Oldie But A Goodie: Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara in Black

I've realized recently that there are quite a few brands which never make it onto my radar: It Cosmetics (never tried anything), Almay (also nada), Cargo (used to own one blush), and Mally Beauty (I've only tried the Evercolor Shadow Stick in Dusk, reviewed here). I don't know exactly why that is - I'm sure these brands have amazing products in their ranges, but I'm just never really drawn to them when I get a lemming for a new product. Are there any brands in particular that you guys are not that interested in?

Anyway; for years, I'd been hearing great things about the Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara in Black ($20 for 0.39 oz), so I was super happy when it was included in a little eye make-up Holiday set from Ulta last year (hence the beautiful Limited Edition starry packaging - couldn't it come packaged like this all the time, instead of the boring white?). Clearly, it took me a while to actually crack my tube open, but I've been using it for the past couple of weeks and wanted to share my thoughts.

(Just one more look at the gorgeous glittery goodness. I'm so happy I'm alliterating). When I first opened the tube, I was a tiny bit disappointed to see the very standard wiry bristle brush inside. I think that over the years, I got so used to the race for the most innovative mascara wands in the universe, that a classic brush seems very... unexciting. But sometimes great things come in unexciting packages - errr, or something like that.

In the close-up, you'll hopefully be able to see that the brush has a spiral design with lots of fine bristles, which make it look a bit fluffy. That, coupled with not too wet of a formula (that also dries out even more in the couple weeks after you open the tube), allows for nicely volumized, but separated and still defined lashes - that's without a doubt my preference for how mascara should look on my own lashes.

One coat gives very natural definition, two (my usual, and what you see in the face shots - no liner on the upper lashline or the waterline to give you a better idea) result in a bit more oomph but without any clumps or spider legs. If you like even more volume, Mally's Volumizing Mascara builds very easily over itself, so three coats should be no problem. This mascara doesn't dry down and set on your lashes, making them feel stiff, which not only allows for multiple coats and touch-ups, but is also more comfortable to wear throughout the day.

Speaking of wear, I get no flakes and no smudging under the eyes or on the browbone (huge feat!) throughout the day, even in high humidity. One thing I can't comment on are the curling properties of this mascara; my lashes have a natural curl to them so I don't have to use a separate eyelash curler, and the Volumizing Mascara definitely doesn't affect my curl in any way - but it isn't waterproof, so if you have stubborn pin-straight lashes, it may not hold the curl for you.

All in all, I'm very happy with this mascara discovery - it also gets bonus brownie points for not smudging on my brow bone; for a while, I had a bad mascara run where 90% of everything I tried transferred after just a couple hours. But while I wouldn't turn my nose at this Mally mascara as a freebie or part of a set, I probably won't repurchase it at full price - I think I should be able to find something with similar results at the drugstore (crossing my fingers here). So far, the two products I've tried from Mally have both been amazing, so I guess I should really look into more things from the brand - you know, for research ;) Do you have any favorites from the Mally Beauty line? Have you ever tried this mascara?