pilarzmom's Full Review: Maybelline Lash Stiletto Length Mascara Very Black
On a recent busy morning I noticed when I looked in the rear view mirror that I'd left the house without mascara. Oh horrors! I can skip eye shadow, but without mascara I feel naked. I made a quick stop at Walgreen's and picked up the first mascara I saw. That happened to be Maybelline Lash Stiletto Ultimate Length Mascara.
Product Details
This mascara comes in a long black tube that sort of resembles a stiletto heel - skinnier on one end with a red band and thicker on the other end. I guess I should have paid closer attention to this. I generally dislike long wands on mascara, as well as big brushes, and this one has both. The wand is 5 inches long, including the brush which is 1.25 inches long. Compare that to 4.75 inches and a 1 inch brush for my favorite Cover Girl LashBlast Mascara. While it may not sound like a huge difference, it is for me.
The brush is nothing new or special. In the pictures it is shown as red, but don't mistake it a new rubber style brush. It is your typical bristle type mascara brush, a bit more narrow at the tip than at the other end. Maybelline calls it a Grip & Extend brush designed to grasp each and every lash and coat them from every angle.
This mascara, as indicated by its name, is a lengthening mascara. Or so Maybelline says. It is made with an elastic formula and also contains Pro-Vitamin B-5 to condition and add shine to your lashes.
It is available in 3 shades: Very Black, Soft Black, and Brownish Black.
My experiences
As I applied this for the first time in the car, I was a bit concerned. The first coat did nothing but darken my lashes. They started to look better with a second coat, but I still wasn't seeing any additional length. With a third coat they finally looked acceptable, but I wouldn't say it added lots of length. They were well defined, very black, and a bit shiny. But that shininess I think was attributable to this mascara being a very wet mascara and one that took a long time to dry. Later on in the day they didn't look so shiny, although the blackness and definition was still there. In fact, Maybelline Lash Stiletto does wear very well without any flaking. It also washes off easily
But I'm not in love with this mascara for a number of reasons. First is the darned wand. It's too long for me and I often poke my eye with it. Plus it takes too long to dry and I often have to clean off mascara around my eyes. The brush itself is pretty average. It does grip well and separate the lashes so they're not clumped. But my preference is toward a smaller brush and wand that are easier to handle.
As for the lengthening claims, I'm just not buying it. My take on Lash Stiletto is this: it does a great job of coating each and every lash. But it doesn't add volume. It's sort of an optical allusion. It gives you dark skinny lashes which appear to be long, but it doesn't have any lash building fiber that actually lengthens them.
Overall rating
Maybelline Lash Stiletto is an average mascara. It certainly does a good job of defining lashes. But it really brings nothing new to the table. If you're blessed with good long lashes (as I am) you might actually get decent results. But if you're looking for a true lengthening mascara, this isn't it. I'm only giving it 2 stars since it doesn't do what it advertises.
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