Review: YSL Shocking Mascara

This is the last mascara I brought back with me from France. Again, thank you to my host sister who let me use her L'Oréal employee discount, because I would definitely not have paid full price for the YSL Shocking mascara.

 Of course, the packaging is absolutely stunning. I love the way the heavy gold feels, and I love that it just snaps shut. However, that doesn't make a blah product good.

The brush comes out with a lot of product on (typical for volumizing mascaras), but at the tip you definitely need to wipe the excess off on the tube or else it gets everywhere. I feel like the brush really grips every lash and coats them. It can leave them slightly clumpy if you go for two coats, but this mascara doesn't wipe product onto the lashes without grabbing them like the Effet Faux Cils does, at least. The brush definitely isn't the best for getting the lower lashes; it's way too big. 

One coat (nothing on bottom) vs. Bare lashes

I find that this gives me great volume, a little bit of separation and curl, and very nice length. 

Two coats (one on bottom lashes) vs. Bare lashes

Two coats on top lashes, one coat on bottom lashes

However, in certain areas, the mascara does tend to clump up at the tips of the lashes and can stick some of them together. I tend to like this mascara more if I just do one coat.

Note some eyelashes go out in a weird crazy way with some bizarre clumpy looking ones.

My main problem with the mascara lies with the formula. It smudges a lot. Not as bad as the Effet Faux Cils, but bad enough to not justify the price. As I've been using the mascara longer and the formula dries out, it also flakes a lot, which is never good.

The worst part though is the fragrance. This mascara (and Effet Faux Cils) are SO heavily perfumed. I don't need my mascara to smell like roses. The fragrance irritates my eyes a lot, too.

If this were a situation where I could have returned this mascara, I would have a long time ago. However, I'm stuck with it, so I'm just using it up to get my money's worth. Stupid, I know.

So, overview:
Pros: Looks good on for the most part, nice packaging.
Cons: Expensive, smudges, flakes, irritates due to fragrance.


I would not recommend this mascara, even though it wasn't as horrible as the Effet Faux Cils. 

Really, the only high end mascaras I've tried that justify the price are the fiber ones from Trish McEvoy. Nothing else matters.

Otherwise, I'm a drugstore gal for mascara.