Curl them lashes.

About three months ago, my absolute favorite mascara, the Maybelline HyperCurl Cat Eyes, said its goodbyes. It was a good and long run and if I had it my way, I'd keep using it until it runs out but when you experience flaking and difficulty in application, you know it has to go. So with a heavy heart, I threw it out...well, except for the wand applicator because I just love it, haha! (PS. I cleaned it, don't worry.)

I didn't want to replace the mascara with a pricey one because we know how short the shelf life of a mascara is. All I want is one that can hold a curl, add some length to my lashes, and one that is budget-friendly. Lo and behold, I see an ad on my Facebook feed about a mascara sale. 

I'm down with sales. So when I checked it out, apparently Maybelline's selling the HyperCurl Volum Express for a lower price. Now this isn't the first time I've encountered this mascara so I had some reservations about it. Backstory: I used this years back when I was still in makeup school and I wasn't really impressed with its performance. It didn't curl the lashes too much and I only used it to glue together the real lashes with the falsies of whoever I'm working on. But that was years back. Surely, they've tweaked the formula somehow?

So I bought a tube so I can try it again. Besides, it was retailing for 150php. Budget-friendly, indeed.

According to the scribbles in its packaging, the HyperCurl Volum Express Mascara has irritation-proof gel formula, is smudgeproof, is waterproof, and can give you a natural fresh look. The tube is definitely bigger than the Cat Eyes variant but I think the most obvious difference are the applicators:

As you can see, Volum Express' wand is curved and has bristles while Cat Eyes' is a comb-type plastic wand. I like Cat Eyes' wand because it's small and thin so it can reach the tiniest hair strands without making a mess. As for Volum Express, I tend to use it carefully because it's big but I take advantage of the curved side that really helps put product on the base of my lashes. It also helps in preserving the curl. Unfortunately, it's not the best wand to use for the lower lashes. Trust me, I've tried and I ended up with smudges everywhere.

For the most part, the formula is like Cat Eyes', thank heavens. I thought it would be heavier but nope, it's just like Cat Eyes, maybe only a bit drier. I think I didn't use it properly the first time or maybe they had a reformulation, either way, this mascara is gooood. It didn't weigh down my lashes, didn't feel heavy, doesn't clump too much, and most importantly, it held the curl. And that's what made me like it.

Curled, no mascara

 With two layers of the HyperCurl Volum Express Mascara

I applied this at around 10 in the morning and by the time I removed it 9-ish hours later, my lashes were still curled, no weighing down whatsoever, and no smudges on sight. Removal wasn't too bad either, as I was able to remove it easily with a mild-ish remover with just two cotton pads. I think if you use a stronger cleanser it'll be removed in a jiffy.

So yes, it works wonderfully and performs really well! It's cheaper than the Cat Eyes, works just like the Cat Eyes, and can be found easily in malls and drugstores. Downside, it dries out quickly (according to some who use it; mine's still going strong after a month of opening it) but since it's cheap, you can just buy another tube and be done with it. I think I found my new BFF!