Hope or Hype? MAC’s new Mascara X

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WHAT: Why is it that mascara -- much like high school boyfriends -- always disappoints? The patented formulas deliver joy and perfection for the first few applications and then, they begin to clump and smudge. The Rage, ever in search of the holy grail of mascara, test-wore MAC Mascara X.

HOW: Available in black or dark brown, this smooth operator goes on glossy and doesn’t gunk. The football-shaped brush makes it easy to reach pesky inner and outer corner lashes too. It contains a vegetable- derived protein to help strengthen lashes. As for performance, the mascara stayed on and didn’t fleck or run, even when the Rage went for a 5-mile jog with tricked-out lashes.

VERDICT: Strong buy. Those long, full lashes might even make you forget about that loser who snubbed you at the junior prom. $12.50; maccosmetics.com.

Photo credits: Bambi from Walt Disney Studios; Mascara, MAC; Twiggy, Bettmann/Corbis