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April 07, 2011

Review: L'Oréal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara





Price: around $8

The claims:
Uniquely formulated to resist clumping, soften lashes, and build lashes to five times their natural thickness. Patented Volume Maximizing Brush™ thickens lashes evenly and smoothly, leaving them soft with virtually no flakes, smudges, or clumps. Exclusive carbon black pigments provide up to 2X the intensity of L’Oréal’s classic black shade.

  • Ophthalmologist-tested and allergy-tested.
  • Suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.
  • Clump-resistant.
  • Fragrance-free.


 Bare lashes (curled)

2 coats of mascara



Pros:
  • very black
  • easily buildable 
  • leaves lashes soft and natural looking
  • big brush coats lashes evenly
  • lengthens and volumizes lashes
  • holds a curl
  • doesn't flake or smudge


Cons:
  • clumps a little after a few coats
  • there's always a chunk of product at the end of the brush when you take it out of the tube 

What I think:

I have never used the original Voluminous mascara, but I keep hearing great things about it, so when I found a bonus packaging of two L'Oréal Voluminous Carbon Black on sale, I had to give it a try, and I wasn't disappointed!

Of course, the first thing I noticed about this mascara was the brush:


It's really big, just like I like them. It really volumizes my lashes evenly and it even provides them with noticeable length. The result? Dark, soft and natural looking lashes. Some mascaras leave your lashes super stiff, not this one. Oh yes, and all of this, without a single flake or smudge during the day!

This mascara is easily buildable, even though I noticed some clumpiness after the second coat, but nothing near the spider lash look. Another little complaint would be that there's always a chunk of product at the end of the brush when you take it out of the tube and you have to swipe it off, but it's far from a deal breaker for me.

After my terrible disappointment with YSL Effet Faux Cils, I couldn't ask for something better.


Recommend? yes

30 comments:

  1. I have never tried this mascara:) I stick with Million Lashes;D

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  2. L'Oreal do have some lovely products
    big shame they test on animals :|

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  3. Looks pretty good on yr long lashes. personally found it too wet and smudgy

    ♥xx♥

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  4. Your lashes look super pretty :) Will try this out sometime.

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  5. I lost my Voluminous mascara 2 days after buying it, so I can't remember if I liked it or not but definitely want to buy a new one!

    You have beautiful lashes!
    I want this even more now after seeing your review! ^_^

    xo

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  6. I still want to try this mascara. I shall do that sometime. You look so pretty with it on by the way. It seems a little clumpy for my taste but I will try it out.

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  7. Wow il fait vraiment des longs cils !! :O

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  8. @Supergirl : Really? It's the most popular L'Oréal mascara (well the original version anyway), it was about time I gave it a try hehe! I've heard manily good things about Million Lashes but I'm not sure. I have too many mascaras already.

    @Anca : I know, they suck for that. I'm trying to not buy from them again, but I will have to use up the products I already have anyway.

    @Cynthia Z : Oh yes I've heard some omplaints about that too. I'm glad it works for me at least as I have super short lashes.

    @Miss Tapia: I'm glad you like it too! It was about time I finally gave it a try LOL

    @Sara.H : Aww thanks! You should, it's great (=

    @Laiqah: OMG are you serious? How can you lose a mascara two days after buying it LOL? I'm sorry... I hope it will work for you if you happen to repurchase it (=

    @Kristina : Yes I agree with the clumpiness, but it's never been a deal breaker for me. In fact, I tend to like clumpy mascaras... am I weird or what?

    @Chloé : Oui, et le pire, c'est qu'il est censé être volumisant ahah!

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  9. I have heard so many raves about this mascara and I am always thinking about picking it up the next time I need a mascara but somehow I have not yet. Thanks for the review it was very helpful. Maybe I will try it next time :)

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  10. I need to try this mascara! x

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  11. Great review as I've been wanting to try it out because of how much everyone seems to like it. Not sure I'd like the clumpiness but it looks good on you. I have the Voluminous with Collagen and I really like it so I might still give this one a try :o)

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  12. A great thorough review,thanks! XOXO

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  13. I love this mascara too! Although I do find that it sometimes smudges on me :/ xx

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  14. wow, it is as you say, VERY black.

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  15. J'ai pas aimé pendant quelques semaines mais j'ai ensuite remarqué que sa formulation avait épaissie. Aussi, je l'applique rapidement pour ne pas que ça fasse de trop gros paquets. Ahh...tjrs à la recherche du HG mascara!

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  16. oooo nice! ma soeur en a un! je vais l'essayer!!

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  17. The mascara looks hot on you!

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  18. the mascara looks great on you! I recently bought the million lash and think it's pretty terrible... will definitely try this one tho! thanks for doing this review :)

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  19. Looks great!

    I have a little problem, when I view your blog through Google Reader I can't view your photos :(

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  20. very nice pictures.. very precise and clear.. i will search this mascara in ebay.. :D

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  21. Read raves about this mascara and how nice it really is. I love how natural and not overly dramatic it made your lashes look. :)

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  22. @Charlene: I'm glad you liked this review! Do let me know if you happen to try it (=

    @Tass : It's great! I'm glad I finally did!

    @Angeltea7 : The Voluminous with collagen looks amazing too, might try it somedays (=

    @Venus In Virgo: I'm glad you liked it (=

    @Joy: I've heard many people complain about that but I didn't have a problem with this so far.

    @littlelucy: Yes, I'm impressed!

    @Bé: Ah oui certains mascaras font ça. Moi je l'ai bien aimé du premier coup (faut dire que j'utilisais YSL Faux Cils avant, pas dur à battre), mais je trouve qu'il est encore mieux une fois que la formule a épaissit un peu. J'essaie aussi de l'appliquer assez vite mais de toutes façons, j'ai pas besoin d'une tonne de couches avec celui-là (=

    @petitechouxx : Tu m'en donneras des nouvelles! Moi je trouve que j'ai attendu trop longtemps avant de l'essayer ahah!

    @Ahleessa: Aww thanks! I love it!

    @Amy: I've heard mixed reviews about Million Lashes. I'm not very interested in it anyway, I'll stick to this one for one, but the one with collagen got me interested too (=

    @Elaine : Oh really? You are the first one to tell me that... I don't know what's wrong, must be Blogger that has a problem x=

    @donnarence : Thanks, I'm glad you like them (=

    @Pammy: It's actually strange that I love it so much as I normally go for a more dramatic look on my lashes

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  23. Not sure but it might be imageshack, its asking me to log in or something. but anyway, its ok, i can view it fine through your blog :)

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  24. Wow your eyes are so pretty! Love your lashes are also pretty! Happy you liked this mascara, I would have to try it someday! Thx for the review! Keep up the good work!!! :))

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  25. That's too bad the pricier version of YSL mascara did not work very well Gaby. But thanks for letting us know!
    Oh and this is my favourite mascara. Actually the L'oreal Voluminous in regular black does not seem different to me than the Carbon black. But because I have dark hair, if I can get a hold of the carbon black I just get that instead of the regular black.
    Yes, this mascara never flakes on me either :)
    I often though, use a lash comb (Tweezerman is the best one) in combination with mascara if it gets clumpy. That does the trick!
    But how does this compare to your favourite Maybelline mascara the Falsies? My younger sister loves the Falsies and I think I might try it soon once I'm done my tube of Voluminous.

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  26. @Elaine : Oh that's strange... I really have no idea what's going on! I'm glad at least you an see the picture son my blog (=

    @Anonymous : Cute bébé <3

    @Karen Law : Hi Karen! I can't tell the difference between the two versions of the Voluminous but I always go for the darkest I can find, and this one appears really dark to me. I have never tried using a lash comb, I'm just too lazy for this ahah! If I had to compare it to The Falsies, I'm not sure what it say, besides that this one doesn't flake like The Falsies does. And Voluminous is a little more expensive than The Falsies.

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  27. I wanted to try this out, but the clumping-ness, I think I should pass...

    xo $ARMIN

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  28. It is very helpful!

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  29. Hi Gaby! I was looking for a new mascara and I've always been curious about the Voluminous (plus I've never tried a L'oreal mascara before). I stumbled upon your review and you have sold me on it! I've already ordered it and can't wait to try it! So, thank you! I just needed a basic mascara with a nice classic brush and I love how the Voluminous brush looks. I loved reading that it leaves the lashes soft and natural looking!

    Your review was really helpful and the mascara definitely defined your eyes beautifully (although you're probably using a different mascara right now haha)

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