Clinique High Impact Mascara in Brightening Black

I'm bad. Oh sure, Clinique, I have always loved your mascara, but one that would brighten my eyes, just like magic? The thought of a certain lilac under-eye illuminator crossed my mind as I carefully considered the improbability of Clinique's claim. I'll dispense with the drama - this mascara is amazing!

Clinique's limited-edition High Impact Mascara in Brightening Black ($14.00) is a new, richly pigmented shade that instantly brightens your eyes. High Impact Mascara¹ kicks up the volume and length of each and every lash for a look that’s lush, plush, and bold. Pure, deep color that looks black on the lashes, but has navy blue in it, adds to the impact. Wear it once and you’ll discover what I does - it works!

The first time I wore it, my blue eyes got bluer. They have a bit of green in them, and they lean green when I wear certain colors - like forest green. By most measures, my eyes are blue. With High Impact Mascara on my lashes, they are really blue! Almost as pretty as Charlie's eyes (well, not). Is it the power of suggestion? I don't think so.

I had hoped a swatch would pick up the blue tones. None of my photos did that to my satisfaction. You may be able to see the blue in Clinique's swatch below. You will have to trust me when I tell you that your tissue or cotton pad that removes it will show navy blue. On my lashes, though, the mascara is rich black.

High Impact Mascara, backed by Clinique's long history of making noteworthy mascaras, has earned its name. It adds volume and length - it really punches up your lashes. When I wear it to work, I feel a little "showy." It's a personal thing, but I feel like work isn't the best place to broadcast flirty eyes. I got over it when I saw how alert Brightening Black made me look. It lasts all day, without any flaking or bleeding. At the end of the day, the oomph is still there.

My only complaint about this mascara is a very personal thing - one that some of you will think is strange. I don't like mega-brushes. They are hard for me to use in the inner corners of my eyes; my lashes are very long, and fat wands tend to deposit dots of color under my brow bone as I apply the mascara; and I can't use them very well on my lower lashes. I have to wear a conservative coating of mascara on my lower lashes. They are blond, and I look imbalanced without a touch of mascara. It's hard to wield a fat brush on them without getting it on my skin. It's easy enough to remove with a Q-Tip, but I'd rather skip that step. To remedy my personal issues, I took a Maybelline wand I like and used it to apply Brightening Black. That made me perfectly happy.

You can sample and purchase High Impact Mascara in Brightening Black at any Clinique counter, and if you don't want to leave home, you can find it at Clinique's Web site.

Top and round swatch photos courtesy of Clinique

¹I should have been an English teacher. Why do companies fail to use hyphens properly? It's "High-impact" or even "High-Impact," but not "high" space "impact." I would love to be a copy editor - as long as I have a spell checker.