Product Review: Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes

For the past forever, I've been using Great Lash Very Black over the top of Shiseido Mascara Base. Great Lash is cheap as can be; Shiseido is not, but I am sort of anal when it comes to mascara application. I haven't tried tons of expensive mascaras, mostly because I thought the base was doing all the work and Great Lash was making up the minimal difference. I have certainly tried pretty much everything you can buy at the drugstore, which is how I landed where I did.

Turns out now there exists in the world this most crazy-looking brush coated with marvy mascara and costing more than you would ever think is reasonable to pay for such a thing.

Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes (I have NO idea what is going on with that punctuation there) for a cool $27, looking for all the world like a Viking club doohickey with spikes.

But it does some seriously good work, as evidenced by my scary closeup here (PS that little hole on the bottom lashes is a chicken pox scar, not a miss by the mascara club):

It's pretty much exactly what I expect from a mascara: pretty extensive coverage of all the different lengths and extension of the outer corner lashes with very minimal clumping. That has always been my problem with Great Lash - lots and lots of wiping off the brush before application to avoid some serious clumps. Also: really messy tube. This brush might seem like more of a hassle, but its shape pretty well mimics how I use a more traditional brush, anyway - I tend to just use the end to cover smaller swatches, so this shape really facilitates a more even and careful application. And did I mention no clumps?!

I don't know that my eyes are phenomenal, because I have kind of wimpy lashes. Everyone knows that mascara advertising is filled with devious trickery and fake lashes all around, so to have something (especially something this expensive) actually perform is quite refreshing.