Review | Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Waterproof Mascara

My review of Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Waterproof Mascara

It was the “fiber extensions” (Which, I’m sorry, but I’m just going to write as “fibre” from now on, OK? It’s written as “fiber” on the tube, American style, but… I just can’t.) bit which first attracted be to Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Waterproof Mascara. (Snappy name, no?)

And, OK, yes, also the “illegal length” bit. The fact is, mascara is all about the DRAMA for me. My natural lashes are translucent and feeble, so when I use mascara, I don’t just want to make them look a little bit better, I want to make them look as long and as luscious as I possibly can. I love my Too Faced Lash Extension mascara because it uses tiny little fibres to actually lengthen your lashes, and this Maybelline product basically promised to do the same thing, but for £8.99 as opposed to £32.99. I was sold. And so was it, because I ordered it as soon as I’d finished reading the product description.

Unboxing Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Waterproof Mascara

When the mascara arrived, I was a bit disappointed to find that it was an “all in one” product, unlike Better Than False Lashes, which comes in two separate tubes: one for the mascara, one for the fibre extensions. Illegal Length, by contrast, has the fibres mixed in with the mascara itself, so there’s just one tube, and you apply it exactly as you would any regular mascara.

“Well, THAT won’t work!” I grumbled to myself as I set to work putting it on, but actually, I couldn’t have been more wrong, because holy wow, this does EXACTLY what it claims to do, lengthening the lashes and also curling them gently upwards, for an even more dramatic effect. I’ll be honest: I was totally surprised by just how good it was.

How does this product compare to other drugstore mascaras?

I’ve never been particularly impressed with Maybelline mascaras in the past, and I actively HATE the famous “‘Great Lash’, which makeup artists allegedly swear by. Like, seriously HATE it. But this: this is far and away the best drugstore mascara I’ve ever used, and although I bought it purely as a back-up, I’ve found that I’ve been using it on a more or less daily basis, and have even used it on nights out or special occasions which I’d normally reserve my Lancome/Too Faced for.

Is Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Waterproof Mascara as good as a higher end mascara, though?

Is it AS good as the aforementioned higher-end mascaras? Not quite. If they were all the same price, I’d probably go for Better Than False Lashes, because although it does take a bit of getting used to, every time I wear it, someone comments on my lashes, and that’s good enough for me. This, however, makes a REALLY good alternative, and I’m really impressed with it for the price: so much so, in fact, that I’m almost onto my third tube of the stuff.

Waterproof or non-waterproof?

One quick word of warning: I ordered the waterproof version of this mascara, purely because I ALWAYS wear waterproof mascaras. I just find they lock in the curl better, and tend to last much longer than their non-waterproof counterparts. This is no exception, and although it does mean you’ll need a good eye makeup remover to get it off (It removes easily with Botanics Soothing Eye Makeup Remover, but you’d probably have trouble with plain soap and water), I find it’s more than worth it. I did, however, pick up the non-waterproof version by mistake a couple of months ago, and, as well as being much less dramatic in terms of lengthening and curling, it also really irritated the skin around my eyes, which broke out in the red weals I get from time to time. (Most notably the week before my wedding. I am so lucky.)

Now, I can’t swear this was caused by the mascara, and I have always suspected these red weals of mine are mostly a reaction to stress, but it was the only product I was using at the time which was new, and my skin cleared up as soon as I stopped using it, and then flared back up again when I re-starred, so yeah, pretty sure that’s what it was. I have no issues at all with the waterproof version, though, and everyone’s skin is different, so you may be completely fine with the non-waterproof one, yada yada, but that was my experience, and is why I’ll be sticking to the waterproof version from now on.

Unless, of course, I pick up the wrong one by mistake again. GOD.