Total Beauty sent me a sample of the not yet released L’Oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara. The mascara will be on the market in November, 2009. I had very mixed feelings about it the first time I used it, but with use, I warmed up to it.
It seems like mascaras are always looking for a new gimmick in order to get people to keep buying. I suppose I can see why that is. It is not like eyeshadow or lipstick where a company can put out limited edition shades to keep the buyer coming back. The gimmick with L’Oreal Telescopic Explosion is a little round brush. It basically looks like a little ball on the end of a rather long wand. If you are familiar with Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes, it is very similar.
On the good side, the brush made getting into the corner of the eye easy, and I kind of liked it for lower lashes. It is meant to be used from any angle, and it indeed works well for that. I also got some incredible length from the formula, but, at least the first time that I used it, it came with price—thick clumping on some lashes. At first I thought I hadn't wiped the brush well enough so I tried again—still more clumps. It also takes some work to coat all of the lashes with the tiny brush. I worked from one side to the other, but would occasionally accidentally overlap an area which, of course, led to even more clumping.
The second time I used it, I fared better. I thoroughly wiped every bit of excess from the brush and was careful not to overlap any areas. When applied with caution, I got a very nice clump-free look from it, with very nice length. I think the little round brush takes some getting used to. The overall look from this one, applied with extreme caution to avoid clumpage, is very long spiky and well define lashes. I found the look to be very similar to that of Maybelline’s Lash Stiletto.
The mascara also wears well. No smudging or flaking, yet it removes very easily.
