Beauty Review: CoverGirl’s New LashBlast Fusion Mascara

I love makeup, but I’m not super brand loyal. There are some items that I’ve experienced to be better than others (that’s the case for everything, isn’t it?) but I’m not afraid of getting my makeup staples at the drugstore… especially when it comes to mascara. The best known brands are the ones who tend to battle it out for shelf space in my makeup drawer, but I’m always willing to welcome a new competitor.

Enter CoverGirl’s new LashBlash Fusion Mascara. Hailed as CG’s first ever volume AND length mascara thanks to the new Fiber-Stretch Lengthening Formula, LashBlash Fusion is a serious contender. Personally, I’ve had varying degrees of success with CoverGirl items over the years – their base tends to make me break out, but one of their blush shades was the first I ever owned, so it holds a very special place in my heart – and I was really excited to try out this new formula.

You’ll notice before you even put it on that the brush looks a little… different. It’s like your basic mascara brush on steroids. The bristles are really flexible and nothing like your standard applicator, but they seemed to keep a lot of mascara on the wand without dripping or clumping (you know it’s going to be a bad sign when the product is clumpy before you even put it on. SO glad that didn’t happen here) and it looked quite even.

But we all know where the real test for quality is… on the eyes. One eye has LashBlast Fusion on; the other is bare.

Let’s see if you can tell the difference:

Okay, obviously it’s the one on the right. I’m wearing two coats of the Black Brown shade, and I’m pleasantly surprised. There’s nothing all that amazing about it (and, to be honest, it doesn’t lengthen or thicken any more than my other CG mascaras… or other brands for that matter), but it didn’t clump and ended with a clean, easy result. I see this as a great product especially for women who prefer looking as natural as possible, but still want to enhance the features they have.

I debated on comparing it to another mascara in my collection, but the look wasn’t fair when I photographed it… not because the LashBlast Fusion didn’t hold up, but the Black and Very Black mascaras I tend to own look far more pronounced in pictures.

Final verdict: I like it. I doesn’t do anything different for me, but it also didn’t let me down. I might get it next time I’m in the market for mascara – at $8.99, it’s around the average drugstore mascara price – but I’m not dying if I don’t have it.

What are your thoughts? When CoverGirl’s LashBlast Fusion comes out next month (April 2010) nationwide, will you be picking up a bottle or not? Share your thoughts in the comments!