Estee Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Lifting Mascara

I have always considered Estee Lauder to be makeup aimed for more mature skin. And I have been annoyed with them for pulling all United States distribution of Prescriptives. And my annoyance has continued now that they have doomed Shu Uemura to the same fate. So needless to say, this isn't a brand that I have been following or that I stop at the makeup when searching for new products. However, I received this product for free when Macy*s was having a beauty event last fall so I decided to have an open mind and try it out. Let's face it, my willpower tends to go by the wayside when the promises of a new and untested mascara are right in front of me.

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Bold Volume Liftin Mascara is quite a mouthful to say so we are just going to refer to this product as the Sumptuous Mascara for the rest of the review. My thoughts on this mascara are on the lukewarm side, I like how it performs but the removal process has left me cold.

Nordstrom states that, "Lift each lash with big, bold, weightless volume. The formula: Unprecedented Bold Volume formula has ultra-light, lash-thickening fibers. Lifts and plumps even sparse lashes into big, lush lashes that are all lightness and flirtatious curl. The brush: Exclusive BrushComber thicken like a brush. Defines like a comb. Wraps your entire lash in air-light volume. Lashes sora with 360 degree lift and curl. The look: Daringly full, sensuously curved, all-out seductive lashes. Now take your lashes all the way to big, bold, beautiful."

This mascara does very well in the following categories: curling, volumizing, and defining. I loved this product the first time that I used it. My lashes were super big and defined and really helped to open up my eyes. Until I tried to take it off. I used my Caudalie Cleansing Water that I always use and I used a new cotton ball saturated with product in order to remove my eye makeup. I have always used this remover very successfully with other mascaras, so in this case I put the issue with the mascara formula and not the eye makeup remover formula. After trying to remove it, I end up with mascara smudges under my eyes and red, stinging eyes. I can usually only get about half of it off at once and therefore then have to try it again later, drying out the skin around my eyes like never before. I have this product in Bold Black, which is the deepest, rich black shade offered by Estee Lauder. I love this shade, it is the perfect inky, dramatic black. This mascara is also available in both a regular Black shade and a Brown shade.

This mascara is an example of how the removal process can completely ruin a great formula. I am scared that I am going to begin to lose lashes (like what happened with Smashbox Bionic Mascara) with how difficult this product is to remove. I doubt that I would pick up another tube of this mascara unless Estee Lauder changes the formula to make the removal easier.

photo courtesy of Nordstrom