It just does not curl them if you don’t use a curler before that.
I do have my usual gripes about Maybelline mascaras:-
- The brush head is too fat and large so if I’m not careful I can mess up my eye makeup
- The formula is heavy and weighs down my lashes.
However, the Volume Express Hypercurl is not as heavy as the other 2 mascaras I have tried and it doesn’t cause my lashes to fall from curled to straight; so for that it gets a plus point. Also, I did not get the strong chemical smell and fumes near my eyes as I did with with other 2 Maybelline mascara I tried, so again, Hypercurl gets a plus point. (I don’t know if its because I ended up with Brown instead of Black formula)
I’ve heard that the Maybelline Volume Express mascara is comparable to many higher end mascaras and in particular, to the Anna Sui Full DX mascara which is my favourite mascara to date. Having now tried it, I can see how proponents of the Maybelline Volume Express are right to a degree insofar as the mascara is volumizing at a fraction of the cost of Anna Sui’s. I’ll do up a challenge some time this century to see how they fare in a head to head combat 🙂
Do I like the Maybelline Volume Express Hypercurl mascara? Actually I’m ambivalent about it. Not in love with it, but not hating it either. But hey, its the first time I’m not hating a Maybelline mascara! 🙂
Pros: Volumizing, Holds a curl, Affordable
Cons: Fat brush, does not curl, heavy formula
[rating:3/5]
@Jooj : The non pink one? I tried that one too – honestly I think its all just so-so 😉
@shirley: Looks like I’m not the only one caught by the brown! Nevermind, it works too.
@geekchic : I’d read a lot of good stuff about Inimitable. I’ll take a look some time after the hole in my wallet is patched 😉
@peny: Oh you shouldn’t be using mascara for more than 6 months! Due to bacteria etc. Majolica Majorca is available at selected Watsons nationwide but not in East Malaysia yet. Perhaps if you have a friend in KL you can ask them to get it and send it to you.
@rinnah: I reckon the black would be better some how. I prefer va va voom 😉
I bought this mascara when it 1st launched a few month ago. I love maybelline mascara especially the ordinary volume express. But when i tried this one, i feel like i don’t really like it. It has a good point which is waterproof formula, but at the end, it’s dried up my lashes. I passed the mascara to my sister and she claim it hard to remove even with makeup remover. I stick to the ordinary Volume Express in black of course. U know what? i also have the same situation like i bought the wrong color which is brown. The color only makes my lashes look natural and doesn’t look that dramatic effect like i want….Anyway, i still love it,it doesn’t dried up, and it really does a great job. I love the big brush, only with 1 swept, it thicken, lenghten my lashes…love love love..
hey ^^ I read many great reviews in the Taiwan blogs on this little thing:) I cannot wait for it to launch to HK and when it finally did, I grabbed it at first and loves it
If you use a base it makes difference. It is by far my fav maybelline mascara
wow..i bought the brown one last month and i love this shade. very natural for my fair skin! i agree it does give volume. loreal telescopic didnt work for me..lengthen n clumps…
I prefer the old formula (on the packaging – the font is in silver colour, not pink colour) rather than this one, because:-
1) It doesnt volumized my lashes AT ALL as the old formula – my lash looks ‘naturally’ thin as it is, which is exactly not im looking for, might as well dont use mascara at all.
2) Smells like skunk..NO JOKE.. hahaha..
I cant even imagine how dissapointed i am when i bought this, i threw it to the thrash bin, even after couple of use. This is seriously one of the worst.
hey i actually have no problem with using this mascara to curl up my lashes …
indeed it’s actually the one that i can use without eyelash curler so far and it works the same to my friends too …
maybe it’s the way u apply it ?
I wish I’d remembered how easy it is to make this mistake. I just DID IT. Argh! But I like the formual enough to consider running out and buying another tube in black. I wish they’d mark it more clearly. =(
Right now I’m using it as a primer to hold up my curl, and slapping on a regular volume express i have in black over. Working out quite well!
Hey !
I’m from Germany and I have the exact same one. It does curl my lashes, if I turn it around as I’m doing it on my lashes.. you know what I mean? I can bet my one is black though.. 😛
It holds a looong time and even it’s waterproof, you can remove it easily. It’s my fav mascara and I probably never chance it 😛
I really like this bow.. because when you turn it around, it give you this WOOOM – effect. If you dont want it, you just can do it without turning the mascara around.
Nice greetings.
damn i hate Maybelline Hypercurl mascara. it clumps a lot! not recommended