Physician Formula Shimmer Strips Mascara Duo Review

So I posted about this Physician Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Mascara Duo in a Shoppers Weekend finds at the beginning of the month. I was intrigued by its promise of volumizing and lengthening plus ultra-dramatic & glamorous lashes.

First, let’s see what the mascara looks like.

The description: As the name suggested, it’s a dual ended mascara with black in the longer end and purple (I chose the duo for brown eyes) in the shorter end. I think it’s great because black obviously would be used more often than purple, together or separately.

Theoretically, black would lengthens and volumizes, and purple adds the dramatic effect when needed.

The mascara is a little longer than normal, and the tube is square, so you gotta wrap your hand around it to have a good grip.

The brush: it’s big and hard, sadly. With my small eyes and straight lashes, it hurts when I bring the brush close to my eyes. For that reason, I might not have an even and thorough application with this brush.

It might be just me, as I am spoiled with gentle and small mascara brushes. In the picture, for comparison purpose, are the brushes from L’Oreal Voluminous (in the middle) and Marcelle Lash Extreme (at the bottom) – the 2 mascaras that I use most often.

Now let’s see the mascara in action.

The effect: I used both ends in these 2 looks, and similarly, it didn’t do much to my naturally straight lashes. They might look a bit fuller, probably thanks to the fact that I used 3 coats (2 coats of black, one coat of purple).

Note that these are close up pics, so the lashes might look long on there, but trust me, they are not.

Extra proof: closed-eye pics. The lashes remained the same – sad, straight and short.

Summary:
Pros:
– Convenient packaging, 2 mascaras in 1 tube
– The coloured end is customized to different eye colours
– Hypoallergenic, fragrance/ paraben free and safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers (straight from the website)
– Free with full price rebate (limited time offer).

Cons:
– Hard and large brush which is not easy on small eyes
– No lengthening effect proved
– The colour mascara isn’t that visible on the lashes
– Not cheap (CAD16.99, if you have to pay full price).

So it was nice to try out a new product, but it did not work for me this time. If any of you have bought this mascara, I’d love to know what you think of it, as it might work differently with different lash conditions.