Prestige My Blackest Lashes

I love lashes that are HUGE and dramatic. Straight up, I am not the "natural defined lashes" type of gal. I like big, bold in your face lashes anytime, anywhere. That being said. I go the extra mile and forego fake lashes- I expect my mascara to do all the work for me. I've heard wonderful things about Prestige's My Blackest Lashes, so for about $8.00, I decided to give it a go.

The tube is pretty large. Not as huge as CoverGirl's Lash Blast, but certainly on the chubbier side.

The brush itself is a bristle brush- not a rubbery one with spikes. In comparison to other mascaras, the wand is large and can be a bit hard to maneuver.

In the closeup above, you get a better idea of the size of the brush. If you look closely you can also see that the formula is a bit on the drier side, and a little clumpy. As I prefer drier formulas, this was not a problem for me.... initially.

As it turns out, the formula was a bit TOO dry for me. As I applied the mascara, I noticed that it was difficult to get the product to build up on my lashes. I spent more time than I would have liked building up the product for what I think was a rather mediocre result. This mascara certainly isn't terrible and I can't say I completely disliked it, but to me it delivered average results, not really the bold, black lashes it promised.

Here is the My Blackest Lashes after about 3 hours of wear: 

 And here's a closeup (apologies for the scary pores!)

Although the mascara itself looks fine and there is no smudging, there is significant flaking. If you look at the undereye area you will see this. I noticed the flakes almost immedietely.

The verdict? I was dissapointed by this mascara because of all the rave reviews it had gotten from others. I personally prefer dramatic effects and could have dealt with the flaking if it gave amazing results. For me though, it was average and I will happily go back to my Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black (A MUST HAVE!!)
What are the best and worst mascaras you've tried?