Well, that’s over now. Back to business…
After three high end mascara reviews in a row, I figured it was time for me to venture back into the drugstore to see what was new there. And wouldn’t you know, Revlon has recently launched an all new mascara to their line. This one is called the Xtenstionnaire mascara and it’s big claims are length and volume. Well, we’ll see about that! I’ve spend the last few weeks playing with it behind the scenes. Let’s get into the review.
REVLON COLORSTAY XTENSIONNAIRE MASCARA – $24.95 – chemistwarehouse.com.au
Let’s kickstart this review with the packaging. The Xtensionnaire Mascara is housed in a gold chrome tube with shiny black detail. The handle on top of the tube is also a shiny black plastic. Revlon has been dabbling with some interesting tube shapes for their mascaras lately. So this feels like a return to basics. It’s sleek, simple, but the gold makes it eye-catching. It almost reminds me of L’Oreal’s mascara packaging. The Xtensionnaire Mascara contains 7ml of product.
The brush of the Xtensionnaire Mascara on the surface looks fairly standard. But it’s when you take a closer look that you notice how unique it is. It appears to be a simple conical shape, nearing to a point. But the synthetic hair bristles appear to wrap around the wand, giving it a swirl shape. And I’ve found that the shape allows the lashes to really grip onto the wand and coat every lash evenly with product. I also like how fine the tip is as that allows me to reach my inner lashes.
Formula wise, the Xtensionnaire mascara seems pretty standard. There are fibers in this mascara to help with length and volume. And there is Pro-Vitamin B5 to help condition the lashes. The pigment is nice and rich in colour. And it’s on the creamy side. Not too waxy, not too liquid. One thing I did notice when I did the hand swatch is that I physically felt this dry down. And it left my hand feeling a little tight. This might be because I accidentally bought the waterproof version. I’ll have to revisit this with the non-waterproof version.
First impressions of this mascara, I will admit, weren’t great. It went on the lashes ok. But it didn’t necessarily wow me. Then I went in with a second coat and that’s when the magic happened. This formula layers exceptionally well. I could build this up quite a bit without making my lashes look heavy or clumpy. And the length I got? *chef’s kiss*. It also volumized well. But what surprised me was how much lift I got. The formula feels very lightweight on the lashes, no matter how much I layered on.
But how did did it stack up during the wear test? Well, interestingly. Remember when I mentioned that this was a waterproof version. Turns out that was actually a good choice on past me’s part (And I usually don’t like past me, she makes bad choices). The reason being that for the last two weeks, if Mount Isa wasn’t bucketing down with rain, then it was as humid as all get out (70% some days!). The fact that anything stuck to my face during this time was admirable (stay tuned for Friday). And this mascara didn’t budge. It didn’t smudge, it didn’t flake (which waterproof formulas often do with me). The worst thing I could say it did was that the lift didn’t stay lifted throughout the 9 hours I was wearing it.
I do have one minor nitpick though. And that’s with the removal. Again, I know it’s a waterproof formula. But even my most hardcore oil cleansers couldn’t get this off completely. I had to go in with a specialised eye makeup remover to take it all off. And I’m still not sure that it got everything. So yeah, this formula is heavy duty for sure.
All in all, I do have to give a thumbs up to the Xtensionnaire Mascara. If you like an instant impact with your mascara, I can maybe see you not liking it. But if you like to layer, you will really love it! I do plan on grabbing the non-waterproof version down the line to see how it holds up. But I like it, the price is right, it’s a winner in my book. Have you tried the Revlon Xtensionnaire Mascara? Let me know in the comments.
Cheers and love
Emily xo