Cult Classics: L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara

The L'Oreal Telescopic was one of the first mascaras I absolutely fell in love with back in the day, long before I started this blog. I remember purchasing it at Sephora in Warsaw (yes, Sephora!) and loving the sleek silver tube. Obviously the Telescopic Carbon Black ($9.99 for 0.27 fl oz) is a different version than what I used to use, but I know that to this day it's a Holy Grail mascara for a lot of people, and I wanted to see if I still loved it too after having tried so many different low and high-end mascaras over the past five years.

I really like the black packaging of the Carbon Black; I actually didn't remember that the tube is shaped like a telescope, but I think it's a very cool design. According to Ulta's website, Telescopic 'features a patented no clump brush that applies the mascara precisely for long, perfectly defined lashes. Removes easily with soap and water.'. It's also fragrance-free and suitable for those with sensitive eyes and contact wearer.

I did remember that my Telescopic used to have a skinny rubber brush with short bristles, but I was still surprised at how tiny the wand on the Carbon Black is. It's so, so narrow! Some rows of bristles are shorter, some a bit longer - I'm guessing the idea is that you could rotate the angle of the brush to either get more volume or definition. My fresh tube has a somewhat wet formula, which is not my preference, but I think it will get drier (and better) with time.

Unfortunately, after the first week of use, I'm not very impressed with Telescopic Carbon Black. As you can hopefully see in the photo of my bare lashes, I have somewhat fine but long and full lashes (meaning, there's quite a lot of them). I usually like 'defining' mascaras, because I need something to comb through and separate my lashes so that they retain their full and fluttery look. However, the brush on the Telescopic Carbon Black clumps them together instead, and the wet formula is also prone to leaving clumps at the ends of my lashes. I think some of that is due to this 'flexible' wand business, which causes the brush to spring back when I'm really trying to wiggle it between the roots of the lashes - that's also where mascaras blobs on my lids come from. I think the combination of a flimsy brush that picks up a lot of the wet formula is not a good recipe for a clump-free mascara.

The mascara dries down a bit stiff and crunchy (again, not my favorite) and while it doesn't flake off throughout the day (as long as you're not trying to comb it through with a lash comb after it dries), it does transfer on my brow bone where my lashes touch the skin there. Contrarily to the marketing blurb, I do not find it particularly easy to remove, even with a cleansing oil. So all in all, while it's certainly not the worst mascara I've ever tried (you know, Benefit They're Real springs to mind here, which is another one that lots of people seem to like), it's sadly no longer a favorite. I'll experiment with layering it together with another mascara and will wait a bit to see if it gets better with age, but I won't repurchase the L'Oreal Telescopic for the third time. Do you also experience that some products you used to love a long time ago aren't all that great anymore? I'd love to know!