Maybelline The Colossal Volum' Express Mascara ($7.29)The Claim: Colossal's MegaBrush will give you 9x the volume in one stroke with zero clumping.
The Reality: Not so much. Yes the mascara doesn't really clump and it does give decent volume (although 9x my butt!), length, and separation making it an all-around good mascara in terms of appearance, but read on to see why this one's a dud in my book.
The Reality: Not so much. Yes the mascara doesn't really clump and it does give decent volume (although 9x my butt!), length, and separation making it an all-around good mascara in terms of appearance, but read on to see why this one's a dud in my book.
The Brush: One of the things I do like about Maybelline's Colossal Mascara is the MegaBrush/Colossal Brush. As the name indicates, it is rather large but because of its tapered shape I don't find it all that difficult or messy to work with. There's nothing all that unique about it but it does work quite well to distribute mascara evenly throughout the lashes while also separating and building length.The Formula: The formula is where Colossal begins to go south. When I purchased this some time back I was all excited to try it thanks to the bright yellow tube and the metallic purple lettering, and for the first five minutes or so I was thinking, "Wow this stuff is actually pretty good..."-but only for five minutes! That's when the massive and incessant flaking begins. Little flakes, big chunks--basically all sorts of bits and pieces of mascara fall into my eyes throughout the day when I wear Colossal, driving me bonkers due to the irritation. Colossal also smudges a ridiculous amount under my eyes; I noticed raccoon in eyes in a record 10 minutes after application!
The Verdict: I really wanted to like this since it was both affordable and looked really nice on; Colossal gave me good length, volume and separation, and a nice wispy-lashed look but the ridiculous flaking and underye smudging were just deal-breakers for me. I most definitely would not repurchase!
RATING: 2/5
Related Posts:
Read Parts 1-15 of the Mascara Series here!
- Part 15: Hourglass Superficial Lash Review
- Part 14: Bourjois Liner Effect Review
- Part 13: L'oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Review
- Part 12: Kiss Me Heroine Make Volume & Curl Review
- Part 11: Max Factor Lash Perfection Review
- Part 10: Lancome Oscillation Mascara Review
- Part 9: Max Factor Volume Couture Mascara Review
- Part 8: Diorshow Iconic Mascara Review
- Part 7: Exceptionnel de Chanel Review
- Part 6: Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes Review
- Part 5: Shiseido Mascara Base Review
- Part 4: Chanel Inimitable Review
- Part 3: Diorshow Review
- Part 2: Yves Saint Laurent Everlong Review
- Part 1: Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Review
- And see my cursory review of Guerlain's Le 2 de Guerlain Holiday Mascara here.
30 comments:
Too funny that you posted a review on this mascara! My mom was telling me last night that she wanted to buy it and test it out... she has high hopes it will work for some reason. I can't believe it flaked and smudged so bad though. Wow.
Are you still using the Hourglass mascara? I've been using it a lot lately. Never any flaking or smudging, I love it!
Jen,
Totally off topic, I'd like to know what make/makes of brush do you prefer?
:))
I'm so dissapointed with this mascara! I've read a few reviews and i really wanted to like it, but i can't stand flaking. So this will be a big no for me.
And to go completely off topic, I got a Sephora gift card yesterday and I just ordered the Lorac Mocktail Collection! I was looking for some great glosses and remembered your review so i snapped them up. Thanks so much for the great review, it really helped me choose what to get.
Now i just need to slow down on the buying since i got my nail polish order in today....
I didn't like this mascara that much. At the end of using it for 2 months, I got chunk of black oozing out... lol~ :X
Kayvid: I did like this one but you're right, I experienced flaking too...but after a few hrs...
BTW I wanted to thank you for recommending L'oreal Tubes Mascar...I got it...LOVE it...the length is amazing...volume not so much :-)
Nicole don't let her buy it!!! Maybelline's Lash Stiletto mascara is soooo much better if she's been wanting to try a drugstore mascara, or else a Max Factor one. This was seriously flake-central for me.
I love the Hourglass too--who knew that such a small brand could make such a great mascara?
Hey Carla!
I think I don't spend enough time on here talking about brushes--probably because I don't own that many.
My favorite brush for applying foundation and blush is the MAC 187. It's amazing with liquid foundation and gives a great, smooth finish, but lately I've been thinking about getting the BeatyBlender sponge to use with m makeup so that I can experiment with it.
In terms of eyeshadow brushes, again I really like MAC and I also LOVE Diane von Furstenberg's brushes which are virtually impossible to find. But the brushes I've been DYING to try are Shu Uemura's--I've heard nothing but great things about them and they're definitely on my wishlist for 2009!
Anoka that's such a great purchase, the glosses are really beautiful and non-sticky--hope that you like them! I recently (finally) picked up the Bare Escentuals Diamond Lips Buxom Babes set and OMG it's probably my favorite gloss set ever it's soooo gorgeous!!! If another Sephora gift card should happen to come your way I highly recommend it!
Aly I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only one that didn't love this. My eyes are so easily irritated--they really can't handle flaky mascaras.
Kayvid I really did like the way that this looked on me, but the flaking, which caused tearing, coupled with the smudging just made it a no-no for me which was a shame since I so wanted to like it!
Yay I'm so glad that you're loving the L'oreal tubing mascara! LOL I just had dinner with a friend who mentioned she didn't like it and I felt a little bad since I felt like she'd partially purchased it because of my recommendation, so glad to hear that somebody's loving it! It's seriously one of the best tubing mascaras out there I think!
Well this is one I won't be trying.
I love MAC's 217 so much I'm actually going to get another one...LOL I've heard great things about Shu Uemura's. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want that red kabuki brush I see in the pic on Sephora's web site. UGG I've been searching for that one. If you come across let me know. :O)
Haven't heard too much about Diane VF's brushes. Didn't even knew she made makeup.
Jen where do you pick up your SK-II products? I looked in Bloomies and didn't see it so I'm wondering if they are exclusive to one of the other stores or maybe I have to try the Bloomies at Century City.
T.R. I'd never seen that red kabuki before but OMG is it gorgeous! It's just such a vibrant, richly-hued red and I know it would pop beautifully against my sea of otherwise blah makeup brushes. Thank goodness it's out of stock lol!
The DVF brushes I believe were produced but then never really sold/marketed. I picked up a set at her sample sale in NY one year simply because they were dirt cheap but they're such great quality and so incredibly soft, plus they pick up and distribute color really well.
I pick up the bulk of my SK-II products at Duty Free in Korea (no help to you I know!), but I also shop at the SK-II counters in Bloomies and Saks so I do know that at least some of their locations carry this line. Definitely try checking out another Bloomies--good luck!
I don't have this mascara, but I tried once my bf's mom had it and it was new I wanted to give it a try...hmmmm
I didn't like it at all, I know that I do have straight lashes but it made it more straight lol
Formula is not rich at all it just seemed like it made my lashes spread out :P
Digital Angel it does fan your lashes out nicely, but I just can't deal with flakiness. My eyes are usually irritated enough as it is, and I don't need for my makeup to add to it!
Jen I'm definitely envious about your great DVF brush set, especially since you got it at such a great deal. LOL I'm a sucker for sales and bargins (hince the 21 NYX lipsticks...LOL)
That's one of the things I love about NYC you have so much access to fashion industry bargins. I've yet to tap into that arena here in LA but of course this isn't a fashion capital like NY, London, Paris or Milan or even Dallas.
I know I know about the Shu kabuki...I didn't realize it was sold out. I didn't even see it on the site...hmmmmmm....now I'm really going to have to hunt it down...LOL. I feel like an XFile...I know it's out there.....
I had the exact same results as you, Jen, with this mascara. I love the original eyelash definition, but it flakes everywhere!
T.R. I'm a sucker for a good deal too! I'm trying to learn to resist though because indulging in something just because it's on sale when I wouldn't necessarily have purchased it for full price isn't a good thing. Lately I always ask myself "Would you want this even if it were full price?" and if the answer is yes, then I go for it. Problem is, the answer is almost always yes lol!
I'll bet you have access to everything we have in NY and more! I do wish I lived in Asia at times though so I'd have access to their special releases and all the great Asia-exclusive brands.
I'm going to try to track down that Shu brush too--I just need to feel it it looks so soft!
Hey Bri!
It's such a relief to read that wasn't the only one who disliked this mascara. I can deal with a lot of things (smudging, etc.) but flaking really isn't one of them and this really does flake like crazy!
Is it just me or do ALL Maybelline's mascaras smudge??
I haven't had any luck with all those XXLs line! So I gave up completely on Maybelline.
I think nothing is comparable to my CG lashblast! Not even my $30 Diorshow iconic mascara! :)
Stephy I'll be reviewing one tomorrow that doesn't smudge at all! It stays put beautifully and it's a pretty great all-around mascara to boot!
I liked Lashblast but it just wasn't love for me--probably because my eyes are too small for the brush lol!
I just suddenly saw that, you named this under Revlon, it's maybelline isn't it ? :) Just curious.
Digital Angel it was a memory lapse on my part lol. I keep wanting to say this is by Revlon for some reason! Thanks for correcting me--I've fixed the label.
So it's great for a photoshoot or some other event that can be completed within 9 minutes of application?
I'd say it's great for a five minute quickie wedding, but that's about it lol!
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who doesn't care for this. It flaked and smudged so horribly, but I was convinced it was just me. I wanted to like it so badly, but I guess it just sucks for everyone else, too!
Kristy you're definitely not alone--it seems that there are a bunch of us who weren't too crazy about Colossal!
I thought the flaking was just me too--I felt like everybody loved it but me lol.
ouch... i was thinking tis is a good mascara, but irritation n flaking ? no thanks... glad tat i read ur post...
Syn@3sTh3sI@ this is one of my least favorite mascaras because of the insane amount of flaking that it does!
It did not flake for me at all and was just fine and I've got sensitive eyes. Not sticking up for this mascara but yeah, no flaking here. Guess it IS a very personal thing as they say.
Anonymous it's so great that this worked out well for you as appearance-wise it was pretty great. I don't know why it drove my eyes crazy!
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