Mascara #2...

My most recent mascara purchase was at Ulta, the cosmetics superstore. Ulta entered the market here only a few months ago, and I've tried a few of their store-brand cosmetics, hoping they would be on a par with Sephora. Eh. Let me tell you about the mascara...

Ulta Maximum Volume Soft Curl Mascara is pretty unremarkable. It is dirt cheap, so I don't know that I have any basis for complaint. But still. It's got a standard-shape brush with fairly stiff bristles - not a lot of give. The stiff bristles should assist in the curling technique, but it doesn't work particularly well, and here's why: The mascara formula itself is dry, dry, dry! It's not fluid enough to coat the lashes and make them bendable. I almost returned it to the store, thinking I'd gotten an old tube, but I talked to a friend who's tried it and she had the same experience. So unless we both got bad tubes, this is just a really dry formula. Upon application, it makes my lashes look and feel rather scrubby - yes, they are thicker, but in a kind of "gunked up" way. The surface is not smooth. I find I need to apply a couple of coats to get any added length (not something I normally do - I'm a one-coat-n-go gal) , and then it's hard to drag the brush back through my lashes because of the texture of the first coat.

UMVSCM comes in jet black, soft black and black/brown. I purchased black/brown and it is definitely more on the brown side. I prefer a brownish black, rather than a blackish brown. The price is probably the best feature of this mascara - $7 regular retail price, but often available at 50% off. Nevertheless, I will not be buying again.

Product rating: 5