Review: Milani Total Lash Cover Mascara with 3 Zone Brush

Continuing my series of all the new 2012 products from Milani, today I'd like to show you the new Total Lash Cover Mascara, which is exclusive to Walmart (or you can order online via the Milani website). This mascara has quite the unique brush so, now that I've given it a thorough testing, I'd love to share my thoughts with you:

Milani Total Lash Cover Mascara in Black

(retail: $4.99, 0.42 oz)

As you can see, the brush has three "zones" which are designed to give you "multi-performance".

This brush contains both nylon bristles and also plastic bristles:

Two sides of the brush contain the nylon bristles (white and neon green), and they comprise the wider, flatter sides of the brush (see pic above).

The other two sides of the brush are comprised of plastic bristles, which are longer than the nylon bristles (although, as you can see, you only get one row per side of the plastic bristles).

To see what my lashes look like with two coats of this mascara, please see my Recreating the Milani Pure Love Eye Look post here (I was wearing this mascara in those photos).

What I like: the formula of this mascara is nice. It gives some good volume and length, it doesn't smear, flake or run throughout the course of the day (although it's not waterproof) and two coats are all I require until I'm happy with the volume. I should note that volume is my number one requirement for mascara, above length and separation. I also like that the nylon bristles provide nice volume while the plastic bristles provide length and separation.

What I don't like: although I love that this brush contains both nylon bristles and plastic bristles in one brush, I find the brush a bit too big and cumbersome for my liking. I can really only hold this brush at certain angles or else I'll accidentally get mascara under my eye or on my lids. The nylon bristles are on the flat, wide side of the brush, and that's the side of the brush that's hard for me to use. I can't really reach all of my lashes with the nylon bristles, so I find myself using the plastic bristle sides more than the nylon bristle sides of the brush. Also, the tip of the brush is a plastic nub, which doesn't work for me personall. Since I tend to hold my mascara wand in a vertical position when I apply my mascara to my lower lashes, I like for my brush to have bristles that extend all the way to the end of the brush. The plastic nub doesn't hold enough mascara to make vertical application easy for me.

FINAL VERDICT: In terms of novelty, this brush is fascinating to look at and, in theory, it sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I just can't seem to get it to work for me and my particular mascara needs. The formula itself is quite nice, but I don't like a brush that I have to think about too much, and I'm always concerned with bristle placement and wand angle when I'm using this mascara. I would rather use my Jordana Best Lash Extreme mascara (sister company of Milani), which is my Holy Grail mascara and one I whole-heartedly recommend if you're looking for an inexpensive mascara that gives great volume to thin, short lashes (like mine). If you're the type of who loves trying the latest mascara inventions, and you enjoy experimenting with techniques, you might have fun with this one. I guess I'm just so happy with the no-frills wand on the Jordana mascara that I can't see myself reaching for this one.

Do you own the Milani total Lash Cover Mascara? How is it working for you?

A sample of this product was given to Nouveau Cheap for editorial purposes, either directly from the manufacturer or from the agency that works on behalf of the manufacturer. All reviews on NouveauCheap.blogspot.com are the honest opinion of its author and editorial samples do not, in any way, affect the outcome of product reviews.