November 12, 2009

Review: L'Oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara

Will you like this mascara? The key question is do you like your lashes spiky and dramatic? Or fluttery and natural++? I'm with the second camp so this mascara doesn' make it into my must-have list, but once you get past that it's actually pretty decent.

I got a tube to try via the Total Beauty network, it's newly launched in the US and I have absolutely no clue when or if it'll get here.

The key differentiator is of course, the sea-mine man-o-war (maybe that's why they called it "explosion"?) applicator. When I first saw this style of mascara wand on Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes Mascara, I'll was pretty interested. I normally turn my mascara wands almost vertical and use the tip to add oomph to my outer lashes so this wand seemed like a good idea.

Wand
I love how small it is and how easy it makes applying mascara smudge-free. I just wish it was well... furrier. The spikes are actually rather far apart and the mascara formula is thick so lashes tend to bond together into triangle shaped spikes.One coat doesn't cut it, two coats and it's WHOA clumps! A lash comb solves almost all the problems, but wouldn't it be cool not to need it?

Effect

I will say though if you like spiky dramatic lashes you'll looove this. It's not big on curl, but it'll give you visible lashes alright. (There is no point my showing you the before. Just imagine my eyes, with NO lashes visible)

Wear
This is the best part about the mascara. It's waterproof, flake proof, and doesn't leave undereye shadows at all. All day. I wouldn't guarantee it's durability if you rubbed it with your fingers though. And here's the truly wonderful bit. It has all the above AND it's darned easy to remove at the end of the day. A few swipes with a dual-phase mascara remover and you're ready for bed. This is something few companies seem to overlook. We love long-wearing mascara but we don't like having to rub rub rub rub rub it off at the end of a hard day.

Conclusion
This retails in the US for just under US$10. Now, even if this showed up on our sunny (rainy) shores I doubt I'd pick it up as I do prefer my lashes fluttery and curled. But read the review and determine for yourself if it's the mascara for you.

5 comments:

AskMeWhats said...

wow, I really love the lashes, sooooooo dramatic!

cucumpear said...

Telescopic Explosion has been available in Europe for a few months. I think I got my tube around June or July. It didn't work for me at all, nor do any of those with rubbery applicators. They just stick my lashes together in a way not even a lash comb can fix.
But that shouldn't discourage other people to try it. I just have weird criss-crossing lashes!

Kahani said...

Nikki: See? It's all a matter of taste. =P

Cucumpear: Me too! That's my beef with it, but some asian girls who have short stubby lashes like me seem to prefer it

~Lisa said...

Great review! It's available in Canada too! I'm not too interested because the brush is so teeny. I can't imagine myself poking my lashes with this brush >.< Now, I know I won't get it because I hate the spiky lash look!

Lavender said...

The mascara makes your lashes so prominent. I love the special effects. thanks for the review.