Product Review: Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara

Product name: Essence I love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara

Shade: Black (only shade available) 

Net weight: 0.40 fl. oz/ 12 ml 

Price: Php. 199.00

Place of purchase: SM Fairview Department Store

Date of purchase: 9^th of May

If I had to give up one makeup product in my life, that would probably be mascara. Surprisingly, I’m not a huge fan of mascara. While most can’t imagine living without it, I can survive its absence. I definitely don’t hate it. I guess, I just haven’t found “the one” for me.

A few weeks ago, as I was rearranging my makeup stash, I realized that I had only two (2) tubes of mascara – one was just a freebie product that I only used once and the other was the Maybelline Hypercurl Volum’ Express Waterproof Mascara, which I no longer use because it’s already dried up (I purchased that way back in September).  So, for the past few moths, I’ve been nearly mascara-free (I only used the Maybelline one for my graduation day. By the way, don’t do that – using old mascara), and I decided that it would be nice to try a new one. As I was on the hunt for the Revlon Crème Blushes which were on 50% off sale (which were apparently unavailable in all Revlon branches in my area :( ), I also had my eyes peeled for a mascara that would catch my attention. After scanning through multiple makeup stalls, I finally ended up at the Essence stall, sifting through their wide selection of mascaras. I was originally planning to get the multi-effect one because it was the ONLY waterproof mascara available; but, the SA told me that the pink one was their best seller. So, here I am, reviewing the Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara.

Packaging:

The mascara tube is simple and generic. It’s longer and fatter than what I’m used to; but that’s not a big deal. It’s pink with black graphic text. Pretty straight forward.

The Brush:

They didn’t have a tester for this product so I didn’t know what type of brush it had until I opened it at home. Bummer.

Anyway, it has a straight brush with short plastic bristles with really fine, tight, even spacing (contrary to what the site says about it having wide spaced bristles).

Personally, I dislike plastic/silicone brush mascara wands. I never fail to poke my eyes with them. [The moment I placed this near my eye, I already managed to poke myself. Great.] Anyway, despite the fact that I’m not fond of the brush, I do like the fact that due to the tiny spacing between the bristles, each and every lash gets coated with product. However, I don’t like how the brush tends to get a lot more product than necessary.

**UPDATE: 27th of May, 2015 

The brush doesn't just tend to get a lot more product that necessary. After a while, it's going to get SO MUCH product, you can't see the bristles anymore because the formula thickens so much, it clings and cakes up on the actual brush. 

Product Claims:

-       Mascara for extreme and crazy volume

-       Ultra black

-       Ophthalmologically tested

Description:

“the i love extreme mascara’s "crazy" sister – for even more volume! the deep-black, creamy texture covers each individual lash with color and the extra-large plastic brush provides sensational volume. the mascara container is designed in the usual i love-colors, except they’re the other way around – in a cool pink with black lettering. opthalmologically tested.” – from the Essence website

Ingredients:

No ingredients were listed on the mascara tube, so I had to look it up on their website.

AQUA (WATER), CARNAUBA (COPERNICIA CERIFERA) WAX, CERA ALBA (BEESWAX), BUTYLENE GLYCOL, STEARIC ACID, VP/EICOSENE COPOLYMER, PALMITIC ACID, POLYBUTENE, GLYCERYL STEARATE, ACACIA SENEGAL GUM, CANDELILLA (EUPHORBIA CERIFERA) WAX, PVP, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, POLYVINYL ALCOHOL, AMINOMETHYL PROPANOL, SODIUM DEHYDROACETATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES).

Consistency:

It has creamy, wet consistency. This mascara is NOT waterproof, so it’s not as dry and thick as the mascaras that I am used to. Due to its wet consistency, it takes longer to dry and sadly, it weighs down my lashes. 

Finish/Texture:

This mascara has a somewhat “soft” texture. It doesn’t have that rubbery finish that you get with some mascaras. It doesn’t feel stiff and dry like, probably because it’s not waterproof.

It builds up nicely. It does clump, but not as bad as other mascaras. The most that this would do is cause your lashes to stick together. That can easily be fixed using a lash comb or clean mascara wand. Two (2) coats should be enough. Any more than that, it would look thick, clumpy, uneven, and “heavy”.

**UPDATE: 27th of May, 2015

Since the formula was too wet for my liking, I decided to leave it for a while in hopes of having a drier consistency. I did use it maybe 2 or 3 times during the wait and those times that I did use it, it was still pretty wet. I used it again on the 16th of May and it was really thick and clumpy on the lashes. It was still wet and goopy, but it just looked really bad on the lashes. Then, I used it again today, 27th of May, it's even thicker and clumpier than the last time! However, again, the formula was still wet, not dry. If you've owned a waterproof mascara, you know the texture that I'm talking about (thick, "dry"). It's just so bad now. As I'm typing this update, I feel like my eyes are lifting weights. It's just sooo thick and clumpy! Not even a lash comb can fix this, at least, not without ripping my eyelashes out! For the sake of the photos, though, I did build it up to three (3) coats of gross, goopy mascara mess. 

Shade:

This only comes in black. I hope essence comes up with a brown one or some fun colour. I’m guilty for wearing blue mascara. Tacky? I think not! [Haha] :P

Pigmentation:

It’s really black.

Have you ever had a mascara that seems black, but looks sort of greyish on your actual lashes? Yeah, this isn’t one of those. This is straight up black. I like that. 

Scent:

Is it odd that I like the scent?! Some reviews said this mascara smells horrible. Seriously, I can’t find anything foul with the scent. It doesn’t have that generic, strong chemical smell you get with most mascaras. I really do like the scent!!! My nose is probably wrecked.

**UPDATE: 27th of May, 2015 
I know that after reading the updates, some of you might say that maybe my mascara has gone bad. On the bright side, it doesn't smell "bad". From my experience, all mascaras that I have owned developed a really foul odour once they've reached the expiration date. This one doesn't have that expired makeup smell. 

Effect:

Yeah, about that… As I’ve said earlier, sadly, this weighs down my lashes. Does it lengthen? Yes! Does it volumize? Well, it does…but it doesn’t give the CRAZY volume that it says it can give. Does it hold a curl? It never said that it would hold a curl; but, it also never said anything about weighing down my lashes. Lesson learned: STICK TO WATERPROOF MASCARAS.

For reference, I wasn’t blessed with the best eyelashes. They’re long, but thin, and pretty sparse (I used to have more eyelashes, but an unfortunate experience with a certain mascara left me with fewer lashes). They’re dark brown in colour, not black. They are also very straight. No natural curl whatsoever. Also, I have very watery eyes.

**UPDATE: 27th of May, 2015 

Crazy volume? You mean, Crazy CLUMPS?! 

Reference photo of my eyelashes. Forgive me unconcealed under eye circles and ungroomed eyebrows.

It doesn't look so bad in this photo because it's freshly applied. As the day progresses, it will look as if I didn't apply any mascara.

You can see the clumps taking place. It's starting to feel heavy by this time.

Two words: Spider. Legs.
I don't know... Maybe, some of you like this look, but I don't. At least, not on myself.

Longevity:

This flakes so badly and it smudges like crazy! And although this is not waterproof, I've owned three (3) non-waterproof mascaras before, but none of them melted off my face and gave me panda eyes when I sweat. This one? Don't even try wearing this if you know you're going to break a sweat.

For reference, I have very oily and hooded eyelids. 

See what I mean about clumps? Yeah. As the day progresses, the lashes stick together into this mess.

This is what my other eye looks like, the one with just one coat (with the "blinking" application technique).

Yep. (This photo was taken 1 hour after I applied my makeup the first time I used this mascara.)

This is what happened when I lightly dabbed my eyelid with a cloth. No swiping or wiping involved. Just blotting.

Swatches:

Seriously, the intensity of the black is its only saving grace.

Could you see how dark it is? It looks waaaay darker in person, but both artificial and natural lighting washes it out.

Warnings/Precautions:

Although, it did say that it’s opthalmologically tested, I don’t know if this is safe for contact lens wearers.

Overall Performance:

I would say that this mascara is not for me. I want my mascara to give a lot of volume and perk up my eyelashes. This one did give me volume, but not a lot of it.  **This one gave me CLUMPS instead of volume. Also, it weighed down my lashes and that’s a big deal for me since I have tiny eyes that need as much widening assistance as possibly attainable. What I do like about this, though, is that it really darkens my lashes. I really love deep black mascaras because I always get white/grey eyelashes due to powder and eyeshadow fallouts.

There's barely any difference, really. However, when I use it the "normal" way, it makes too much of a difference. There's just no "in between".

I’m not too happy about this purchase; but, I don’t blame the mascara. I suppose my lashes are just compatible with waterproof formulas.

**UPDATE: 27th of May, 2015 

It's either the quality of this mascara is just really, really bad, or the tube of mascara that I got wasn't in good condition. I'm guessing it's been in the store shelf for much too long. 

Photo of how both eyes look after 2.5 hours. Sad.

Repurchase?

It’s a no from me.

Recommendation:

Despite claiming to give “crazy volume” this doesn’t really do that so if you’re looking for a simple lengthening, slightly volumizing, ultra black, non-waterproof mascara that doesn’t burn a hole in your wallet, this would be good for you. What can I say? It does its job, but some could do better.

**I suppose this depends on the particular tube of mascara that you'll get. From my experience, this is just not worth the money. However, let's take into consideration that this is one of the BEST SELLERS. Maybe, if you take the risk, this product may work for you. Depending on the condition of the mascara and the natural structure of your eyelashes, this product could either do nothing to enhance your lashes, or clump them up and do TOO much to them. I don't recommend this product, but hey, if you've got the money for it and you're willing to try it out, then, go for it. 

On a side note, if you like the whole clumpy, spidery look of eyelashes, this would be for you. In my case, I prefer full, but not clumpy looking lashes. I like them soft and fluttery.

Tips:

•  Do NOT skip curling your eyelashes. If you do, they will droop down even more.
• Wipe off the excess mascara on the brush to avoid applying too much at once.
• Avoid applying more than two (2) coats.
• Use a waterproof topcoat/sealant if you have watery eyes. Essence has one. I might buy it.
• If you find the formula to be too watery, put it aside for a week or two. It would dry and thicken a bit so it won’t be too wet. **This may work for some mascaras, but not this one.
• If possible, check if the mascara is still fresh. (The manufacturing date should not be too far from your date of purchase.) 
• I still use this mascara. My trick is to remove as much mascara as possible from the actual wand. Then, instead of wiggling the brush and sweeping it up through my lashes, I just position the brush at the very roots (base of the lashline), and kind of "blink" my eyelashes on to the brush. That way, my eyelashes are the ones "moving" instead of the brush and I can control how much product is deposited on to the eyelashes. 

Sample of how my eyelashes look like when I use the "blinking" technique with the mascara

PROS

• Affordable
• Ultra black colour
• Easy to remove
• Mildly scented
• Optalmologically tested

CONS

• Weighs down eyelashes
• Does not live up to its claim to give “crazy” volume (If you get a "fresh" tube)
• Clumps when you apply too much (Clumps like crazy if you get a bad/old tube)
• Brush picks up too much product
• Smudges
• Flakes 
• Not available everywhere
• No ingredients listed on the packaging

NEUTRAL (Could be pro, could be con)

• Wet consistency
• Big, plastic brush
• Non-waterproof formula

Final thoughts:

I’ll go back and buy the All Eyes On Me Multi-Effect mascara because apparently, it will be discontinued soon. Or maybe not. I might take my chances. 

Also… Although, this is unrelated to this review, I’ve noticed that a lot of Essence mascaras are no longer available. Have they all been discontinued? I’ve read some great reviews on a lot of them; but, they just don’t exist in stores anymore.

Overall, I don't like this mascara. I really don't. I tried to like this, even just a little bit. Initially, I thought I might learn to like it; but, it just didn't work out for me. Sorry, Essence. I love your products, I love your company, but this...no. Just no. 

Rating:

I still managed to give this a 2 out of 5. Even though it did not work for me, I liked the fact that it is: 

• affordable,
• very black,
• and, opthalmologically tested (that is always a plus).

Sorry, Essence! I love your other products, though. This one was just a miss...

Anyway, that's it for the review! 

Thanks for dropping by!