Review: Rimmel Glam'Eyes Day 2 Night Mascara

I've mentioned before that mascara reviews are the most difficult reviews I write for this blog. There are so many factors to consider, and regardless of what I write, there will no doubt be people who 100% disagree with what I've said. No one's "wrong" here, it's just that mascaras work so differently depending on a variety of factors (are your lashes thick, thin, sparse, long, short, flat, light, dark, etc.?).

So depending upon YOUR individual needs, this mascara (and any mascara I review on my blog) may or may not work for you. It's impossible for me to say, so all I CAN say is exactly how it worked for me.

Whew! With that said, let's start this review:

Rimmel Glam'Eyes Day 2 Night Mascara in Extreme Black

(retail: around $8.50)

Back in December when I purchased this mascara, I was so intrigued by how it would work (remember when I posted about it and begged you not to spoil the surprise?). I just had no idea if there were two brushes inside this tube, an adjustable brush, or some other magical contraption.

 Well, now I know the "mystery" behind how this mascara works, and I'm going to reveal it to you (if you don't already know). Apparently, there's a MAC mascara that works in the same way as this Rimmel version, but I haven't tried the MAC product.

 The above pic was taken after pulling the brush out of the tube using the black "volume" handle.

 In this photo, I have unscrewed the pink "length" handle. Keep in mind, you would normally have the black "volume" handle securely screwed into the masacara tube at this point. I am doing it this way merely to "unveil the mystery" behind this mascara.  So as you can see, looking at the left side of the picture above, the brush goes through that opening and you can see the mascara building up at the opening.

In this pic, you see what it looks like when you have the pink "length" handle fully removed from the tube. Do you understand how this works now? There is just ONE brush, but there are two different ways to pull the brush out of the tube. When you use the black "volume" handle to remove the brush from the tube, more mascara stays on the brush. When you use the pink "length" handle to remove the brush from the tube, much less mascara remains on the same brush.

Here is the brush after having pulled it out of the tube using the "length" handle, and then pulled out of the tube using the "volume" handle. See how there's much more mascara deposited onto the brush in the "volume" picture? Again, this is the exact same brush.

So, now that the mystery has been revealed, let's get to how this product worked on my particular (short, sparse, straight and thin) lashes.

I used the "volume" handle (left) and the "length" handle (right) in the below pics:

As you can see, there is much more volume to my lashes using the "volume" handle. And when I use the "length" handle, the volume decreases but I do see more length. 

So, this product delivers on its promise of offering both a volume and length version in one tube.

That said, I'm not in love with this product and here's why: the style of the brush doesn't work for my particular lashes and eye shape. I don't get good separation with the bristles, which I think you can see in the above pics. The formula itself is not clumpy, but the brush just doesn't separate my lashes during application. Also, when using the "length" handle, the brush is quite flimsy due to the thinness of the stem. I find the flimsiness of the brush a bit difficult to work with, and I often hit my skin and make a mess when using the "length" handle of this mascara.

As for staying power, I am very sad to report that this works just like other Rimmel formulas I've used in the past. Let me state for the record that I know MANY women who LOVE the formula of Rimmel mascaras, and I know their mascaras work beautifully for many of you. But there's something in their formulas that just does not agree with my chemistry, so Rimmel mascaras tend to fade quickly on my oily skin. It's as if the oils around my eyes just eat this mascara within a few hours, and at the end of the day, I look like I'm not even wearing mascara at all. So, unfortunately, that's what happens when I use this particular Rimmel mascara.

Final Verdict: Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara delivers what it promises: two options for mascara application (volume or length) within the same tube. This could be quite handy for those of you who like to have two separate volumizing and lengthening mascaras in your makeup bag at the same time. But for me personally, the formula and brush don't quite work. The brush is difficult to maneuver on my particular lashes, and the formula doesn't have the staying power that my oily skin needs. This one's not a love-match for me, but it may work for those of you who already use and love other Rimmel mascaras.