Bourjois Queen Attitude Mascara: sidewise sweep catches even tiny lashes

Is it just me or is there no-one quite as productive as Bourjois when it comes to introducing new mascaras? It seems they've a new one out every time I stop at one of their stands and though that can be annoying if a previous favourite is discontinued in the process, it's a good thing for someone like me who is always on the hunt for that most elusive of prey - the Holy Grail Mascara.

So of course I had to try their new Queen Attitude Mascara (regular price €12.99, currently on offer at €8.99) when I spotted it on the shelf recently. Apparently inspired by Cleopatra (they've also got a new Kajal-style kohl liner out, so look out for my upcoming review of that), Queen Attitude mascara is designed to volumise and lengthen lashes. The slim brush is designed with short bristles set at an angle in order to sweep the mascara sideways onto the lashes, opening the eye up at the outer corner.

I'm not usually a fan of small brushes - in the past I've always favoured large brushes with lots of bristles for my sparse lashes. So I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this one. It really does seem to live up to its claims of being optimised for the sideways sweep style of application and when applied after curling my lashes, Queen Attitude does give a lovely open-eyed look and the lashes are nicely swept up and out to emphasise this. It manages to coat all the lashes equally, even the very short ones on the inner corners and they're well separated and evenly coated.

The mascara formula is creamy and glides on easily. It's on the wetter side, but so far I don't find it too messy to use. The good thing about this formula is that it doesn't clump on me and if I apply it a little too heavily I can easily comb through the lashes to disperse the mascara.

The colour is a lovely deep black and it stays looking nice and glossy when it dries. The lashes also hold their shape well when dry and the open-eyed look lasts through the day. I'm sometimes wary of volumising mascara, as it can be a bit much for the natural look I favour, but I find that Queen Attitude is on the more natural side when it comes to volume and can be built up from a lighter daytime look to a heavier and fuller lash for more impact and all without the dreaded clumping.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with Queen Attitude mascara, though only time will tell whether this is a repurchase for me (and whether it's still on the stands at that point!). If you've tried it, what did you think?