Funny Wand, Funny Mascara

I bought Revlon's 3D Extreme mascara a week ago in a set with Illuminance creme shadow, whose consistency I've liked and wanted to try again. Well, I haven't gotten around to the shadow but I have been using the mascara, and it's left me...torn.

The drugstore had a few varieties of these kits for about $7 each and I picked 3D on a whim for a few simple reasons: it's shadow colors seemed the most useful, it's hype was enticing ("25X fuller, 70 percent curvier and 80 percent visibly longer" lashes), and the packaging looked fancy. Plus, check out the picture of the wand.

Maybelline Full 'n Soft is great when it comes to making me look refreshed in the morning. But what about when I want to look a bit more glammed up? I hoped that 3D in blackest black could come through.

The first thing I noticed is that when it's gunked with mascara, the wand looks nothing like the press photo. Reluctantly, I swept it on. I was impressed. It made my already decent lashes really POP, look noticeably longer and curvier. About halfway to how they'd look with a couple of false lashes put in, in a good way.

However, I didn't notice much lushness. This is where the problems begin. (Somehow maneuvering the funny wand wasn't a huge deal.) Thrown in with lengthening and curling are minor flakiness and major clumping. Maybe the kits were old and dried out and that's why they were cheap? Because after the first use or two when I really loved it, I found that as soon as I swiped it on it looked clumpy and annoyingly lumped my lashes together.

On second thought, maybe the wand has something to do with it after all. I dislike that I can't comb the wand through my lashes because, in addition to that unique head, two sides of the wand are flat and bristle-less. (Imagine putting a wand flat and shaving off a few rows of bristles on the ceiling- and floor-facing sides. Yeah, weird. In the future I'll keep my eyelash comb close!) This, combined with the mediocre formula, is not great success in my book.

With tweaking this product could be awesome. The brush's unique shape might work better if not so saturated with product; kinks in the formula should be addressed. After 12 hours most of the curl was gone but my lashes still looked long and dark, with no smudging and no flaking on my face. I want to like it! I loved the initial swipes. But it's drawbacks were really a let-down.

Ultimately I don't think I will repurchase this unless it's reformulated because I know there must be equal or better mascaras out there. It still makes my lashes look pretty nice though, so I will definitely finish the tube.

Oh, and one comment about the 'fancy' packaging - my hands were wet and I was in a rush and the darn thing wouldn't open. So I gently clenched the top between my teeth to turn it, as I've done with many a mascara tube before. Well...it dented! lol. Can't say that's their fault since I don't think it was made to be between teeth....Have you ever done that (or similar tomfoolery) before??