Apologies in advance for my “before and after” photos (below): I didn’t ever think I’d be zooming in so close, so I have millions of bits all over my face! Just to clarify, the black bits aren’t flakes of this mascara, they are – shamefully – tiny flecks of mascara that I hadn’t removed properly from the night before. Oh dear. The things you see when you zoom right in on a computer screen! I’m just grateful I plucked my various face hairs before I started shooting.

Anyway, back to the main event here, which is Lancome’s new Hypnose Volume-a-Porter mascara. I wasn’t wowed by this at first, preferring their “swan neck”-wanded Grandiose, which is slightly wetter and smoother to apply; but I must say that Volume-a-Porter is a bit of a grower.

The formula is creamy but has enough tackiness to make it easy and quick to build. without forming blobs or clumps or making the lashes stick together. Here’s my before pic, complete with specks of old mascara:

and here’s the after – post-foundation, just in the interests of transparency! (Foundation is Max Factor’s Miracle Match.)

Nice, eh? This is after two quick coats. I’m sure you could build the mascara even further, but I just didn’t feel the need. This wears well, doesn’t flake, doesn’t irritate my eyes and (as I mentioned in my post last week) seems to hold my lashes into something resembling a curl. At the very least it keeps them slightly lifted, making my eyes seem a bit wider and more awake.

I may go so far as to say that this is now my favourite Lancome mascara. I know that the Hypnose range is incredibly popular anyway, but I can see this recent addition being a top seller. It has all the volume and intensity of a much heavier and claggier mascara but is in fact quite lightweight and doesn’t make my lashes feel thick or plasticised.

Nice. I’ve added it to my new favourites, the one from Diego Dalla Palma (see post here) and Chanel’s Le Volume Ultra-Noir (post coming up). You can find Volume-a-Porter online here – it’s £22.50.