L’Oréal Paris Volume Million Lashes Balm Noir Mascara

Firstly, the packaging of this mascara looks great, it's sleek and looks more like a lip product due to the clear tube. I love the brush, it has super fine bristles, which separated and fanned out my lashes very well. The first coat gave a fuller and darker appearance to my lashes, but it still looked natural which I like. The formula feels thinner than other mascaras I've used and I think this along with the fine bristles is why it rarely clumps. There was minor clumping once for me, but I had put it over a dry first layer that time (See tips below). It does take longer to dry than other mascaras in my experience. The second coat gives a much fuller look but I wouldn't say 7x more volume personally. Neither coat made my lashes feel stiff. My lashes aren't naturally curled and don't tend to hold a curl very well. I found that this mascara gave a slight lift to my lashes without a curler, and when I curled my lashes, it did hold most of the curl. I think if the formula dried faster it would hold a curl better. I like the shape of the brush, it was easy to coat all my lashes including my lower lashes without getting mascara everywhere. It lasted all day for me, and didn't irritate my eyes which can be sensitive to eye makeup. I forgot I was wearing it at one point and rubbed my eyes because I had a migraine and it flaked a little. I think drugstore mascara prices are getting really close to some high end brand mascaras, but I do love that the ingredients in this one are 99% natural origin and it is suitable for sensitive eyes. Overall, I really like this mascara and will continue to use it. I might even replace it when I run out.

I love this addition to the Volume Million range, I have tried them all and love them all (even though I don't see much different between all the different variants to be honest). I use this daily and get so many comments, people often think I have extensions. No clumps, no smudging throughout the day, just long, thick lashes. What more can you ask for? My eyes can be a bit sensitive and this product doesn't sting like others can.

I really enjoyed this mascara trial - thanks BR!

I like that it's suitable for sensitive eyes, its obviously a very gentle formula, I noticed no irritation even though I began using it just after a very painful Retinol reaction!

It really is anti-clump, separating lashes easily and evenly. No spider legs here, just longer, thicker lashes.

I wish it were waterproof as it does transfer easily, but I guess one mascara can't do it all and on a plus point the non-waterproof formula does make it easy to remove with your usual cleanser.

I'd say it's not one for the eye rubbers among us, but if you prefer a non-waterproof finish, or have sensitive eyes, this will give you dramatic lashes with no irritation or hassle!

My review is unfortunately not as considered as I would like it to be when it comes to mascara, as I had a lash lift the day before this product turned up. Nevertheless, I trialed this mascara on the basis of colour, volume, formula and ease of use.

I want to preface this review by saying that I have never found "the perfect mascara" for me. Some apply amazingly, but flake. Some separate your lashes well and don't clump, but leave you looking a bit thin and flat. Here are some reasons why this mascara is a strong contender...

1. The product claims that the built in wiper removes excess product and IT ACTUALLY DOES. A pet peeve of mine is when the excess gets wiped but remains at the end of the brush and you still have to wipe that back into the tube. L'oreal have eliminated that nightmare in this mascara! Love! Effectively wiped excess means that the mascara does apply evenly and mitigates the likelihood of clumps forming. 2. It's black, it's noir. No oxidizing and ending up with grey looking mascara at the end of the day. 3. The formula is gentle. It doesn't flake and end up in your eyes. I actually slept in it last night (oops) and my eyes aren't sore and sensitive from having mascara rubbed into them. I mean, my entire face feels gross and chalky, but that's what you get when sleeping in makeup. I love that the formula of this mascara is fragrance free, hypoallergenic and contains no nasties.

Additionally, some considerations... 1. I did apply a few layers of mascara to get my lashes to appear fuller. Overloading the product did cause a couple of clumps to form but I separated these out with a clean spoolie wand. 2. I can't speak for the lifting properties of this mascara as my lashes have recently been lifted. I have long lashes but they are naturally quite flat and mascaras do not do much to fix that. I do have the inclination that this one would be no different but can't say that without having tested! I look forward to updating my review once my lashes cycle back to natural.

I always tend to seek out mascara that are suitable for sensitive eyes; I suffer from easily irritated eyes, be it hayfever or just the cold air. On paper the Volume Million Lashes Balm Noir sounds perfect for me - and it pretty much is!

I love that the formula is full of the big NOs - no silicones, mineral oils or parabens. All things I try to avoid in my cosmetics. I would have thought fragrance-free was a given for mascaras, but as they're advertising this as fragrance-free I guess it isn't!

The brush collects just the right amount of product to coat the lashes evenly, top and bottom. It does definitely separate lashes, and they remain neat and evenly fanned out even with a second or third coat. No clumping at all.

The only downside is it does smudge a little towards the end of the day, but that's par for the course for a washable mascara I'd say.

All up I'm happy with my volumised lashes and would totally buy this again!

This is truly a great mascara. I thought what I was using was good until BR sent me this to trial. It goes on so smoothly with no clumps and best of all stays on with no smudging! It feels light on the lashes which is great because I have thin lashes and to know it's made from 99% natural ingredients is fantastic! It lives up to what the description says it will do, I definitely recommend this mascara and will purchase more when it runs out. Thank you so much BR for introducing it to me!:)

After using this product for nearly a week straight, it has out-performed my usual go-to mascara, which I was pleasantly surprised by. The colour is very black, which is exactly what I look for and the consistency is thick and easy to work with, without being overly thick or clumpy. The applicator brush is great and with the right amount of product (it picks up a lot of product and I ended up consistently having to scrape LOTS off to prevent overloading my lashes), but once you've got that right it applies easily and lasts all day. However, despite only applying two thin coats I had a little flaking happening under my eyes, and some rub-off on my orbital bone a few times, nothing major, but I didn't expect that to happen with using such a small amount. It did not perform very well in the gym though, which is kind of to be expected with a mascara that isn't waterproof, but came off very nicely when I use my TO Squalane cleanser. I don't know about the claim of 7x more volume though... how would you even gauge that? It definitely defines the lashes well and didn't clump up for me, but I always do only 2 thin coats, so would be interesting to see the result with more coats I guess. All in all it performed well and make my lashes look amazing, I just had to check for specks from time to time when I went to the bathroom.