Every week there are more new ideas in the beauty pages – and the more glamorous, expensive and celebrity endorsed a product is, the more cult status it achieves.
To be a real cult item, it helps if the product is really hard to come by – perhaps only available abroad, or in one particular shop. Then, when you take it out and about in your see-through make up bag, your friends will all gasp with envy, and demand to know how you got it!
Surely the first big cult was Chanel’s Rouge Noirnail polish – as famously worn by Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. Yes – I bought it. Eleven quid was no barrier
– it was a cult item! (And didn’t suit me at all – but that’s another op!)
Loads of other stuff has since achieved lofty cult status – and with more and more shops like Space NK opening up countrywide, more of us can own these coveted goodies.
About four years ago I became aware of a cult product that was only available in the USA – Maybelline Great Lash mascara. According to the buzz in the magazines, this was the product that the entire cast of Sex and the City swore by! (Note – anything ever worn or indeed even *mentioned* by Sarah Jessica Parker usually gains instant cult appeal).
Everybody was suddenly sweet-talking their American cousins to send over a tube of this stuff – as if it would work some kind of magical miracle on our Brit eyelashes!
Then, like a prayer answered, it was eventually launched here in the UK. At the time, I didn’t buy it – on the flimsy grounds that it was too ‘cheap’ and therefore probably not as good as my usual Clinique mazzy.
However, on a shopping trip last month, I saw it in Superdrug for the laughable special offer price of £2.50 – and thought, what the hell! If it’s rubbish – at least it wasn’t expensive. The usual price is £4.99, so it’s level with brands like Rimmel, Boots 17 etc.
I should point out that I rarely actually wear makeup – only when I’m going out in fact, or on a posh shopping trip. So I wasn’t looking for an ‘everyday’ product – I wanted *glamour*!
And boy, did I get it….
Maybelline Great Lash mascara is truly unique – the packaging alone sets it apart from it’s sisters. You’ll see from the wee photie at the top there, that this is definitely *not* a mascara with self esteem and shyness issues. With a bright pink body and a lime green top – this product screams ‘look at me!’ from all angles.
The product is thick, glossy and dark (I’m sure they stock a variety of shades, but baby, I only do black). The wand applicator is a satisfying, dense brush in an oval shape – which makes application easy peasy, but does tend to veer towards the drag-queen in terms of volume. It’s hard to go easy with this stuff!
When I first put it on (over foundation and powder) I have to say I was amazed by how long, thick and dark my lashes looked. In fact, I had a wee ‘Christina Aguilera’ moment in front of my mirror – was that really me, behind those cow-like lashes? I was a bit freaked…
I also noticed I had to do a bit of remedial work – using a clean mascara wand to separate and remove a few small clumps.
One coat was *definitely* enough, and off I went into the night, to enjoy some bacardi breezers….
…upon my return, I pulled out one of my usual L’Oreal deep cleansing face wipes, and proceeded to drunkenly remove my face paint. Sadly, the mazzy stuck resolutely to my lashes – no bad thing in the end, I looked rather dramatic in fact as I fell into bed! Reminded me of my student days, when I used to come home too pis*ed to remove my slap, and would wake up with an exact imprint of my face on the duvet. (My mum used to say my sheets looked like the Turin shroud!)
The next morning, I had a long hot shower complete with a full facial soaping – and I still had drag queen lashes!! At this point, I realised that a few quid spent on eye makeup remover would in fact have been a very good investment. Doh!
I have used the mazzy since, and have enjoyed three days of smouldering eyes for the price of one on many occasions!
I would definitely recommend this product, with a few caveats. If you want maximum glamour and effect, I can only imagine what two or more coats would do – don’t be too surprised if you’re dragged on stage and made to sing ‘I Am What I Am’ by ladymen in feathered boas….
I’ll go for a simple traffic light system:
All you sexy young teens, students and early-twenties chicks, I give you a green light to trowel this stuff on. Let’s face it, you guys could go out wearing a paper bag and you’d still look foxy. Damn!
Thirty-something chicks like me – well, you have an amber. Proceed with caution, use plenty of cleanser, maybe stick to a more subtle brand during the week.
Anybody who can remember Lulu when she still had a Scottish accent – sorry ladies, it’s a red light here. This product is too garish and heavy for ya, and will make you look like Barbara Cartland. It’s not all bad news though, you guys can splurge at the Lancome counter to your heart’s content.
What’s my fave line from a cult movie?
‘…. Aaah, they f*ckin’ drown ‘em in that sh*t’
Are they talking about mayonnaise on chips, readers, or Maybelline mascara? You be the judge…
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I wonder why Australia managed to get it if the UK didnt! My mate used to buy this stuff about (shudder thought at how long ago this was) 14 years ago!
Indigo Blue Formula: The exclusive maxi-coverage formula is loaded with indigo pigments ... more
for a new kind of blue. From the first brush stroke your lashes appear Denim Blue, intense colour as wearable as your coolest pair of jeans! Great Lash Denim Blue i...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: bold, gives volume and length, clump-free, no flaking, long lasting, cheap! Disadvantages: is quite bold if you dont like that sort of thing
ilusvm 14.11.2008 (14.11.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Maybelline Great Lash
Advantages: bold, gives volume and length, clump-free, no flaking, long lasting, cheap! Disadvantages: is quite bold if you dont like that sort of thing
ilusvm 14.11.2008 (14.11.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Maybelline Great Lash
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