Review: Maybelline Volum' Express The Mega Plush Mascara

I purchased this new addition to the Volum' Express family at Target almost exactly two weeks ago. I've been wearing it every day for these past few weeks, so let's see how it's been working for me, shall we?

 Maybelline Volum' Express The Mega Plush Washable Mascara in Blackest Black

(retail: around $6, 0.3 oz)

This is Maybelline's first gel-mousse mascara formula, and it promises to give you "massive supple volume" and "no brittle feel".

The shape of this brush is sort of like a football--it's thicker in the middle and tapered on each end. The bristles are of the traditional nylon variety.

The "flexor brush" contains a joint about halfway down the stem (see above) that only bends when you push against the brush with your finger. In other words, you won't visibly see this brush bend when applying this mascara. Rather, it creates a "springy" feeling during application and provides less resistance than a normal brush.

Now I'm going to show you two photos of what my eyes look like after wearing this mascara for four hours (three coats on just my upper lashes):

As you can see, this mascara transfers/smears under my eyes after four hours of wear. I can pretty much stop this review right here and tell you that I'm never going to repurchase this product and that I won't wear it again now that my testing period is over, but if you'd like more details, read on!

The first few times I wore this mascara, I applied it to my upper and lower lashes (I'm only wearing it on my upper lashes in the photos above). It transferred like crazy after a few hours, and at first I blamed my eyeliner. So the next day, I didn't wear any eyeliner and it transferred again. A few days later, I tried wearing it on just my upper lashes and...same problem. So for the photos above, I deliberately didn't wear any eyeshadow, liner, and I also didn't apply this mascara to my lower lashes. I basically wanted to eliminate any other potential product that might be causing the smearing but, as you can see, it's still smearing.

Therefore, I've got to conclude that the formula itself, the gel-mousse formula, is NOT for those of us with oily skin. Granted, it's been warm here in San Diego these past few weeks, but we also had a fluke day of rain and colder weather, and this mascara smeared on that day too. 

As for application and how this product makes my lashes look, it's nice. The gel-mousse formula makes this mascara glide on the lashes effortlessly, HOWEVER, the promise of  "massive supple volume" is, for lack of a better word, an empty promise. I live for volumizing mascaras and I know a volumizing mascara when I see one. THIS is not a volumizing mascara. In fact, the reason I showed you photos of my eyes after three coats was because I simply cannot see this mascara on my lashes after one coat. Two coats is still quite subtle, so I really can't leave the house without three.

Regarding the "flexor brush", I think that a brush like this, which provides very little resistance during application, would be much better suited to a mascara that's big on volume and prone to clumping. In my opinion, this formula is already so light and weightless that giving it such a gentle, delicate brush is overkill. I can't tell you how many times I WISHED that this brush had more resistance when I was using it, because maybe then I could get more product onto my lashes. The best analogy I can give you is this: try to imagine pushing a styrofoam ball across your kitchen floor...with a bendy straw. Light + light = frustrating.

If Maybelline touted this as a mascara for "mega separation and definition" I think they'd be right on the money. This mascara gives beautiful definition and separation and I have never had a problem with clumping. But, for my personal needs, I require some "clumpage" or else my lashes look nonexistent. Therefore, this product is just not for me.

Let it be known that I ADORE Maybelline Volum' Express The Colossal Washable Mascara and I would put it in my top three mascaras of all time. But I'm the first one to tell you that The Colossal can make your lashes feel a little "crunchy", so the one thing I really love about The Mega Plush is that my lashes truly feel supple, as promised. However, I'm not about to sacrifice staying power and volume for less crunchy lashes.

FINAL VERDICT: If you do not have oily skin and you're looking for a mascara that provides beautiful definition and separation but not much in the way of volume or length, this might be a home-run for you. However, if you have oily skin and your top requirements for a washable mascara are volume and staying power, I would point you in the direction of The Colossal and steer you away from The Mega Plush.

Do you already own The Mega Plush? What do you think of it? I'd love to hear from you!