Review: L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Mascara

Another one in my quest for the Holy Grail mascara... L'Oreal claims this little gaudy tube will "millionize your lashes" with a "millionizer brush for a fanned out effect" and "excess wiper for no overload, no clumps" - someone at L'Oreal got a bit too happy with neologisms. Silly marketing blurb aside, let's see how it performed on my lashes.


Pros:
- The packaging. I actually really like it and don't find it that tacky compared to some other offerings... The tube is sleek, has a unique shape and looks quite elegant on my vanity.
- The brush; I usually prefer the rubber bristles as I find them to be more separating than the classic ones. The shape and length of the bristles allows to grab and coat even the baby lashes and the corner lashes.
- The color. I think the shade I picked out is called The Blackest Black or something like that, and I do find it sufficiently dark without fading.
- The application. One coat looks nice and voluminous without clumping and doesn't require a lot of time or effort. There's also some lengthening action, which I appreciate.


Cons:
- On the second coat, you can see some clumping action appearing at the very tips of my lashes, which is something I hate and find myself picking at whenever there's a mirror in sight.
- It flakes. Oh boy, it does. When you remove it by the end of the day, it also comes off in little flakes, quite similarly to a tubing mascara. Interesting.
- The "excess wiper" is nothing else than a fancily named stopper, and there's still some excess product at the tip of the brush, which has to be scraped off on the sides of the tube.
- The smell. As far as I remember, all L'Oreal mascaras have this particular scent, which I personally don't mind but would prefer a non scented version due to possible irritations.

Top: one coat of mascara, bottom: two coats.

Would I repurchase? From the L'Oreal family, I think so far my favorite's been the Telescopic and Volume Million Lashes hasn't managed to overthrow it. It's a very decent product, minus the flaking, but still not nearly a Holy Grail material. So, no, I wouldn't repurchase for now. The quest continues.

Which mascara would you like to see reviewed next?