Saturday 30 January 2010

Review: Givenchy Phenomen'eyes Mascara

I actually bought this on an aeroplane trip a few weeks ago, Id
seen it before and it looked interesting but like most other people I was dubious about putting something that looked like a medieval weapon near my eyes. But on the trip it was that or the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume I...and they were out of those.
But anyhoo, I got it and once Id gotten to my destination I naturally went straight onto the internet to see if I'd made a saving....and found it on cheapsmells.com for about £4 cheaper. Ugh but ah well, I had it and was now intrigued as to how it would fair on my, very stubby, though thick, lashes.

I must warn anyone thinking of getting their hands on this that it is not the easiest mascara to use, I mean yes the little spiky ball means that its easier to reach into the inner corners of your eyes and if you just want to flick it along the tips its very convenient. But it does take some serious getting used to. My first attempt had more of a giant panda look going on but once I'd figured it out I discovered the benefits.
The awesome top:

In the box is a little leaflet with diagrams supposed to help you with applying the mascara but honestly I found them pretty useless. For me it just took practice to get used to manouvering something shaped similar to what knights used to club enemies to death with from the back of a horse.


Once I'd found out how to use it without looking like I'd been punched I could see that in many ways it was a very good mascara, the length it gave to my lashes was pretty damn impressive and it was very black which added a look of volume.

However, for all the awesome length, it clumped like hell. I literally looked like I had about 4 sticks of liquorice stuck to my lids, but this was easily remedied. I simply layered a good separating mascara over the top, namely Rimmels 'The Max Volume Flash' mascara, though I would also recommend Boot's no' 17 'Lasting Fix' mascara too.

Another interesting point about this mascara is how short the wand is, it's about three quarters of the length of most of my mascara's including the lid, which is very wide. In some ways this is good, as it lets you get it right to the inner corners of your eyes, and also makes lower lashes less tricky than with many other mascaras, but in other ways it makes it quite hard to move it especially if you're used to the conventional long thin lids. The short wide engraved lid can actually be very uncomfortable to hold.

All in all, I actually like this mascara, I wouldnt ever use it on its own, but underneath a good separating mascara it makes my lashes look miles longer and very black. I would recommend it to anyone who wants ridiculous length but doesnt mind taking a bit of time to practice and figure it out. If not...well honestly, Max Factors 'Masterpiece' mascara does it very well, and for a lot less money....and you dont feel like you should be wearing a suit of armour.




Pictures: Bare lashes / Lashes with Givenchy mascara / Lashes with Givenchy mascara layered with Rimmels 'The Max Volume Flash' mascara.




*Conclusion*



Good points: lengthens like a dream, very dark, looks cool when you use it in front of people XD

Bad points: clumpy....VERY clumpy, can be awkward to use and takes practice.



Rating: 7/10



I hope you enjoyed this review :) xx

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