Empties/Review: Mary Kay Lash Love Mascara in Black

This was a sample given to me by a Mary Kay representative. I would like to note that the Mary Kay representative is someone my husband works with, though not typically directly, they are on good terms. This review is based on my experiences with the mascara that I have used for six months, because that is how long the symbol on the tube says it is good for.

Claims from the Mary Kay Website

Love your lashes with the mascara that defines, defends and delivers four times the volume while looking naturally flawless, soft and healthy. The flexible, sculpted brush separates and coats lashes.

• Flake-, Smudge- and clump-resistant.

• Mary Kay® Panthenol-Pro Complex™ helps condition lashes and helps defend against breakage.

• Fragrance-free.

• Ophthalmologist-tested and suitable for contact lens wearers.

• Water-resistant formula.

My Experiences:

I will speak to each claim I am able to say something about separately.

"defines, defends and delivers four times the volume"
My lashes looked black, I am cannot say they looked more voluminous; perhaps slightly more voluminous since there was something coating it on all sides, but four times seems an excessive number to me. As to the defining claim, by making them black they were more obvious than they are when they are the lightish brown shade they normally are, so that claim is sort of a mute point for me.

"Flake-, Smudge- and clump-resistant."
This mascara flaked every day that I wore it, generally within the first 30 minutes of applying it there would be black flakes below my eyes. On days where I watched a TV show or movie that made me a bit emotional, it definitely smudged. And as to the clump-resistant claim, I cannot say that two or more lashes were never stuck together as I frequently felt like I had fewer obvious lashes when this was on than when I was not using it.

"Fragrance-free"
There is a scent, but I will take their word for it that it is not as the result of perfume. The first few days I used this the scent did irritate my eyes, but after a while I seemed to get used to it.

"Ophthalmologist-tested and suitable for contact lens wearers."
I will take their word for that.

"Water-resistant formula."
Water that came out of my eyes in the form of tears was able to break down the mascara rather easily. Oddly enough, the eye makeup remover that I also received as a free sample when meeting with the Mary Kay representative didn't seem to be able to remove this mascara very well at all.

Summation:

I am glad I received this as a sample because I would have been apologizing to my husband over and over again if I had asked him to pay for something that costs as much as this mascara ($15) and then had such a bad experience with it.