love it or leave it? maybelline volum' express colossal

If there is one thing I am not on the look out for? It is a new mascara. I am pretty dedicated to the ones I love. (Cover Girl's The Super Sizer, Benefit's They're Real!, and Dior's DiorShow.) With a mixture of high-end and drugstore loves....the last thing I want to do is try out a ton of different mascaras. Well, that changed. The Maybelline Volum' Express Colossal Mascara kind of fell into my lap. My husband works at a drugstore. Every now and then they have unused testers to get rid of and in-store discounts. Which is how this mascara found its way into my life.

It was a little unnerving. I hadn't tried a new mascara in ages. But there was something exciting about it, too. Maybe this mascara would be better than my all-time favourites. Stranger things have happened. That is what leads me to today's blog post. Is the Maybelline Volum' Express Colossal Mascara a love? Or would I leave it? Keep reading. It is time to find out the verdict.

Drum roll please......

This is a leave it product for me.

Wondering why? There are a few reasons that this mascara failed to live up to my expectations. The first is the smell. None of my other mascaras have a fake perfumey scent. This does. It is actually quite strong and a little repellent. You will notice it the moment you unscrew the lid. (It really is that strong.) For some people this might not be an issue. I personally found it to be extremely off putting. I was not into thisBefore I even applied the product to my lashes.

The application itself was fairly good. The wand is a standard mascara brush....nothing special there. It went on well and added a good amount of volume and length. That was the good part. The not so good part? What happened later in the day. About an hour after application? There was smudging underneath my lower lash line. It looked awful! This has not happened with any other mascara in my collection. Needless to say it was shocking when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

The Maybelline Volum' Express Colossal Mascara was a dud for me. It performed well during application. But the smell? The smudging? No thanks. There are better alternatives at the drugstore.

Have you tried this mascara? Love it or leave it?

xo Shannon