No doubt everyone by now has seen the Clinique offer in March's Glamour magazine. I've literally scoured every newsagents, supermarket, corner shop and petrol station looking for a copy, but those things are like gold dust at the moment. I managed to find an issue with a free High Impact Mascara lurking away in the men’s health section of WH Smith, no doubt stashed there by someone waiting to come back to it. But now it’s mine, mwah-hah!
I've always been a fan of Clinique, every since I was young and I'd ‘borrow’ my Mum's Facial Soap bar. I don't often think about the ethics and philosophies of companies; if a product takes my fancy I'll snap it up without a second thought, but to me, the Clinique brand represents something really pure and simple; allergy tested, fragrance free, clean packaging, even down to the white lab coats the consultants wear on the counters in store. All these things together allow me to really trust in Clinique, so that when I buy their products, I know I'm going to feel comfortable using them, and, most likely, going to love them.
I've bought hundreds of mascaras in the past; most ending in disappointment ... I'm looking at you Big Fake Lash! I have naturally long eyelashes, so throughout the day, no matter how much primer and powder and all kinds of fixative solutions I try, they always end up smudging magnificently around my eyes, et voliá, the panda effect. So far the only one I've found that hasn't ended in a smeary demise and a quick flight towards the bin is Benefit's Bad Gal Lash, which is actually rather annoying seeing as it retails at £16.50. I've never really looked past Benefit and onto any of the higher end brands like Esteé Lauder, YSL etc. for mascara because, despite knowing that they have a range of excellent products I’d love to try, I just cannot justify to myself that a little tube with some black gloop in it is really worth a whole week’s food! Although, having said that, working in Boots and being surrounded by said black gloop, I don’t really stand a chance against my lack of will power teamed with the wonderful invention of staff discount!
Bare Lashes // Two Coats
The High Impact mascara itself is brilliant. Although, its marketing claims the triple threat; volume, definition AND length, but in my opinion, it doesn’t quite live up to this high standard. I found the product to be quite sticky upon application and brittle once dry. Now this I can safely say makes for excellent staying power. No running/bleeding/smudging whatsoever, so in my book, its already the best thing in the world. As for volume, it’s okay, the roots get nicely thickened and fanned out well, in turn giving it definition, but as for the lengthening, I found I just couldn't make it go all the way out to the tips of my lashes, and when it did, easily wearing off once dry.
Depending on what you need, this mascara can suit you very well, and to pay £2.00 for 4g when the full size 8g has a R.R.P. of £15.00, all I can say is, I should of gone out and bought as many Glamour magazines as I could have laid my hands on!
