Revlon ColorStay Full Time Mascara

Most Helpful Positive Review

Natural volume & separation, good wand for hooded eyes

I got this free in exchange for my honest review. Overall, this is a nice mascara. For a traditional mascara formula (NOT a tubing formula), it is one of the better ones. The formula is nice middle ground of not being too wet or too dry. It applies easily. The wand is thin enough that, even with m...y really small, hooded eyes, I can get all of my lashes from root to tip and even get into my small inner corners. The curve of the wand works well for my eyes and helps give a little added lift to my lashes when used as instructed. It pretty much lives up to the claims of giving a NATURAL-looking, full, separated volume that's buildable (at least up to 2 coats for me), doesn't flake for 24 hours (with 1 coat that's true but with 2 coats I had a couple flakes at the end of the day), and doesn't smudge for 24 hours (true, even with my really hooded eyes). It doesn't give length, but never claimed to. The brown color is a great neutral brown - not too warm toned like a lot of brown mascaras. It isn't as easy to remove as a tubing formula, but with an oil/balm cleanser it isn't too tough to remove. I think if you're looking for a mascara that looks very NATURAL that gives some natural volume to the lashes with good separation, then this would be a good mascara to try. If you're looking for a lot of volume or want volume and length, then I don't think this is the mascara for you. I give it 5 stars. This comes sealed in kind of blister packaging. It is made in USA. The tube is a beautiful red color. It has a lightweight feel to it. I have very small, very hooded eyes. A lot of wands are too thick and/or big for my lashes (to be able to get to the roots or inner corner easily without getting mascara where I don't want it). For the longest time my holy grail was L'Oréal Telescopic, which gave me long, separated lashes. The wand is on this is thin like I prefer. It has a slight curve to it, which, it says is universal to fit all eye shapes. I always hate when a brand calls something universal. Nothing is ever going to be completely universal. In this case, people's eyes are going to curve more than others. All I can say is that the curve of this does fit my eyes well enough. The inside part of the curve is flat with really short bristles/teeth. The outer edges of the curve has longer teeth. For application, use the inner bristles to grab lashes at the root and use the long, outer bristles to lengthen and define the tips. It is easy to use where you start with the inner part of the curve to get the root of the lashes and then kind of turn/curve it as you go to get to the outer edges where the longer bristles are. With the flat side and the curve, it really helps to keep the curl after using a lash curler and lift the lashes up. It says the curved, dual-sided brush reaches all corners of the eye, ensuring an even coat to every lash. I'd agree with that. I have really small inner corners and some wands just can't get in there, but this one does so I really like that! The formula is nice. It's a nice middle ground - not too wet, but not too dry. This does give very NATURAL-looking volume and good separation like it claimed. My lashes look a LITTLE thicker and fuller, but nothing very noticeable, which is why I say it is very natural-looking just like it claimed. It is buildable. It does start to get kind of clumpy and spidery looking if I do more than 3 coats, and doesn't make the lashes look like they have anymore volume than with 2 coats. So, for me, 2 coats is the max with this. It claims to have a protective shield against oil, sweat, and tears and never breaks down for 24 hours. This does seem to do that. It doesn't smudge or smear. Since I've found tubing mascaras, I've pretty much used them exclusively because with my really hooded eyes, smudging/smearing is a problem with traditional formula mascaras and it's not a problem with tubing formulas. But, this is a traditional formula mascara, NOT a tubing mascara, and it doesn't smudge/smear, so I was impressed with that. It also claims not to flake for 24 hours. With 1 coat, I had absolutely no flaking all day long. With 2 coats, I had a couple flakes by the very end of the day. So I really liked that too. I don't see any help with length with this mascara, but it didn't claim to do that. I didn't get the waterproof formula. I hate waterproof formulas because they're just way too hard to remove, even with an oil cleanser. But, a lot of times, even formulas that aren't waterproof, like this one, are hard to remove. But, this one removed okay. It wasn't extremely easy (like a tuning formula would be), but it wasn't really hard. I had to use an oil/balm cleanser and work it into the lash area for a minute and then use water to activate it and work that in, and then it came off easily without any residue left behind that I'd see in the morning. I got the "Brown" shade. A lot of "Brown" mascaras are too dark where they're basically black. This is an actual brown, which I'm happy about. When brown mascaras actually show as brown, a lot of times they're really warm toned, which I don't like. This is a nice neutral brown. Not too warm where it looks auburn but also not cool toned where it's kind of gray. It's a nice neutral, true brown color. I really liked that!