Sample Sunday!: Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara

Here's one of the more exciting Sample Sunday's!  Sephora was giving away deluxe samples of Lancome's Hypnose Star Mascara last month with their Beauty Perks so I grabbed one up.  Looking at the packaging, I believe it's inspired by Betty Boop, who's one of my personal idols, so I had high expections of this one. And, as you can see from the photo above, Hypnose Star promises "show stopping" volume.

My hopes dwindled a bit when I saw the wand, as it reminded me of the wand of Maybelline's recent LOL mascara that I wasn't too fond of.  The cone shape, while great for whatever side your dominant hand is on, can be a pain for the other side since the aim is to have the pointier end towards your inner corners.

I actually didn't mind it much on Hypnose Star though.  The shape isn't as integral to the overall mascara performance as LOL's was so it wasn't too big a deal.  

I really liked how black this mascara was on my lashes.  Apparently it has some "black diamond" effect that gives your lashes a darker, glossier finish.  I didn't particularly notice much of the gloss but the darkness is definitely prominent.

Hypnose Star succeeded in the volume department too, I found.  It looked like I had a ton of lashes.  It made them all thick, but didn't clump or anything.  I also got a fair amount of lengthening and lift.

Would I be interested in purchasing a full size, based on the sample?  Sure!

For some reason (probably the shape of the wand), I didn't think I would love this too much, but I definitely think its a mascara you should consider trying.  I'm not sure if I would say it reaches it's "show stopping" status yet, but it's damn close.

You can find more information on this mascara at the Sephora website.  It retails at $28.

I'm also wondering how this compares with Hypnose Doll Lashes, being that they seem to have similar wands?  Anyone try both yet?