L'Oreal Voluminous

This has bein a staple in my makeup bag for over a year now, it's a nice basic mascara and I can't really fault it. It's widely available and I got mine from Boots for around the £8.50 mark, prices do vary though depending on where you get it from, i'd say the average price is between £7-£9 which is quite expensive but it's a decent quality mascara and a tube lasts for ages so I can't really complain. I have this mascara in black but it's also available in carbon black which I am guessing is a more intense shade of black.

The tube that the mascara comes in is nice and basic, it's not over the top or particullary eye catching which I like as I am at the age now where I want things to be quite basic and sophisticated, rather than bright pink. The tube is average sized - around the same size as any other mascara tube, it's quite chunky in width and it holds 9ml of product. It's black in colour with elegant golden writing which simply says the brand and product name. The lid is golden in colour and quite shiny. It screws on/off and has the mascara wand/applicating brush attatched to it. The brush, just like the tube, is very average - it's a typical mascara brush which has decent sized bristles. It's not fancy at all - not curved or anything like that, nice and basic, but it does a good job in coating each of my lashes evenly and generously.

The formula is fragrance free and in my opinion is good quality. It's nice and thick and goes onto my lashes nicely due to the soft, smoothe texture. I do think it has a slight 'wet' feel to it on my lashes, almost greasy, but it dries pretty quickly so it's not a huge issue for me. This mascara contains Ceramide R which aids in making the eyelashes stronger, smoother and fuller, and also a vitamin called Panthenol which protects and also conditions lashes.

Using the mascara is quick and easy and I only need 2-3 layers to get visibly longer and thicker eyelashes which I think is great, even with one layer it makes them noticeably darker and slightly longer. I find with this mascara it really alters my makeup and I usually use this, a bit of eyeliner and some foundation for uni for a nice natural look, and it makes me look more alert as it exaggurates my eyes and brings the blue of my iris out nicely, making my eyes look more intense. The mascara is fine to be used by people with sensetive eyes and is also suitable for anyone who wears contact lenses. I have very sensetive eyes and I am fine with this mascara.

The lasting power is pretty good - around 6-8 hours and it doesn't dry my lashes out or flake so there is no fall out to worry about. It's not waterproof but it doesn't budge when my eyes get slightly moist from sneezing. Removing it can be achieved by using water on its own or makeup wipes/cotton wool soaked in makeup remover. It's incredibly easy to remove and it comes off so quickly and leaves no trace of mascara behind. Overall a good quality, long-lasting mascara.