Maybelline Volume Express Turbo Mascara Review

Maybelline's Turbo is one of the older members of their Volume Express family. Turbo is available in both waterproof and regular, washable versions, and is only available in one shade; Very Black. This mascara is ophthalmologist tested and found to be safe for contact lens wearers. Sadly, Maybelline products are still tested on animals, so please remember than when purchasing any of their products. I combined a coupon coupons and a bogo 50% deal to get this mascara for free. The regular retail price is around $7, but it can vary. This mascara is made in the USA. 

Packaging for Volume Express Turbo is a round, black tube with a round, black cap, both of which are made of plastic. A metallic red band circles the mouth of the tube. All the lettering on the tube is written in a metallic red. This just looks like the mascara a young ~alternative~ girl would go for when selecting her first mascara. Compared to it's counterparts, The Colossal, The Falsies, and One by One, Turbo's tube is quite plain and would definitely not catch your eye when you're scanning the Maybelline mascara display.
Turbo's brush is lackluster. It's just so average you may as well use a spoolie or disposable wand. About an inch long and completely straight, Turbo's brush is made of short, fairly dense traditional brushes. Maybelline calls it the "clump-free brush". It may not clump within the bristles, but the brush sure does collect a lot of product on the tip. The tip of this brush is just so blunt, absolutely no rounding out the tip, which makes application messy. 

Volume Express Turbo isn't the easiest mascara to apply, mostly because of the blunt brush tip. Maybelline recommends to use a sweeping motion to apply, but in my opinion it doesn't matter how you apply it, whether you wiggle or sweep, because you get the same results. That doesn't really make sense but it's true.
Volume Express Turbo only makes one claim; 7x the volume. Can this mascara deliver on one, single, simple promise? LOLNO. So what results do you get from Turbo? Close to none. A little volume, a smidgen of length, but nothing very noticeable. Pretty much all Turbo does is make your lashes black. Fail.
With a name like Turbo, you'd think you'd build up big, voluminous lashes FAST. Several years ago I had the waterproof version of Turbo and it gave much better results. Ironically, on the Maybelline website, they only promise 5x the volume. So much of this mascara doesn't even sense make. If you really want Turbo and want ok to epic lashes, go for the waterproof. 

[2 coats, legit.]

Turbo's wear is pretty average. It lasts mostly all day, but your lashes droop significantly throughout the day, I'm not sure why because this isn't even a heavy, wet mascara. The mascara on your bottom lashes flakes off and disappears, which is also weird, but at least they don't smudge all over your cheeks. Turbo isn't a heavy duty mascara that I'd wear to work, nor is it dramatic enough for my taste to wear on an every day basis. But I guess it's ok to sweep on for quick errand running, or a late night web-cam session, when I want to look pretty, but makeup free. Removal is no trouble at all, so I won't really delve into that topic.
For a while now, I've been wondering "Why doesn't anyone ever talk about Turbo when the rest of the range is so popular". That's why I bought it, actually. Well no one talks about Turbo for a couple reasons. First off,  compared to it's sisters, it's packaging is super plain. I'd rather buy a mascara in a yellow and purple tube than black and red, wouldn't you? The second reason; it sucks, at least comparatively. Turbo is ok if you want a super basic, no frills, natural looking mascara, or if you have naturally perfect lashes that just need a but if darkness. I'm glad I got Turbo for free; I'd be really disappointed if I put out seven bucks for this. To me, Turbo is just boring. Not a mascara I'd repurchase or recommend.

Ingredients:
Water, Paraffin, Cyclopentasiloxane Acacia/Acacai Senegal Gum, Caranuba Wax, Stearic Acid, Beeswax, Palmitic Acid, Acrylates Copolymer, Triethanolamine, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Dimethiconol, Phenoxyethanol, Aminomethyl Propandiol, Panthenol, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Polymethacrylate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Simethicone, BHT, PEG/PPG 17/18, Dimethicone, Trihydroxypalmiamidohyrdroxypropyl Myristyl Ether,  Polyquaternium

May Contain:
Iron Oxides, Ultramarines, Titanium Dioxide, Carmine, Chromium Oxide Greens, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Manganese Violet, Ferric Ferrocyanide

That ingredient I underlined, is that a joke? Like is that something Maybelline threw in there to see if we were really reading the ingredients?