Le Volume de Chanel mascara - Review

Recently Chanel was offering free samples of its new Le Volume Mascara.
I have been a fan of Lancome's mascara for over 15 years and a fan of Blinc for over 3 years.
This was a good opportunity to try something new ;-)

What does Chanel promise ?

The immediate shock of volume, colour and style. 

Instant volume and intense curves from the first stroke with longer, plumper and thicker lashes. Lashes are coated in deep colour, giving eyes a wide-open effect.

A shock result produced by the perfect union of brush and formula:

The brush, creates volume thanks to its smart design of snowflake-shaped disks that are stacked and oriented for an ideal finish.

The quick-drying fluid formula helps build a customised volume result. 

A flutter of seduction beats across the eyes as they become the expression of a vibrant personality.

What do I think ?

The packaging :

The classic plain black and plain cylinder offered by Chanel.
A classic that never ages and will never look tacky in your make-up bag.
I personally love it but nothing new here

The brush :

The brush seems to be made of some sort of silicon.
Very short hair and spiky.
Not what I am used to but it seems to work daily well to apply the mascara

The texture :

I needed a couple of applications before the getting the volume I wanted.
The mascara doesn't dry to quickly and still moist by the time you add the second layer

The result :

It does add volume and the right amount of it.
If you want a super thick fake-lash or dancer look, this is not the right product for you.
If you want to highlight your lashes whilst keeping a fairly natural look, this mascara is great.
It does add a good amount of length too.
However, as the brush is not straight; so will your lashes be.
I like defined, well aligned lashes. This mascara placed some lashes on top of one another, giving me a look I didn't particularly like.

At the end of the day :

I tend to get panda-eyes at the end of the day with most mascaras (except Blinc)
The Chanel mascara didn't fall off in clumps (relief) but still gave some black marks/fading under the eyes.
However, as I get the same issue with most mascaras, I couldn't tell whether it is a problem with my own skin acidity or texture or with the mascara itself

Will I purchase it ?

This is a really good product.
Had I not found my "perfect" product already; I may do.
However, I will stick with Lancome and Blinc for now and use the Chanel sample for my travels.

Anything else ?

It comes in three colours : Black, navy and purple

My final say :

The fact this mascara won't whisk me away from my two favourite brands doesn't mean it is not a high quality product.
I will give the new Chanel's Volume Mascara a final note of 4 out of 5

Disclaimer : The free nature of this sample has not influenced my opinion of the product. Chanel has not sponsored this post nor asked for a review to be written in exchange of the sample