Lancome Hypnose Volume-à-porter Mascara | #SayItWithYourEyes

Remember how a few months back I had a good aul bitch about high end mascaras and said I never thought they were really worth the money? I am now a changed woman. What has changed my opinion, you ask? Lancome Hypnose Volume-à-porter mascara*. Mascara is not something I have any loyalties too - even among drugstore or budget brands, it's very rare that I repurchase one because I'm constantly looking for something new... Something that will give me curlier, thicker, longer lashes than the previous. 3 months ago if you had asked me my favourite mascara, I would probably just say "oh I'm using _____ at the minute and it's really good" but would never be able to give you a definite favourite. Now, I am just a little bit in love with this thing, which is something I wasn't ever expecting to happen.

In case you were curious, I had tried the regular Lancome Hypnose several times in the past (bought by myself, sent as a press sample, received as a gift etc) and never really understood the hype. Yeah, it was nice for length but I could generally get that from any other mascara. Lancome's latest mascara offering is the first high end mascara that I've tried that I can truly say I feel is worth the money - and one which I will absolutely be buying again in the future.

The packaging is fab, the formula is nice and black and most importantly, doesn't flake which is something I encounter quite a bit with mascaras. The wand is a plastic (which I LOVE!), slightly fatter at the base and thins out towards the tip. The bristles are quite short and thin at the base and are almost non-existent at the tip, making it so easy to coat the lash with product and precisely comb through and get to every single lash. Seriously, lashes I didn't even know I had were popping up after I used this.

The name would suggest it's purely a volumizing mascara, and it definitely does do that. However, I found it was great for giving length and holding a curl so that my lashes looked super "swoooooshy" and pretty all day long. I can curl my lashes to the highest degree, apply my mascara and by the time I'm finished layering it my lashes are straight as a ruler again. This kept the curl amazingly (especially for a non-waterproof mascara) and I think that is to do with the feather-light formula not weighing the lashes down. Because the formula is so light, it means you can very, very easily layer it up even hours after you've first applied it and my eyelashes never felt crunchy or dry, always feathery and soft to touch but still dramatic and defined. 
I feel like comparing a mascara'd eye to a bare lash is completely useless because you could put any mascara on one eye to show how good it is in a photograph and any mascara would look amazing next to your base lashes... yano? So, pictured below is 2 coats of the Lancome Hypnose on the left eye and 2 coats of the Rimmel Kate Moss Rockin' Curves on the right - both with no lash curler. The difference is insaaaane to me. I definitely go for a clumpy lash look but you can very easily achieve soft, "pretty" lashes with the Lancome mascara in one coat, too. 

Lancome (left), Rimmel (right)

€27.50 definitely isn't the cheapest for a mascara, but I know a lot of people who will only buy high end mascaras and really feel they're worth the money so if you are one to spend a little more on a mascara, then this is one I would highly recommend. On the other hand, if you haven't tried a higher end mascara and were looking to pick one up, this could be the one to go for. After all, it converted me! x