Review: Burberry Effortless Mascara in Midnight Black

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A few weeks ago Nordstrom had their Mascara Madness event and naturally I couldn’t resist the chance for a free mascara. I love my Burberry shadows and blushes, and I was curious to see how some of their non-powder products stacked up, so I opened this one up first.

Packaging

The tube is pretty typical of Burberry’s luxurious packaging. The cap is etched with the Burberry check and looks exactly like the compacts; however, it’s plastic instead of metal. That makes sense to me, since a metal cap might make the wand too heavy to use comfortably. The tube is thick clear acrylic with a black interior tube that actually holds the product. Overall it’s fairly long (14cm) but gets extra points from me because it doesn’t roll around in my mascara drawer.

Brush

The brush is pretty standard – about 2.5cm long, average width, and has a traditional spoolie bristle pattern. The rows of bristles are quite close together though, and the individual bristles are densely packed, which seems to help grab the individual lashes and coat them. Every so often the wand will come out of the tube with a little glob of mascara on the end that I have to wipe off. Other than that, it pulls out the perfect amount of product, which stops it from leaving clumps all over my lashes.

Application/Formula

I love the texture of this mascara. It’s very creamy, not at all runny. I can easily do a couple coats, but it doesn’t smear if I blink or sneeze right after I apply it. True to the name and Burberry Beauty’s overall aesthetic, this mascara looks very natural. After it dries, my lashes feel flexible, not stiff. It’s definitely not a dramatic look, but it separates and darkens my lashes without pulling them down.

Wear

I’ve been wearing this daily since it came in, and the first few days involved some intensive testing. One of those days was about 19ish hours of wear. I did my makeup at 7AM, worked until 5, captured a stray yorkie-poo and canvassed the neighborhood looking for his people, ate dinner, went to a concert in an extremely crowded bar and got home at 2AM. Even after all that, it didn’t flake or smudge and my lashes didn’t droop. I haven’t had any irritation, but of course your mileage may vary on that.

In Short: If you’re looking for intense volume, dramatic curl or tons of length, this is not the mascara for you. It’s fantastic for unfussy everyday wear though.

Burberry Effortless Mascara ($28) is available at nordstrom.com