Review: Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara

I heard a rumor recently that the Nordstrom Mascara Madness is coming up soon! Which makes sense – I think last year the spring one was in May, and somehow we’re already halfway through April (how did that even happen?). Meanwhile, here I am still working on the mascaras that I got at the last Madness, back in November. I wanted test out some mascaras I can’t get locally and Armani Eyes to Kill seems to be a big favorite, so I decided to give it a try.

Packaging

The tube is plastic covered in a thin shell of gunmetal grey metal. Design-wise, it’s really sleek and minimal – an almost perfectly plain tube with the product name debossed into the side. The color plus the name makes it feel very James Bond – sophisticated and just a little bit dangerous.

Wand

The wand is a traditional bristle brush. The bristles are packed tightly to really get in there and coat all the lashes. Other than that, there’s not really anything all that unique about it – average length, average width.

Application, texture & wear

Now we’re at the part where I kind of have mixed feelings. The formula is really nice and easy to use – not too dry, not too runny. It’s a pretty dark black too, not deep charcoal grey like some ‘black’ mascaras are. One coat looks pretty natural – not a ton of added volume, but it catches and separates all the little lashes so it looks like there’s more there. A second coat adds quite a bit more volume for a little more drama.

So far, so good, right? Well if you stop there, yeah. Unfortunately when it dries it makes my lashes feel a little crunchy, and I’ve noticed a few more stray hairs than usual when I take it off at night, so I suspect it may be causing a little bit of breakage. The wear is another issue. For a long time it was great, until it wasn’t. At first I didn’t have any flaking or smudging. After about two and a half months, it was like it just stopped working. Suddenly I was coming home from work with a pseudo-smoky eye even when I didn’t wear eyeshadow. The application also got tricky, making my lashes really spidery. I’ve seen that sort of thing with other mascaras, but usually not so soon. For the price, I really want this to last me at least three months, but it didn’t quite make it.

In Short: I loved it at first, but considering the sort-of unpleasant texture and short lifespan, I’m not likely to buy it again. 

Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara ($32) is available at nordstrom.com and sephora.com