luxe for less: l'oreal extra-volume collagen mascara

Confession: I've never met a mascara I didn't like. Well, okay, that's not entirely true - there's been a few of the smudge-y, flake-off, lacklustre volume variety that have have failed to meet my Bambi-eyelash expectations. But for the most part, mascaras set my heart – and my eyes – aflutter because of their quick-fix beauty results. And L'Oreal's latest offering, Extra-Volume Collagen Mascara, has passed the Bambi test with flying colours. It's the latest in the Voluminous line, which is one of my all-time favorite mascaras. First, the brush: pull out the wand and behold the mammoth applicator, which is a full 50% bigger than a regular brush. It's so big, in fact, that it might instill fear of a mascara-eyeball collision. But I've discovered that such a huge brush is a good thing, because it grabs and coats every single lash in one fell swoop. I was also, admittedly, a little skeptical at first of Extra-Volume Collagen's uber-sci-fi-ish formula, with its blend of water-binding hyaluronic acid and collagen, which is typically used in dermo-cosmetic treatments. But not surprisingly perhaps, Extra-Volume Collagen won me over by giving me pumped-up and wide-eyed lashes with maximum volume. Lashes with body? Yes, it's possible! Seriously, I don't think I've had lashes this big without wearing falsies.