The Great Mascara Hunt: Bourjois Pump Up The Volume

Review: Cavewoman
Graphic: Katie @Scentzilla
photo: Bourjois.com

Today's review continues with another Bourjois mascara called Pump Up The Volume, and this one is the first waterproof mascara I've reviewed. I don't usually use waterproof mascaras, but it is Springtime in Ohio and that means rain.

Bourjois offers some of their mascaras with a unique packaging twist. These mascaras have a little open-end at the top of the cap. Choose a mascara formula that suits you, and then you can add on a little 'extra' helper-type mascara in a mini-size, that snaps into the top of your mascara cap. These minis can be purchased in a primer formula, a Baby Cils (which is for lower lashes) and also a corrector to dab up those little dots and mistakes. It's like a mascara remover on a sponge wand. I like the idea of the snap-ons, although these can make for a very long and sometimes unwieldy wand.

Pump Up The Volume Waterproof gave my lashes just a slight thickening effect. The brush is made of short, widely-spaced bristles with a tapered tip, and the formula is very wet. It did not take long to get my lashes coated, and I noticed that the mascara collected in little blobs at the ends of my lashes. I used a comb before the mascara had dried, and it did remove the little blobs but it also removed some of the volume. There was a slight lifting effect that was gone pretty much when the mascara dried. This product stayed on until I removed it, and it took several Almay pads per eye to get rid of it. This mascara does not budge! I would not really choose this mascara unless I needed to be outside in a downpour without an umbrella, or maybe at a sobby movie.
My snap-on choice was BabyCils. I have to rave over this little product. The brush has very short, rather widely-spaced bristles, and I was able to build visible lower lashes with just one coat. No clumping here, no blobs, no flakes, and I did not need to comb through. The BabyCils doesn't lengthen or thicken, just makes all those teeny lashes visible and pretty. I did not notice any 'dots' on my skin from either one of these mascaras. Even though BabyCils is not labeled as waterproof, it stayed where it was supposed to stay until I removed it. I think I will try BabyCils on my upper lashes someday. And it would be a great purse-makeup-bag mascara to take along, since it is so tiny, just a bit over 2 inches long!

Product rating, Pump Up The Volume Waterproof: 5
Product rating, BabyCils: 9

Disclosure: This product was purchased by the reviewer, Cavewoman