Rimmel London Eye Magnifier Eye Opening Mascara Review

I have a favorite mascara so I have no idea why I keep trying new ones.  Deep down (well not THAT deep down) I'm a makeup junkie so I guess it's just the makeup wanderlust in me that causes me to keep trying. 

The latest mascara to catch my eye is Rimmel's Eye Magnifier Eye Opening Mascara.  I'm a bit of an Anglophile so things with the Union Jack flag tend to catch my eye which I'm sure is why this product ended up in my basket; the flag covers the entire front of the package. 

Eye Magnifier comes in a black tube that has red writing on it.  The brush is not actually inside the tube at first but displayed next to the tube.  This is the second thing that caught my eye as it seems to be a new trend in mascaras this year - the separate, cool looking brush in a color other than black.  The cool looking brush that comes with Eye Magnifier is red plastic and looks drastically different from brushes I've used in the past.

Rimmel says that Eye Magnifier says that the unique plastic brush gives a wide-eyed look as it lifts lashes vertically by 70% and that eyes appear larger.  The brush is kind of strange.  Since it is made of hard plastic the brushes don't give much when inserted into the tube and it makes a weird sound when doing so. 

Application takes some getting used to as there is absolutely no give in the bristles.  The first few times I used it I ended up with mascara under my eyes because I pushed down too hard on my lower lashes.  Also if I swipe the mascara tacross the same spot too many times it gets a little clumpy so it's better to do two light coats than one thick coat.

The nice thing about Eye Magnifier is that it does appear to lift the lashes slightly but it might also have something to do with the fact that I curl my lashes.  Regardless, most mascaras pull that slight curl right out of my lashes within a few minutes but Eye Magnifier did not so that's a positive.  I'm left with nicely coated lashes that aren't clumpy

Another positive is that it dries very quickly.  I find that if I do one eye, then the other eye, then go back to the first eye, it's already dry. 

Second only to the way it looks on my lashes is the way it feels.  It feels very soft.  There's nothing I dislike more in a mascara than when it makes my lashes stiff.  Eye Magnifier leaves my lashes feeling soft regardless of the number of coats I apply.

Eye Magnifier is not waterproof and I'm honestly not sure if it comes in a waterproof version.  I've had issues in the past with waterproof mascara sticking like crazy glue and looking really ugly so I don't use it anymore.  This mascara will run under extreme circumstances like rubbing your eyes while swimming and showering but holds up fine to every day use.  I cried my eyes out of my head yesterday and it didn't run until I rubbed my eyes so that's a good thing.  It is easily washed off with water or eye makeup remover. 

***Three stars*** because I'm not wild about the brush.  If I could find a way to use a regular mascara brush I might like it better.  Recommended, but not heartily; it's just average.