Maybelline New York XXL Extension Mascara: the One that Almost Does Not Make the Cut

Hi everyone,

When talking about drugstore makeup, there is one brand that I consider my most frequent mistake: Maybelline New York. Maybe since my first mascara was from Maybelline, I developed a fondness to the brand despite the lackluster performance of their products. Come to think of it, there maybe 3 or 4 Maybelline mascaras under the sun that I have not tried and they are:

• Great Lash: you know, the cheap pink tubes that smudge and smear like none o' yo bidnez
• Define-a-Lash: because I was happy with my Cover Girl LashBlast
• Lash Stiletto: because I stopped believing in Maybelline mascaras
• Pulse Perfection: I tried the wand in store and found out vibration for the lashes is not my thing.

The rest of 'em, believe me, I've used, tested, and tried. The regular Volum' Express, Full 'N Soft, and Lash Discovery I even used more than 3 tubs. They all smudged, smeared, and gave me horrible raccoon eyes. And I was a sucker until I discovered my HG mascara ever: L'Oreal Voluminous.

But as they said, "Once a sucker, always a sucker", and this year I found myself buying not one, but two, tubes of Maybelline NY XXL Extension Mascara. I used one and gave another away during the summer blog giveaway! How come?

Because, my love, among the so-so Maybelline mascaras, this one is quite good. Giving its release time was sandwiching between Colossal Volum' Express and Lash Stiletto, this mascara almost did not get any commercial airtime at all!

Maybelline XXL Extension Mascara

(the furry lil' things are Bibi's legs)

This mascara has two ends:

a white fiber end...

...and a black mascara end

While it is a two-step process, which requires more time to apply, I really enjoy the white fiber extension end. It clings to my lashes and make them look a lot longer. Unlike other extension mascaras, I can really go overboard without fearing my new-earned lashes would flake. For this, the XXL Extension is a winner. However, the black mascara is quite weak and does not offer any volume whatsoever. It is more of a colorant to cover the white part.

I have read some complaints about this mascara being clumpy in between colors and I actually experienced it if I leave the white part to dry for too long. To avoid this, you should apply the black mascara as soon as you finish the white extension. Once you do that, there would be no clumpy or flaking whatsoever! Also, you can repeat this process again if you want really dramatically long lashes. Also, I find out this mascara does hold the curls very well. On Sunday, I wore it for almost 8 hours and the curls were still there until I came home and removed my eye makeup.

My lashes after 1 white/black application

They do look noticeably longer

Would I buy this mascara again? Definitely! If Maybelline decides to sell the white primer separately, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Compared to other drugstore brands that have sold this type of dual ended mascara, the XXL extension takes the first place. Believe me, I've tried all of them and they all flake, except this one.

The price: $7-8 USD at drugstores and mass-market stores.

My rating: B+

I am glad to finally review this mascara but still do not understand why I did not do it any earlier. I would not put it in my HG category but for a dual-ended drugstore mascara, the Maybelline NY XXL Extension is very good.

Did you try it? What do you think of Maybelline mascaras? Give me your comments, ok?

P.S: If you like my blog, please subscribe to my feed. Thanks a lot!