40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Cult Classics
Day 7, Lancome Hypnose by Patti(Cavewoman)

Each cosmetic brand seems to have its strengths and weaknesses. You might think "skincare" when you hear the name Clarins, for MAC you would think of the hundreds of beautiful eyeshadow colors, for Prescriptives you'll think of finding the perfect color match and formula in foundations, and for Chanel, those beautiful glossimers. When it comes to Lancome, it's mascara.
They do it best.

Miss Blogdorf and I were at the Lancome counter a few years ago, when Hypnose was launched amidst great hype and product fever and was receiving tons of press. She and I have the same lash issues. Could it be our shared Sicilian heritage that gave us stick-straight, short lashes? We wanted a miracle. We had hope for the hype of the Hypnose.

Our SA offered me the tester unit for Hypnose and a clean tester spoolie with which I could try out the mascara. I dipped well, knowing I was not going to re-insert the spoolie into the tube, so I wanted to get a good amount of the mascara on the tester wand. I stroked a few times onto my lashes, hindered by the terrible lighting at the Lancome counter, and wishing I had my magnifying mirror so I could actually see what I was doing. Not to mention my extreme farsightedness which makes applying mascara particularly difficult for me. No matter. I turned to Annie and she gasped. There were lashes, good lashes, long and thick lashes, right there on my eye! And it didn't take lots of extra coats or effort, it didn't take ten minutes of poking or stroking, this was the fastest and best mascara I'd ever tried. I had long, thick, lush, visible lashes! We both caved.

Often a product will achieve cult status quietly, through word of mouth, through posts on makeup chat boards, and through buddies raving to their buddies about some new fabulous product that ends the search for fabulous products. When Lancome launches a mascara, people run to the counters, because their reputation for good mascaras is well-known. There is a reason why Lancome mascaras have achieved their cult status.
And Hypnose mascara is the best of their best.

Credit: Patti/Cavewoman

Graphic: Melanie Parker
Disclosure: This product was purchased and reviewed by Cavewoman