It’s refreshing to find a product that lives up to its name.
L’oreal Double Extend Mascara ($11) may be a little pricey for a drugstore mascara ($1 more will get you one from MAC), but there’s one thing it does and does *very* well.
Nekkid lashes!
Two products for the price of one
Double Extend is like two products for the price of one — a lash primer and a mascara — which work together to extend the heck out of lashes.
Primer wand
Small fibers in the primer prep lashes for the mascara. Combined, the dynamic duo seem to make my lashes look much longer than usual.
Portability
Since both the lash primer and the mascara are at opposite ends of the same tube, Double Extend means not having to carry a separate tube of lash primer. Two points for traveling friendly. 🙂
Mascara wand
Dramatically longer lashes
One coat of primer with two coats of mascara results in soft (not crunchy), significantly longer-looking lashes that reach up and out and stay that way all day long.
How well does it thicken?
I love the dramatic difference in how much longer my lashes appear, but I wish Double Extend worked a little better in the thickening department. As of the second coat, the formula starts to clump (boo!), and clumping doesn’t = the kind of thickening I like.
Light smudging
I’ll give Double Extend big props for staying flake-free all day long, but it starts to smudge along my lower lash line by day’s end. It’s not terrible smudging — definitely not as much smudging as I tend to get with Maybelline Great Lash (raccoon eyes!), but still.
L’oreal Double Extend Mascara in Black
Price: $11 for a tube; includes lash primer and mascara
Use: To lengthen and define lashes
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B
For a drugstore mascara, Double Extend lengthens with the best of ’em, but it could use some improvement in the thickening and smudging departments. If you’re on a budget and would rather not spring for a separate tube of primer, it’s not a bad deal.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Have you tried Loreal’s beauty tubes? I heard it’s supposed to be similar to this but better in the length and volume department. Lately I’ve been using Rimmel’s sexy curves mascara. I swear those little plastic spikes always poke me but I must say this mascara is growing on me. Great length and lift but a little bit lacking in volume for wimpy asian lashes. 😛
Hi Stephie,
Sexy Curves pokes the heck out of me too. I thought I was the only person who had trubs with the brush! Maybe I’ll give it another try… volume is always a GREAT thing.
Thanks for the product review! I was wondering if this mascara could be a more affordable alternative to the
Imju Fiberwig mascara.
Do you have any tips for eyebrows that naturally grow downward and all wonky instead of gracefully upwards and to the side? The pesky hairs begins slanting downward before they even reach the natural arch of my brow! I have sparse eyebrows, so any tips would help :).
Hi CC,
As a matter o’ fact I do. I do all sorts of bidness to get them in gear. This would be a really good post…
Anyway, a few quick tips: trimming helps, and so does clear brow gel to set ’em in place. 🙂
I haven’t tried this one, but I do use the beauty tubes version, and I LOVE IT. No smudging, no clumping, and easy removal.
Hi Laura,
Good to know! Maybe I’ll try that one too.
I’m still addicted to Clinique’s high definition mascara. I get the value I like from the brush end, and the comb smooths out clumps and I get great compliments on how good my lashes look. Have you ever tried it, Karen?
Hi Caitlin,
Funny that you mentioned this mascara because I wore it yesterday. So, do you use the brush side first for a few coats and then comb it out?
i hate all these white lash primer thingies. although they do lengthen i find they make my black lashes look kinda grey, or if i put enough mascara to actually coat it all, it clumps up and looks disgusting.
do you have a trick on how to get them to not look grey?
i shopped around today for a purple liquid/gel eyeliner… no luck. any suggestions? when i wear the right kind of purple it makes my dark brown eyes seem exotically brown…
.-= ines’s last blog post… Top 5 – Office Beauty Emergency Kit =-.
Hi Ines,
Do you like the MAC Fluidlines? Macroviolet is a good one.
I also did a review on this product!
CHECK IT OUT!
http://stayyoungforever.blogspot.com/2009/06/loreal-double-extend-mascara-review.html
.-= Katherine’s last blog post… 6 Random Things About Me [Well 7] =-.
Hi Katherine,
Thanks for the link.
I’ve always love Max Factor mascaras, but those results look pretty good!
.-= Cassandra Rae Ferguson’s last blog post… Makeup for Darker Skin =-.
Hi Cassandra,
Max Factor will soon be discontinued here in the US, boo hoo.
They do look lengthened!
Hi Rachel,
Yah, they’re super long. Too bad for the clumping, though (sigh).
Hey Karen I tried this one before, and it was okay, but I found that i had to really lay it on thick to cover the white primer which I didn’t like.
So lately I’ve been totally loving NYX Doll Eyey Mascara. I generally apply the volume formula first and then finish with a coat of the length formula. seriously…Rocks my world. I got it at Ulta…do you have Ulta out there yet? I also got an NYX palette of eyeshadows that is rocking my world as well.
Hi Megan,
Oh, I used Nyx a long time ago — I had a single pan of eyeshadow and found it gritty. This was years ago, though, so they may have changed the formulation. One of my local drugstores has a few of the items, so I’ll look for the mascara.
I use the Double Extend mascara in the waterproof version and I love it! Great looking lashes and it solves the smudging problem. I often find this product on a BOGO sale so that lowers the price.
Hi Tess,
Oh, nice. I’ll see if I can snag the waterproof one…