Physicians Formula got it right on their eyeliners for me, so I was hoping I could say the same for their mascaras. In general I get sucked in by PF products because they’re hypoallergenic, but this time around I will admit, it was DEFINITELY the cool packaging. I mean, look at that mascara. That is a cool looking mascara. (turns out though, it doesn’t make it any easier to hold).

But this $14 mascara really missed the mark for me. The implication of the name “Fake Out” is that this will mimic false lashes, but this mascara accomplishes the farthest thing from that. The overall effect is that lashes will be combed into pin-straight (but not elongated), separated lines, with minimal color to boost them. I’m not saying we should be buying mascaras that purposely turn our lashes into clumpy spider legs, but false eyelashes should add volume, and fan outward.

I guess if you were looking for minimal boost and an extremely low-effort look, this might be the way to go. But even the longevity is terrible. Within an HOUR, I found debris of the mascara under my eye. By hour three, the mascara was entirely gone from my lashes, and it looked as though I had applied nothing at all.

Now I’m no packaging expert, but it seems to me that the wand itself is just not conducive to picking up product in the tube — either that or the product itself is very dry. And it’s kind of a pain to go back into the tube to get more product, since the cap of the wand is really annoying to hold, and there’s a “suction” going into the actual tube that you have to push a little harder to break through. Not that getting more product is going to make too much of a difference anyway — it simply doesn’t stack, and you won’t notice a difference in the overall effect by adding an extra coat or two.

Big time “no thanks” to this mascara. It’s definitely not worth $14. ~A

Perceived efficacy: 1/5

Longevity: 1/5

How much I actually like this product: 1/5