Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara

I picked up Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara Waterproof in Very Black during my trip to Hawaii. This costs about US$13 and is supposed to be an affordable dupe for Lancome's Ôscillation mascara. (Both Maybelline and Lancome are owned by L'Oreal.) I picked the waterproof version as the non-waterproof Maybelline mascaras that I used in the past (Great Lash, Full 'N Soft, Lash Discovery) tend to smudge on my lower eyelids.

I believe Pulse Perfection is due to be launched in Singapore soon. I can't remember where I read this but apparently only 30,000 tubes will be made available in Singapore at the launch.

The brush has fairly short bristles which I think helps to avoid clumping.

You have to press the button on the cap in order to activate the vibration. I found it a bit tricky to press and hold the button while trying to apply the mascara as you have to hold the cap at the very end, which does not allow for a very firm grip. It gets even more difficult when I try to do my left eye while holding the wand with my right hand.

The top of the cap can also be opened in order to remove the battery for recycling. However, the directions also warn against trying to replace the battery.

Pulse Perfection promises "luscious thickness, luxurious length, smooth separation, intense colour, shapely curve, healthy luster and zero clumps". Out of those claims, I would say that it delivers best on lengthening , separation and intense colour but is somewhat lacking in terms of adding thickness.

It was easy to apply without clumping and builds length easily with a few strokes. You can't let the mascara dry in between coats as the texture becomes a bit hard and you can't brush over it smoothly. It held up well over more than 10 hours of wear without flaking or smudging and was easily removed with my usual Shu Uemura cleansing oil. The colour is jet black without any grey tones but it's not a glossy finish.

Overall, I would say that it's a decent mascara but it didn't completely wow me either. In addition to the lack of volumising power, I felt that the vibrating wand actually did not do very much in terms of enhancing the application of the mascara. I get the same result from using it in the non-vibrating mode. So that part was a bit gimmicky to me, whereas with Lancome Oscillation Powerfoundation, the vibrating sponge applicator does produce a much more polished and seamless finish.


Here's the TV CM for Japan.