It was countdown time. 30 minutes and counting.

The tension mounted with each passing second.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Wildly I raced around the house wanting desperately to avoid the consequences of missing the deadline. And it would be a very close race.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Now cloistered in the bathroom I raked a comb through my hair.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

I quickly sponged on the face makeup, making sure to blend in the contour and highlight lines.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

The deep voice reverberated through the door.......

"I KNOW! I KNOW!" I hollered back, my hands beginning to tremble with the stress of it all.

Time for the finishing touches on my look. I reached quickly for the blue and gray slender container that I had come to like so well, forgetting that without my glasses on my judgement would be slightly off.

And then it happened.

Like a little scud missile, that slender rather harmless mascara container suddenly became armed and dangerous. It raced to the ground with purpose where it landed squarely on the large mouthwash bottle that I had neglected to pick up earlier. Once it hit that bottle, like a trampoline, it sailed exponentially faster with a lock on its target.

My eye.

I saw stars as that little scud missile reached its goal. My eye hurt so badly that I could not open it, and streams of tears coursed their way down my newly primped cheeks.

That deep irritated voice interrupted my thoughts from the other side of the doorway again.

"ALL RIGHT!!!" I shouted with extreme annoyance.

I tried to look in the mirror, but my other eye, in sympathetic unity with its partner began to exude rivers of tears down my other cheek.

What was I going to do?

Nothing to do but reach again for the mascara and try to salvage what was left of the mess on my face.

I felt around for that obnoxious container and finally found it. I wrapped my fingers around it tightly and proceeded to dab at my eyes with a tissue until I could just get them dry enough to take a little mascara.

I tried to steady my hands as I applied the mascara. Finally I was able to apply enough that I could at least look tolerable on my special night out.

After I put on the rest of my makeup, my eye now sufficiently recuperated, I looked up in the mirror in amazement.

Hey, I did not remember my eyes ever looking that good! In fact, they looked like I had more eyelashes.

I was so impressed that I did not even answer that rumble of a voice that was almost pounding on the bathroom door again.

All of this time I had been looking for a mascara that would give me the kind of lashes that LOOKED like I had more and bigger eyelashes.

Now, I was thrilled.

This was a call for Marilyn Monroe.

I raced from the bathroom, my clothes all askew as my somewhat relieved husband suddenly donned a look of complete disbelief.

" ALL OF THAT TIME IN THERE AND THAT IS WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE???",he roared.

I did not care. I had a mission.

There were streaks of colored fabric and hair streaming through the room as my old regular evening took on a new appearance. Yessiree Bob, I was finally going to have a Marilyn night.

Within record time, I had completely changed my look as my husband was holding the phone ready to cancel our reservations (which were hard to get at this place, by the way). I stepped triumphantly out of the bathroom, a tidal wave of clothes and accessories in my wake.

"Wow," he said.

And we were ready to go - on time.

Just before we were whisked out the door by the rather brisk wind, I ran back into the bathroom to see what it was that had given me such a new lease on life. I was shocked. And kind of ashamed.

It was Maybelline Voum' Express Mascara. The same mascara that I had rated very low in the past.

I have since completely changed my opinion of this wonderful stuff and would like to tell you about it.



Then and Now
The first time I used this stuff, I was very disappointed. There were clumps everywhere from the first time I had opened it brand new. I have tried the dark brown and the black colors. I did not like the way it went on and I did not like the way it came off.

Since this incident that changed my views, I have not had any clumps other than a very occasional one. The application is really wonderful.

Thicker and Longer
This mascara does make your lashes a lot thicker and longer. The only trick I have found is that you have to apply it in 2 applications instead of one. If you were to apply it in one coat only, you would find that Maybelline FULL N SOFT mascara would look thicker and a bit fuller.

The magic is in the 2nd coat for me. That is where this mascara outshines ALL of the competition right now. It dries quickly so that a 2nd coat is not a problem.

Physically Speaking
The container for this mascara is really nice. It is silver in color and easy to find. It is a bit of an elliptical shape so that you can grip it easier. This is important to me now after my little scud missile incident from before <g>. The container measures 4.25 inchese in height and is about 3/4" wide at it fattest point.

The amount of mascara that you get in the container is .34 oz or 10 ml. That is more that Full N Soft, which only gives you .28oz(8.2ml).

Max Factor gives you the same as the Waterproof Volum' Express does, but most other mascaras only give you .28 or .25 oz (approx 8ml or less). The only other mascara on the drugstore circuit that I have found that gives you a lot more is Maybelline Great Lash. Great Lash gives you .43 oz or 12.7 ml or product. So that makes the Waterproof Volum' Express one of the more generous versions of mascaras currently on the market.

Another important factor in my mascara use is : does it smell? This mascara has one of the lesser of the chemical smells that usually comes in mascaras. I have a hard time when a mascara has a heavy chemical smell. It often causes eye irritation for me. This mascara is very gentle to my eyes (and the container is nicer to me too <g>). I used to wear contact lenses and I would suggest that this would be an excellent mascara to use for a contact lens wearer.

Staying Power
This mascara is considered waterproof. I have tried approximately 25 different mascaras over the last 10 years. Out of all of them this one is most curious. It is waterproof in that it does not smear. It does not come off very easily if you rub your eye. However, it kind of rubs off in almost indistinguishable crumbs and leaves no residue in the morning. You can take it off with makeup remover or soap and water. I have used both. I prefer to just let it wear off.

Colors
I find it essential to have a wide assortment of colors available in mascara. I prefer to have a blonde, auburn or red of some sort, a brown, a dark brown and a very black. At the time when I purchased the two colors I have of Maybelline Waterproof Volum' Express, there were only 2 browns (lighter and darker) and a black. That is one drawback to me.

However, the look I am able to achieve with this mascara is a highly glamorous one and I really love it.

I have found that this mascara has gone from being a really misjudged and not liked product in my makeup closet, to being my number one favorite, replacing Maybelline Full N Soft.

Maybelline Waterproof Volum' Express is very close to my all time favorite that was discontinued by Loreal quite a few years ago now. It should not surprise me since Loreal bought the Maybelline company at about the same time they discontinued the mascara I loved of all time- Loreal Formula Riche. I would not be surprised if this is the same or a similar formula.

Moral of the story is to be open minded when trying make up....

...and pick up the mouthwash bottle when you drop it......<G>

Thanks for reading!



Recommended: Yes