One of the mascaras I get asked about the most is Cover Girl Lash Blast. Seems like everyone was taken with the eye-catching bright orange packaging and that fat wand with the rubber bristles, nevermind the incredible amuont of hype surrounding the product. Me? Hadn't tried it. But judging by the growing buzz and increasing number of inquiries, I decided it was high time to give it a whirl.

I picked up a tube of Lash Blast at Target this weekend with high hopes and much excitement. The packaging is indeed a fresh change of pace...you can't miss that orange tube in the beauty aisle. The brush is a rubber-bristled variety, similar to the excellent Chanel Inimitable. But the difference here is that the actual wand is so thick that it renders it incredibly unwieldy. And, the cap is so large that it makes for an uncomfortable "handle." Seriously, this thing is the Mega Bloks of mascaras. It's built like a Fisher Price toy for clumsy preschoolers trying to hone their fine motor skills.

Since the brush doesn't have a tapered tip, it's nearly impossible to maneuver around tight spots like inner corners, and the sheer width makes one of my favorite lash-boosting tricks rather difficult.

See, after I've given my lashes a good coat of mascara, I like to roll the brush behind the lashes, on the eyelid side, upward toward the tips. It helps keep them curled (although I don't curl mine, it's natural...thank you genetics!) and really beefs up the skinny little tips of your lashes. Lash Blast's fat wand makes this incredibly difficult; the brush is too big to fit between your lashes and your lids without smearing mascara all over your lids and browbones. Bummer.

It's too bad, because the formula itself is really nice; it does build dramatic volume, and I didn't have any problems with clumping, spikiness, or "crunchy" lashes. And, I'm a fan of the rubber bristles; they deposit mascara really well and provide good separation with no clumps.

But the size of that brush? As I've said in the past with DiorShow and Benefit Bad Gal, bigger is not always better...although this seems to be an unpopular opinion. Looks like a lot of my fellow beauty addicts are raving about Lash Blast. What do you think of it?