Review: LANCÔME Hypnôse Drama Mascara Set

image via sephora.com

For $33, this is a darn good deal available at Sephora. It's valued at $66 and includes a full size Art Liner in Noir (0.04 oz) and Hypnose Drama Mascara in Black (0.22 oz).  Though it is not a full size, a 1.7 oz Bi-Facil Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover completes this limited edition gift set.

It comes in a really pretty box. All of the silver is sparkly.

Spoiler alert: The back shows you what the box contains. 

The Art Liner and mascara come bundled together. The makeup remover is wrapped separately.

Time to try out the goods!

Eyeshadowed up with no liner or mascara.

People compliment the Art Liner so much.  Friends of mine are fans, and major YouTube makeup gurus talk about the precision and versatility of this liner (its ability to create thin and thick lines).  I was disappointed that I didn't have the same love for this liner! 

The applicator tip would bend slightly when I put pressure on it, so I felt like I had little control. It also didn't seem easy to draw a thick line with it. Unlike my Stila liner which has the liquid source within the pen itself, I had to dip the Art Liner applicator several times into its "ink" like a fountain pen to get a decent line.  I also found out that the Art Liner is not waterproof. Bummer. After watching "12 Years a Slave", the liner on my right eye was completely gone. However, as advertised, the Art Liner did not pull, skip, or scratch. It did stay on all day for me.

Since I'm monolidded and have very small eyelid creases, you can't see the liner in my "neutral" eye position very well. That's not really a scientific phrase, but you know what I mean. Like when I'm looking straight ahead. I can get away with some INSANE eyeliner application due to this.  (Also, did I mention that drawing a thick line on my lash line proved to be near impossible?)

Curled, no mascara

Curled, with mascara

Not much of a difference, right?

But you can see a lot of lengthening and volume with my eyes closed.

No mascara.

Curled, with mascara.

With 2 coats of mascara.

Unfortunately, even with multiple coats of the mascara, my lashes didn't look much different with my eyes open.

Although I wasn't impressed with the Art Liner, I can see the potential for the Hypnose Drama Mascara  doing some lashes proud. It created a lot of OOMPH for my wimpy lashes, and you can see that in the photos with my eyes closed. So if you have more lashes than me and are double lidded, it may work out for you. 

As for the mascara's staying power, most of it did stay on my lashes. However, after a day of wear, I had some minor smudges under my eyes.  I also had a mascara clump on the skin of the outer corner on my left eye.

I RARELY ever wear mascara on my lower lashes because 99.99999% of the time it leaves smudges under my eyes. I tried it out with this mascara for the purpose of this review.

The mascara defined my lower lashes. Usually, they are invisible.

By night, most had stayed on my right lower lashes. For some reason, more from my left lower lashes came off. And once again, some smudging under the eyes. 

Although I didn't have a fantastic experience with the liner and mascara, the Bi-Facil eye makeup remover worked beautifully.  A turn of the bottle upside down for each eye on a cotton pad, and all of the gunk came off!

Considering the cost of the Art Liner eyeliner itself being $30, this is an excellent value for those who already know and love these Lancome products. And for those who haven't used them, I guess it's a nice opportunity not to blow too much money on possible busts.  Everyone raves about that Art Liner! I just didn't find it easy to use. And that mascara could be awesome for some people. My lashes just didn't benefit much from it. Only if I walked around with my eyes closed.

Let me know how you like these Lancome products!