Essence I Heart Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara Photos, Swatches & Review!

Hi everyone! For the past year and a half, I have been a loyal user of Buxom Amplified Mascara. Ironically, I haven't reviewed it yet, probably because it is just one of my daily staples and I don't get terribly excited about it anymore. The pricetag is steep, but I had picked up two for a steal at Sephora on Black Friday. So, I have been on the lookout for a great drugstore mascara to alternate with my Buxom to make it last. As many of you know, there is no shortage of great drugstore mascaras!

I heard about Essence's I <3 Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara from BeautyBroadcast a month or so back. She mentioned it was awesome and only $5 so I thought... hey... why not!

Essence I <3 Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara ($4.99, Ulta) is described as:

I Love Extreme Mascara's "crazy" sister - with even more volume! The deep-black, creamy texture covers each individual lash with color and the extra-large plastic brush provides sensational volume. Opthalmologically tested.

Yes... there is another Essence mascara called I Love Extreme Volume. Confusing, eh? This one that I am reviewing today is in a pink tube. The original is in a black tube. I loved the packaging right off of the bat, which of course has no bearing on how good the product is, but I loved how whimsical and fun it is. For your reference:

You can tell straight away that the brush is really substantial, kind of like Benefit Bad Gal Lash, but with shorter bristles. At first, I wasn't sure if these shorter bristles were going to work well! A close up:

 The brush is really pretty straightforward, lots of bristles all over that are rather tiny, promising to grab every lash. So, how's it perform on real lashes? Let's see:

I mean... wow, right?? This is two coats in the photo. In person it literally looks like a wall of lashes, especially when I go for a third coat, which I tend to do with all of my mascaras (kind of a fanatic!). I did lightly brush this onto my bottom lashes as well for definition.

 My Two Cents on Essence's I <3 Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara:

I seriously LOVE this mascara! Let's get into it:

Claims Met?: YES! Like I said above... most days I feel like I have a wall of lashes going on in almost a false-lash way. Thick, black, and fabulous!

Smudging: It has smudged once or twice on my top lid when wet - but never during the day as part of wear. I have used it on my bottom lashes as well and did not have any smudging, which is impressive for it not being a waterproof formula!

Flaking: None! I have been using this almost every day for close to a month and have not noticed any flaking.

Clumping: Very rarely this will clump, but mostly its clumps on the brush that can be wiped off. I am actually very impressed how clump-free it is for a volumizing formula. My lashes get so thick and plush, but never spidery or clumpy.

Staying Power: Lasts all day (10 hours).

Ease of Removal: Not as easy as some other mascaras, but comes off with some effort using a baby wipe. Definitely worth the effort.

Overall: I am borderline obsessed with this product. It applies like a dream, gives me a false-lash look of voluminous lashes, doesn't smudge, doesn't flake, and doesn't fade. My lashes look as good when I get home from work as I when I left in the morning. I also have to admit that the bright pink packaging perks me up when I am getting ready in the mornings! For $5, Essence has outdone themselves and this has quickly become my go-to mascara (sorry, Buxom!!). Although it does not promise anything in the lengthening department, you can tell from my photos that it gives considerable length as well.

I wholeheartedly recommend Essence's I <3 Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara. It's a great product that outperforms many high end mascaras I have tried over the years!

Have you tried this yet? Do you love it as much as I do??

XO
Beauty Cents
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