It's not too often that I find myself totally in the wrong and need to do a complete 180 on my opinion of a product, but oh boy, did I make a mistake on this one.

When Clinique's newest mascara, Lash Power, made its debut earlier this year, I tested it briefly but wrote it off as just another average mascara. Somehow I managed to miss an important data point - Lash Power is a "tubular" mascara similar to the legendary Kiss Me mascara by Blinc, the kind that dries into little tubes around each individual lash, and leaves little "spider legs" in the sink when washed off. Contact lens wearers and those with sensitive eyes especially love this type of mascara, but it's also perfect for various tearful occasions and long days or nights.

I guess I didn't see the spider legs the first time I washed Lash Power off (probably did it in the shower with my eyes closed), which is rather unfortunate, because it beats Kiss Me at its own game.

I know many of you will be excited to hear this, because I get asked pretty frequently about more widely available alternatives to Kiss Me. You can get Clinique in any department store, it's $10 cheaper than Kiss Me, and not only that, it's actually a better mascara than its elusive competitor.

In further proof that I didn't give Lash Power a fair shot the first time around, I was able to achieve terrific volume, length and separation on the second try - it just required a few more coats than I was expecting. I was never able to get these results with Kiss Me, even with multiple coats. In fact, I was so impressed with Lash Power that I'd use it as an everyday mascara, not just for beach/weddings/long haul trips/bottom lashes, as was the case with Kiss Me.

So, spider leg lovers, rejoice! And score your tube of Lash Power for just $14 at any Clinique counter.