Tried and tested: recent high street mascara launches

Mascaras seem to be one of the most controversial items makeup items around - what works for one person doesn't for another, and I've spent a lot of time and money buying disappointing ones before. I've put three of the high street's recent mascara launches to the test, to see how well they live up to their names and my expectations.

Maybelline The Colossal Go Extreme!* – I get so confused by all the Maybelline mascara launches – there seems to be about a dozen variants at the moment! I *believe* this is their latest offering, which promises to give you ‘supercharged lashes’ with a ‘no clump formula’. Now, despite the massive brush (which I’m not usually a fan of as they tend to be a bit messy), this does a good job a coating lashes and does build a good amount of volume in two coats, without lots of clumping. I would quite happily reach for this as an everyday mascara, but I don’t think it would be my go-to if I wanted really big lashes (that would be Too Faced Better Than Sex). £6.99

No 7 Lash Impact* – Yet another somewhat mis-leading name, I found No.7’s latest offering to give lashes a fantastic, natural look, but without much volume at all (even after several coats). This is a lovely black colour and lasts a whole day without flaking or smudging, but if you’re after a false lash effect, this won’t be the one for you. I do like the brush on this – it’s not huge, so you don’t end up with product smudged all over your eye lid during application, and the red spangly tube definitely stands out from anything else in my makeup bag. £13.50

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde* – now, the name of this mascara is a bit misleading as it definitely needs longer than 1 second for application! That said, it does work quickly to add volume to lashes, but does leave them lacking a little in length. If, like me, you like to use more than one coat, you’ll need to add the second one pretty fast as it dries quickly. This has lead to a few clumps for me initially, but after changing application techniques (one coat, wait 10 seconds, second coat) I get *almost* clump free lashes. It lasts incredibly well throughout the day and will need a good, oil-based remover to get it off when you’re ready. £9.99

Have you tried any of these mascaras? What are your thoughts?

*PR samples