Fab or flub: Will Bobbi Brown’s new mascara be eye opening?

Do any of your be-a-better-you New Year’s resolutions involve achieving a more glamorous look with longer, thicker lashes? If so, you’ve come to the right place.

For this week’s Fab or Flub, I reviewed Bobbi Brown’s new Eye Opening Mascara ($30, Sephora). Described as the brand’s most dramatic formula yet, the carbon-black mascara claims to give users the longest, thickest and most curled lashes they’ve ever had without any of the usual annoyances of clumping, flaking or smudging.

First impression

When it comes to product design, Bobbi Brown’s Eye Opening Mascara went with the “go big or go home” theme.

Honestly, I found its massive tube and jumbo brush a bit intimidating. Just one wrong move and I imagined the mascara wand might be capable of taking out an eye.

Actually, there is a pretty good reason for all the upsizing. Described as “revolutionary” in the product’s press release, the jumbo brush is supposed to fan and push lashes out. Add in the mascara’s creamy, volumizing formula, and the brand reports the result will be a beautiful, wide-eyed look.

Despite its size (and my worries), the mascara’s brush turned out to be less awkward than I expected. Starting at the base of my lash line, I carefully and with much ease brushed the mascara through to the tips of my eyelashes.

To my surprise, the mascara did not clump. I’ve found that large brushes can pack on too much product, requiring the use of my trusty Tweezerman I-Lashcomb. Instead, this supersized brush left my eyelashes separated and defined.

The mascara’s formula turned out to be wetter than I like, but it dried quickly once applied.

Doing a side-by-side comparison between my eye with mascara and my eye without mascara, I could tell a significant difference in the darkness of my eyelashes and the length. The eye with mascara looked wider and more awake.

I also like that it looked natural, so it didn’t appear very obvious, at first, that I was wearing mascara. For me that is the gold standard with makeup — to look like I’m not wearing much of it even if I am.

Fab or flub?

Fab! For long, thick lashes that will serve you well in the new year, look no further than Bobbi Brown’s Eye Opening Mascara.

Despite my initial doubts about the size of the brush, the mascara proved easy to apply. And while other mascaras often require more than one coat to get the full effect, one coat was all I needed for a significant increase of length and volume on my eyelashes.

In addition, I had no issues with clumping, smudging or flaking throughout the day. The mascara is not marketed as being waterproof, though, so you might wear it with eyelash primer underneath if you plan to hit the beach or pool.

For those wondering about the mascara’s removal, it came off fairly easily with the use of a facial wipe.

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Fab or flub: Will Bobbi Brown’s new mascara be eye opening?."