Freckles and Beauty: Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara Review

My favourite mascara of all time has to be Clinique high impact curling mascara.

I first tried it perhaps 4 years ago when my Mum had a tube and I (as daughters do) pinched it one morning. I took it off in the shower and expected to come out with panda eyes as usual but this mascara is a completely different kettle of fish altogether. It is not like the traditional oil based mascaras which will smudge and wear off during the day. It is a plastic-type formula which once it has set on the lashes cannot go back to being a liquid formula - thus no smudging! To remove you use warm water and gentle pressure.

Here is what Clinique says "Helps coax lashes to a long, bold, upturned look, without a pinch, pull or tug. Smudge, flake, smear-resistant formula holds for up to 24 hours eye-opening hours. Orthalmologist tested. Appropriate for contact lenses wearers, too."

I completely agree with all of the claims made here. It will stay put until you want it to come off!

Formula wise - I find that when I get a new bottle it is very wet and I have to wipe the tip of the brush off as you can get a blob on the end which will be awkward to not get all over your eyelid whilst applying. After a week or so it dries out slightly and is easier to work with. Make sure you shut the lid tightly (as with all mascaras!) as it can dry out easily if you don't. When it does start to dry out (more than normal/usual) it becomes harder to work with in my opinion. I like to use it when it is slightly more on the wet side of things.

It dries very quickly, and if you are going to build layers with this mascara do not wait until it dries, as it dries very hard and it is difficult to run the brush through the lashes and it ends up clumpy. So I find it works best if you apply a coat, let it "set" but not dry, dip your brush again and start to add more layers. Repeat the process until you have desired effect. I also find as I am getting to the end of a tube it helps to have a lash comb to hand as clumping increases as the formula continues to dry out.

I love how easy the shape of the wand makes application. It fits to the shape of your lashes and you can also turn it around and use the outer end to flick out your outer lashes.

As the mascara dries quite quickly it can hold curl well - so lives up to its name! I always curl my lashes before applying mascara. These pictures were all taken about 7 hours after application with no touch ups or wiping. I have combination-oily which means that most mascaras don't tend to last on me - but this one does.

I realise that the black does look harsh against my pale skin - I usually go for the brown/black colour but I decided to try this colour out to see what kind of difference it makes. It looks less harsh when I am a bit fake tanned or have some colour, and the camera is making my freckles look very orange which emphasises my pale skin! Oh well. Sometimes I do like the more intense black look, but brown/black is definitely more natural on paler skinned people.

The removal isn't really a problem for me as I wash my face with a soap style wash over the sink every night anyway, it just takes a couple of minutes extra to take my mascara off first, and there is no panda eyes, no tugging or sore eyes from rubbing. It makes me wonder why people would ever want to use a normal mascara! I pinched Mum's Dior Show Blackout the other day and it was a nightmare to get off after this luxury!! In conclusion - I will never go back to wearing traditional mascaras. They just don't cut it any more.