Covergirl's Plumpify BlashPro Mascara, retail $9.97CAD Walmart

I recently received Covergirl's Plumpify BlashPro Mascara in Black from BzzAgent to test and review for free. I was super excited to try this product, as last year I tried Covergirl's Super Sizer mascara through them and fell in love with it. Since then, this mascara has been my favourite drugstore mascara and my every day go-to. I loved Super Sizer so much, that I got my hopes up and couldn't wait to try another one of Covergirl's "amazing" mascaras.

Covergirl wasn't lying when they said that the Plumpify mascara had their biggest brush ever. The double-action brush is supposed to create voluminous lashes from the base, but it's difficult for the brush to reach the base of your lashes without the bristles pricking at your lash line. The brush is created of a hard plastic with long bristles twisting around it. But the brush is created in such a way that the mascara's formula can't even cover all of the bristles – you can still see the original red colour of the brush that is present before you dip your brush in the formula. The brush is also so large that it has difficulty going in and out of the tube. While applying the mascara, the large applicator makes it uncomfortable to apply the mascara. One has to be careful not to prick their lash line with the hard bristles, and careful not to touch their eyelid or brow area while coating the tips of the lashes.

The formula itself though is good, which makes the brush the disappointing feature. The formula is smudge-resistant, opthalmologically tested, hypoallergenic, and washes off with soap and water. Removing the mascara at the end of the day is easy, which was a refreshing change as I usually use a waterproof formula that is difficult to remove. The formula does give a nice curl to my lashes, my lashes are defined, the formula doesn't clump, or flake throughout the day. The mascara gives a more natural curl and lift to my lashes, which is nice if I want a makeup-free makeup look, but I like having volume, thickness and oomph in my lashes. Because I liked the formula and not the brush, I thought I would be clever and screw on the applicator of my Super Sizer mascara onto the neck of this bottle. However, it didn't work. I spoke with another BzzAgent about the brush and she said that she MacGyver'd herself a new brush by using a disposable brush, some wire, and the lid that comes with the Plumpify mascara that you take off before putting the brush in. It was very clever, but I already threw out my lid and don't have any disposable mascara brushes at my disposal.

All in all, I loved the formula of this mascara, but the brush was too large and gimicky for me to enjoy. If the product had a different brush, I probably would have liked it more. For now, I can use one coat of this mascara to use the formula, and use my old Super Sizer brush to get the volume that I crave for my lashes.

*UPDATE*

So after over two weeks of using this mascara, here are my thoughts:

My thoughts on the brush hasn't changed. The brush is still large, too bulky to fit back into the bottle with ease, and the bristles are still hard and prickly when I try to apply the mascara. If you look at the picture above, there' a lot of mascara build up on the tip of the brush when you take it out of the bottle. This hasn't changed. I'm constantly wiping the tip of the brush off before applying the product. However, you can take advantage of this issue by using the stamping method to coat the roots of your lashes. Basically, take the tip of the brush (after wiping off some of the excess product of course) and just stamp the bottom of your upper lash line. It's the best way to get coverage of your roots without feeling the prickly bristles, and can give a more seamless finish between your lashes and liner.

The formula is still great and gives pretty decent coverage and wear throughout the day. It doesn't flake or get sticky, and my lashes are defined. However, there is not as much curl and length as I wanted from the product. I've never had a need to use an eyelash curler before, but if you apply one coat of mascara, use a curler, then apply again, you can gain a more optimal curl.

Anyways, I hope that you found this useful. Even though I wasn't much of a fan of the Plumpify mascara, I kept using the product to try and find some more pros than the cons I had already listed. After giving the mascara a second chance, these were the methods that I found that helped me to combat some of these issues.