I've never really had great luck with Maybelline products. I used to love their Express Finish and Colorama nail polishes before they were reformulated/discontinued, and I bought their makeup remover every now and then, but that's about it. However, after trying and loving four new products in a row from them (one of them being those Lasting Drama gel eyeliners which I still think are absolutely amazing), I'm starting to change my mind about Maybelline. I've been trying more of their products when I would have avoided them before. And now I'm about to say something that I've never said, and never in a million years thought I would say:
I love Great Lash.
Great Lash Lots of Lashes, at least. I've always hated the original Great Lash. My mom used to use it and would occasionally buy it for me and I thought it was the most pathetic mascara ever. Over the years, I'd see it win awards in various magazines and so I'd buy another tube expecting it to be awesome, but no, it never did a thing for my lashes. So, I'm not really sure what inspired me to buy this new Lots of Lashes version. Could have been that Maybelline was buy one, get one 50% off at Ulta, but... yeah. For one reason or another, it found its way into my shopping basket and I fell in love.
What I didn't know about this mascara when I bought it was that it's the original Great Lash formula, just with a new and different brush. Maybelline describes it as "heart-shaped" and I can kinda see that, but it's really more elongated, like a tapered cone where the bristles at the base are longer than the ones at the tip of the brush. 
Ingredients(click to enlarge)
Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes in 140 Blackest BlackI didn't actually figure out that it was the same Great Lash formula until I had already used it about a dozen times. It doesn't say that it is anywhere on the package, it only says that it's new. Only when I went to Maybelline's website to see what other colors they had did I find out that it's just Great Lash mascara with a different brush. I don't know how just changing the brush could make such a difference, but somehow it does.
"America's favorite mascara even after 40 years, now with a heart-shaped brush."
What I liked:
- This mascara gave me great length, volume and definition in only two coats, without clumping.
- The brush really does grab on to each individual lash, lengthening and defining without depositing too much product. It's like a little lash comb.
- It's dirt cheap. $5 for a 0.43 oz tube.
- The hot pink and green tube is cute. That's the one thing I've always liked about Great Lash.
- Easy to wash off, doesn't leave a lot of black residue around my eyes like some mascaras do.
What I didn't like:
- It flakes. Every Maybelline mascara I've ever used has flaked on me, and this is no exception. It's not severe, and it's less flaky than the other Maybelline formulas I've tried, but my usual mascaras never flake and this one does.
- The Blackest Black shade is really not as black as it could be.
I always felt the same about Great Lash, people would recommend it and I'd think "oh maybe I'm using it wrong" (?!) and buy another one, and it was still poo.
ReplyDeleteI hope this is available in the UK, that brush looks fantastic. xoxo
Don't know how much money I've wasted on tubes of Great Lash over the years... but I fell for it every time!
DeleteI had no idea it was the original Great Lash. I've never like that mascara but Lots O Lashes is my Holiest of Holies. That brush is magnificent.
ReplyDeleteIt is magnificent. I'm shocked at how much I love it, I never thought I'd be able to love Great Lash!
DeleteThat is such an interesting brush shape. I've never seen one like that before. It looks really neat, thanks for the great pictures!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review! Didn't like the original either. What liner are you wearing? It's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's L'Oreal HIP Studio Secrets Cream Eyeliner in Teal. The formula isn't the best but the color is amazing.
DeleteI actually have that! Mine looks a bit greener though, at least from what I can remember. Anyways, thanks! I love the way you paired it. I'll have to try that.
DeleteI agree, it definitely looks greener in real life. Somehow my camera always makes teal look too bright and washed out. Not sure how to fix it, I swear I've played with every setting and it always comes out weird!
DeleteHas the world ended? :) I have to try this now, after I've used the CG one you recommended (it's on it's way from the USA, and I'm so excited) - much cheaper than the Tarte one too. Why is it I want everything you show me?
ReplyDeleteAwe, haha sorry for making you want everything!
DeleteThe Cover Girl Lash Blast arrived. OMG, it's brilliant, it's not that lengthening and it doesn't define, it does what I want it to do, unnaturally thick and black lashes!!
DeleteThanks for the great review - I never had luck with Great Lash and thought something was really fishy with all the awards it would get. I'm definitely going to try this, although I do tend to get flaking on a lot of mascaras I try. I'm wondering if the brush could be used with other mascaras? I suppose it would have to have the same diameter and threading to be able to fit on a different tube.
ReplyDeleteI always thought those awards were the biggest scam. Still do, actually! I don't know how the original Great Lash could consistently win year after year when there were such great mascaras out there!
DeleteAs for the brush fitting in different tubes, I'm sure it will. I don't know if that type of thing is standardized or not, but at least you could use it and wash it every time if it didn't fit.
I've been using the brush with my Avon Wash-Off Waterproof mascara and love it. The Great Lash migrates and leaves dark smudges under my eyes, but oh-that-brush <3
DeleteI used a wire cutter to cut the wand out of the wash-off-waterproof tube and do what Scrangie suggested - use the heart-shaped brush and wash it with baby shampoo each time. The brush fits in the tube, but the top of the great lash is bigger around, so it won't screw onto the Avon tube.
I haven't used Great Lash since freshman or sophomore year of high school, hehe. Of mega-cheap drugstore mascaras, I've been pleasantly surprised by Jordana Best Lash-- have you ever tried it?
ReplyDeleteThat's probably about the last time I used it too. I forget what my favorite mascara was back then... I think it was something L'Oreal.
DeleteI have tried Jordana Best Lash, but it didn't work out for me, unfortunately. I do like the new Milani mascara with the crazy neon brush, as far as super cheap mascaras go :)
There's a makeup artist that I follow that has basically said that the wand makes the BIGGEST difference in how good a mascara can be. He keeps a huge array of different shaped disposable wands in his kit so he can get the effect he wants with whatever mascara he's got on hand. I'd say this post proves his theory once again! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm totally with you! I tried Great Lash and hated it, and couldn't understand how it could be the Bestest Most Award Winning Mascara Ever Made of Pure Awesome or whatever the claims are. I thought it sucked! The one I do love however, is Maybelline Define-A-Lash in the bright green tube. It's the best one I've found for me. The brush is flexible and separates and lengthens my lashes perfectly, and it never clumps or does that dreaded spider lash thing. I don't know what it is about it, the formula or the brush or both, but it's just my favorite!
ReplyDeleteflakes are annoying indeed
ReplyDeleteMaybelline Full 'n Soft is my favorite mascara, and as far as I can tell, it doesn't flake. You should try it!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on Great Lash! I also tried it based on the awards and found it terrible! Right now my faves are Loreal Voluminous with the curved brush and Victorias Secret VS Triple Drama. They both make me look like I have fake eyelashes! lol
ReplyDeleteThis, brush, however, looks interesting...may have to give it a whirl! :)
The brush makes all the difference in the world! That's been my experience, anyway. The original Great Lash with the regular brush is junk, but I'm definitely intrigued by this new, funky brush! Will have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteMascara formulas haven't really changed all that much over the years... all the innovation and technology is in the brush. I've never liked Great Lash--my skin is too oily and the stuff melts into my eyes after a matter of hours, and the original brush gave me horrid tarantula lashes. I can see how this brush design would be ideal for placing product a the corners of the eyes, there one is more apt to smear the mascara across one's eyelid. Other than that... I can't wear it. :(
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ReplyDeleteWhen I was in elementary school, I remember that the first mascara I ever tried was Maybelline Great Lash...and I really disliked it. Not only did it do nothing for my lashes, but I think there's something in the formula that doesn't agree with my eyes. It made them red and irritated. I've heard other people who have sensitive eyes like me say the same thing.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm glad to hear that this works for you. The brush shape is really cool! If my eyes weren't so sensitive, I'd give this one a shot.
(Actually, I stopped wearing mascara sometime at the end of high school because I could never find one that didn't bother my eyes. Sad...but I can enjoy mascaras vicariously through you, Scrangie! You always have great eye looks to share!)
Everyone seems to either rave about original Great Lash or Lots of Lashes! Neither of them ended up working for me; that little dome on the end of the Lots of Lashes wand is impossible to clean off without taking a napkin or something to it, and always leaves huge globs of mascara wherever it touches. And it sticks all my lashes together! (I am super anal about clumping though; I consider two eyelashes stuck together to be a clump.) I didn't have any problems with flakiness or smudging though, and I have pretty oily lids. Do you use mascara primer?
ReplyDeleteI'm not the only one! Everyone I know loves the original Great Lash, but it doesn't do jack for me. I got a few of these Lots Of Lashes in a promo thing (BzzAgent) and they weren't half bad. I found that they worked best on the bottom lashes.
ReplyDeleteI have, however, loved every other Maybelline mascara I've tried. The Falsies one is amazing.
It actually may not be the same exact formula; I read on a blog written by someone inside the cosmetic industry once that companies will slap the name of a line on two different formulas and they'll be COMPLETELY nothing to do with one another, not based on the same formula at all - but the original version sells well, so they slap a modifier on it and maybe package it similarly. It's also why waterproof versions of the same formula can be totally, totally different - they're not often based on the same formula at all because of what they have to do to make it waterproof. So in theory this one could be different all around.
ReplyDeleteI never loved the Great Lash formula either, but their royal blue color was the bomb and I went through two or three tubes of it in the late 90s, when I couldn't afford Urban Decay.
I used to buy Great Lash all the time as a teen - I think it was just because Maybelline was a new brand in our local town in Ireland at the time and I thought it was cool! I did pick one up a while ago because I found it for 2 euro (about 2.50 USD)and I needed mascara. It's not horrible, but it's not spectacular either. Bet we won't get this here, we never get the good stuff! x
ReplyDeleteI might buy a tube just for the brush and use it with my regular mascara. As a 30+ yea contact wearer, even the mention of flaky mascara is like fingernails on a blackboard.
ReplyDeleteI love the lashblast that you use.... but since they made the brush bigger I don't like it as much... I had a disposable wand and used that... it made the mascara perfect... better than the original.
ReplyDeleteI love the lashblast that you use.... but since they made the brush bigger I don't like it as much... I had a disposable wand and used that... it made the mascara perfect... better than the original.
ReplyDeleteLooks interesting. I wish i could buy that in Poland but i have to wait few months :(
ReplyDeleteIve tried almost every mascara out there. Nothing beats Maybelline Full and Soft. I constantly get compliments on my eyelashes and people always ask me if they are real or if I use that scary lash growth stuff. The only thing I think that comes close is Diorshow mascara but Full and Soft is about $20 less a tube. If you haven't tried it you really should!
ReplyDeleteYep i hated the original too. I dont remember why though as its been so long since i last used it but i remember wondering what the fuss was really about! Anyway i bought the lots of lashes today we'll see! Weird how the brush can make such a change!
ReplyDelete