Remember my little rant about Lash Blast? Unwieldy wand, overly fat brush, too much hype. Well, far be it from me to toss out a full tube of mascara especially in this wintery economic climate, I trudged through and used the whole thing up. I did get used to it, though I never really grew to love it. My original assessment still held - so when the tube dried up, I wouldn't be repurchasing.

I did, however, take the opportunity to test out what seems to be its closest competitor on the drugstore shelves -- Maybelline The Colossal Volum'Express.

First off, what an incredibly awful name for a product! "The" stuck in the middle of the name? An unnatural compound word with an awkward apostrophe thrown in there for good measure? It sounds more like a ride at Six Flags than a mascara.

Anyhow, The Colossal Volum'Express -- which smells oddly like a plastic rosebush -- boasts a bloated, rounded tube just like Lash Blast. The brush is equally massive, but sports regular bristles, not the rubbery variety. Think BadGal in terms of size, but a little bit sparser in the distribution of the bristles.

I can't say I've ever been a fan of these oversized brushes; they look impressive, but are difficult to maneuver in corners, lower lashes, and "behind" the lashes. I prefer the control of a small-to-medium size brush! So, I was a bit biased against The Colossal from the start. And indeed, it suffers from the same issues as many other mascaras with massive brushes -- high smudge potential and lack of control in tight spots.

But what I found really bizarre -- and turned out to be the dealbreaker for me -- was that The Colossal clumped straight out of the tube. I pulled the brush out of the tube and it was covered in clumpy smears. Try putting that on your eye and you'll end up with a solid wall of black weighing down your lashes. It deposited clumps and flakes everywhere; outer corners, inner corners, middle "normal" lashes, even my lower lashes.

To solve the problem I had to completely wipe the brush and then dip again, lightly. And I've had to repeat that process after every few uses. Half my tube is going to wind up on tissues in the trash. What a waste!

With a clean brush, The Colossal does build some impressive volume and length after a few coats. But I STILL had to comb through with a lash comb to remove clumps! It takes too much effort to get a good result, so this one gets a thumbs-down in my book. What are your thoughts on The Colossal?