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Friday, April 9, 2010

Review: Maybelline Limited Edition Colossal Volum' Express Diamonds Mascara

I know that a lot of you thought, "Yeah, right" when you first saw the new Limited Edition Colossal Volum' Express Diamonds Mascara by Maybelline. But when I saw the display in person, I have no shame in telling you I was like a little girl again, instantly mesmerized by the bright and shiny images and glittery pink packaging. "What is this going to look like on my lashes? Will it make them sparkle? Twinkle like little Christmas lights? Will everyone around me instantly become mesmerized and hypnotized when they look into my eyes?" These are the silly questions I asked myself, and, naturally, there was just one way to answer these questions: I had to buy the darn thing.

By they way, I have since encountered another Limited Edition Colossal Diamonds display which contains the new eyeshadows AND $1 off coupons (look for this one in your drugstores and grab those coupons because they're good toward *any* Maybelline eye product!):

The colors of these duos are (from left to right) Amethyst Diamond, Copper Diamond and Turquoise Diamond.

For once, the colors in this LE collection didn't jump out to me, and I wasn't compelled to purchase any of them (but Maybelline, if you're reading this, you should know that your other Limited Edition collections make me weak in the knees--Sweet Thing and Poptimistic Pretty are two prime examples).

So let's talk about this mascara, shall we?

(click any image to enlarge)




So...do you see those "luminous sparkles for a diamond effect"? Look closer at the above pic. Do you see that tiny little white dot near the center of the brush? That's a luminous sparkle!

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I am a HUGE fan of the original Colossal Volum' Express formula. Ever since I saw Lauren Luke rave about it in one of her YouTube videos, I knew I had to get it and I have not been disappointed (click here for my full review). In fact, in many, many of the eye pictures I've posted here on Nouveau Cheap, I am wearing Colossal Volum' Express. I know a lot of you have issues with the original formula of this mascara (the biggest complaint I hear is that it flakes before end of day), but for me, I have yet to experience flakiness. I just get thick and long lashes that I can build for more intensity and no raccoon eyes by the end of day. Plus, it removes easily with my regular facial cleanser, which I love.

So now that I've gotten that out of the way, I have to tell you that I was extremely disappointed with the formula of Colossal Volum' Express Diamonds. First of all, let me show you the best photo I could manage to get to capture the "diamonds":

You can kind of see in this picture that there are, indeed, tiny little specs of microglitter present, and I actually love that they're multi-colored and not just silver. But oh how I wish this translated onto my actual lashes! Sadly, I could not detect even ONE sparkle when I applied this to to my lashes, and I checked in direct sunlight about a zillion times, hoping to see the "luminous sparkle" just once. But nothing. Nada. I couldn't see anything but black mascara.

Also, the Diamonds formula is NOTHING like the formula of the original Colossal mascara. For me, it was much, much drier (which is not a good thing considering the original formula is already on the dry side) and even though the directions warn you to not wait between coats, I kind of found that laughable because even when I tried to apply my second coat IMMEDIATELY after the first one, my lashes were already dry and hard to work with. Just how quickly does Maybelline expect us to apply this mascara? (I'm laughing right now imagining myself looking like I'm in fast-forward mode on a video trying to apply this as quickly as humanly possible!).

Let me show you some before-and-afters to seal the deal (WARNING: I was trying out a new primer and concealer when I took these shots, and after seeing these photos, the colors were all wrong for me. My skin looks dry and gray--it's horrible! So just ignore my skin and look at my lashes--PLEASE!).

My eye, no mascara:


One coat of Colossal Diamonds:


Two coats of Colossal Diamonds:


Another shot after two coats:


This formula was a dry, gloppy, gunky mess for me, folks. And no "luminous sparkles" to make it worth it. I didn't get either the thickness or length that I love in my original formula Colossal Volum'. All I got was a look that I don't care to repeat anytime soon.

So...as much as I was mesmerized by the idea of this product, the reality is that I just can't recommend it. I am sincerely hoping that one of you got the "luminous sparkle" that this product promises, because I certainly didn't.

Have you tried anything from the Maybelline Colossal Diamonds collection yet? Did you have better luck? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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19 comments

  1. Aww what a shame! The idea of pretty sparkly lashes is so appealing!

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  2. I saw that display with the shadows at wags as well and I agree, the eyeshadows were not really appealing and looked like colors I already had in better formulas. I too love the Colossal original, but I usually find glittery mascaras never work on me, so I resisted temptation. It's nice to see a review that will keep me from wasting my money!

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  3. Wow Maybelline. Fail! I hate the original Colossal so this makes me feel better about not having to buy it now. I was gonna give Colossal a chance but now I know better! Thanks! And thanks for checking out my post!

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  4. Uggh, I have never liked Maybelline mascaras. I much prefer L'Oreal and CoverGirl, because their formulas are better for me personally.

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  5. Ha ha glittery lashes! I would love to have those... for fun stuff... but I rub my eyes often so I think the glitter would move around too much onto my face... I wouldn't enjoy that too much.

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  6. Thanks for the review, that's certainly one tip that saves us some moolah.

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  7. They havent released this in Australia yet...but I have something similar, Covergirl lash blast luxe mascara! It isnt limited edition, it comes in more colours and you can actually see the sparkles in certain lights! And the formula is quite good too :D

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  8. How do you apply your mascara? You always have this Twiggy-esque artistic clumpy thing going on that I absolutely love but can never achieve.

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  9. hmm, i bought some cheapo glitter mascara at one of the beauty shops in hong kong a while back and it deposited TONS of glitter chunks onto my eyelashes. which i thought looked cool, until it was time to take it off, and i realized the mascara base was like GLUE, or like nail polish! that stuff had hardened and was stuck to my eyelashes and it took a LOT of scrubbing with oil to get it off. i think i lost like half my eyelashes in the process. so i'm just going to use it as glittery eyeliner now.

    sniktme, i think that look is due to the first coat drying before she had a chance to get a second coat on. i think most people try to avoid mascara clumps but if you like the look more power to you: i guess it's pretty easy to achieve. :P

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  10. When CG released their LashBlast Luxe a few months back, I was so intrigued. I ended up getting the Black Platinum. It doesn't deliver obvious shimmer, but you'll see it in certain lighting.

    You can check out my review here- http://kiraramirez.blogspot.com/2010/02/cover-girl-lash-blast-luxe-in-black.html :)

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  11. Aw, that's disappointing. I'm like a magpie, so the idea of glittery eyelashes appeals to me. Thanks for the warning; I probably would have wound up buying this otherwise.

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  12. Lillian: I totally agree. That's what I'm the most bummed about, because sparkling lashes seems so pretty, yet not so over-the-top as full-on glitter mascaras. :(

    PCS: I'm sorry the shadows didn't jump out at your either. But yes, I think you might want to save your money and skip this new formula. :(

    adorepink: Any time! :) And I have to say, if you don't like the original formula Colossal, then I really don't think you'll like this one. Bummer!

    beachbumbeauty13: I like CG mascaras too, but I'm afraid L'Oreal's mascara formulas never work for me and my oily skin. :( Every one I've tried ends up smearing under my eyes before day's end. Such a bummer too, because I know L'Oreal mascaras work so wonderfully on so many people. :(

    ndoodles: Yep...it's a fun idea, but I've yet to find one that actually works for me. :(

    jo: You are so welcome, honey! And yes, save you cash for something else...unless you really can't resist! In which case, I really hope this works better for you than it did for me! :)

    Krissy: They have that CG product here too, but I have yet to try it. So thanks for letting me know that you can actually see the sparkles in that formula! :)

    sniktme: I have to agree with jane, that I didn't actually *try* to have that look--this formula did it all by itself! So if you want the look that you see in these pics, just get yourself of tube of this! lol. As for my other pics, I will tell you that I do need a bit of "clumpage" in my mascaras because I REALLY need volume. So if you're looking for a slightly clumpy look, I'd suggest trying any of the formulas I've reviewed on this blog(the pics that you're referring to in your comment, I guess!). I don't have a special technique, I just use mascaras that have a slightly thicker formula. Hope that helps! :)

    jane: Wow, what a nightmare! I am so sorry you had to go through that! I once bought a waterproof formula Max Factor mascara (by mistake--I didn't know I had bought the waterproof version) and I had a similar experience. NOTHING could remove that mascara--I tried eye makeup remover, then vaseline, then olive oil and I still had traces of it stuck to my lashes. It was a nightmare, so I completely understand your experience. Never again! lol.

    Kira: Thanks so much for the info! I have seen CG Luxe and was always curious--I will definitely check out your review. Great to know you can actually see the shimmer in that one! :)

    Leigh: Yeah...it's a bummer for sure. I would probably skip it if I were you, unless you find a really good deal and your curiosity gets the better of you. lol!

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  13. i was wondering about this product too. i am glad you reviewed it. the sparkles on the lashes may make me dizzy. i had that problem at times when i added MUFE diamond powder to an exsisting mascara. There seemed to be star dancing in front of me. LOL but i got used to it afterwards.


    hey, you may just killed a lemming for me. thank you!

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  14. Hey I think I saw a sparkle in each pic! A Sparkle. lol

    I'm kinda sad this didn't work that well, because I love, Love, LOVE the original colossal!

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  15. This stuff is joke. I already have think black long lashes and this did NOTHING for me. It was like I wasn't wearing anything.

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  16. jojoba: Wow, I never thought about how that could make you dizzy--I totally see your point and I think that would actually happen to me too, if I had sparkly lashes! Thanks for the tip, and I hope I smothered that evil lemming for ya. :)

    Aedd: LOL!!! Yeah, ONE per eye. That's all ya get. :)

    HSG: Yep, it really was a disappointment. :(

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  17. Yeah, I decided to try this one because it seemed like a fun idea.
    Turns out it was a big FAIL.
    I didn't have any problems with application but I couldn't see any sparkle in the mirror. However, the sparkles kept catching the light for MY eyes and making me look to see where the "flash of light" was coming from. I probably appeared to have Turret's syndrome the way my head was jerking around periodically.
    The next morning (I slept with my makeup on that night) I woke up to sparkles all around my eyes. I had to laugh.
    This is marketing/packaging at it's best for a failure of a product.

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  18. Elizabeth: LOL!!! OMG, I am so sorry to hear about your experience, but hey, at least you SAW the sparkle when you had this on your lashes! I didn't see anything at all. :(

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  19. I just bought this product today and, after finding your review, will be returning it.

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