Recently I received 4 gramm sample tubes of both High Impact and High Definition mascaras by Clinique in excange for my old ones. It isn't very often that expensive brands such as Clinique, Estee Lauder, Dior or Chanel offer such a deal where you are not expected to spend a single penny in exchange for a sample size product (and a fairly generous one at that), so the minute I saw the ad, I rushed to their nearest store to get them.

I really think that these kind of deals pay off in the end, because I'm a convert now: I always thought that paying so much money for something as simple as a mascara is silly, but now I finally see the light. My old mascaras (Bourjois and ArtDeco) do not even compare. Whereas my old ones started flaking in about four or five hours after application, Clinique's last an entire working day (= min. 16 hours) without any flaking, smudging or simply disappearing from my lashes.

Amazing!



Clinique High Impact Mascara:

This one is my favourite of the two: it promises to give volume to my lashes, which I need more than length, and it certainly delivers. My lashes are quite long, but not very thick or voluminous, and they are also very fair, so what I expect from a mascara is to provide some color, make them look full, and give them some definition.

I got this in Black, so the color part is not a problem at all: it is a deep, midnight black, not dark, dull grey as some mascaras unfortunately are. The head is large and has lots of bristles, but suprisingly enough it is very easy to use, and I can reach every single lash, both upper and lower. I would call the formula creamy and somewhat on the thin side, but for me it doesn't smudge at all: perhaps the trick is not to blink with your eyes for a minute or so which allows it to dry perfectly. This might be a bit of a bother for some, but the good thing is that once the formula dries, it stays put for the rest of the day.

After one application I get a very simple and sophisticated look: my lashes are dark, full and long but not overly so, and it doesn't look as if I were wearing false eyelashes. (Which, unfortunately, happens to me very often because of my naturally long lashes.) Two apllications are what this mascara really needs in order to deliver: I get darker and a bit longer lashes, and they look thick, full and have great volume.

Another great thing is that even though the mascara adheres to my lashes all day, it is very easy to remove in the evening: I clean my face with water and a very mild soap, and that is all it takes to get rid of every single bit of it.

The only downside I could find was that the instant I apply it, it takes out all the curl I struggled to add with my eyelash curlers. However, if you are brave enough, you can always curl after applying mascara to your lashes which might just solve this problem.

All in all, Clinique's High Impact Mascara is not a great addition to my make-up bag, simply because I use it every day now and keep it on my table. Ha, got ya! ;-) Anyway, I definitely recommend it.



Clinique High Definition Lashes Mascara:

This is definitely not the mascara for me, nonetheless, it's a decent one and might work well for someone who's after long (almost on the werge of looking false) lashes. The tube is matte black with a shiny silver cap, whereas the High Impact mascara has tons of green shimmer somehow mixed into the shiny black plastic material of the tube. (Not that that's very important but someone might just want to know... :-))

The head is what makes this mascara special, because one side is full of bristles, and the other side is basically a comb. Now, I got the best results when I only used the bristle side, because when I actually dared to use the comb my lashes looked fake, insanely long yes, but still fake, and let's not forget that this mascara clumped like there was no tomorrow. I admit, the clumping was perhaps due to the fact that my lashes tend to criss-cross instead of spreading like a fan, so it is possible that other ladies might see better results than I did, especially after using a curler.

However, applying the formula with only the bristles gave me fairly good results: I still had insanely long lashes but at least the spider legs were mostly gone. All in all, this is not my favourite, but I can still use it if need be, and others might actually find it fabulous.

What I'm really lusting after, however, is Clinique's Naturally Glossy Mascara (in Jet Brown 02), for reasons I mentioned before: my lashes are fair, almost invisible when bare, but they are quite long, so I don't need any kind of vavoom, just a decent tint and some additional glossy-ness is always welcome. ;-)