I love mascara as any other girl and very rarely leave home without an application or two with the magic wand. And on top of it I really do have fair lashes (as a natural blonde) and I look like an albino without mascara.

But, I simply refuse to buy mascara based on advertising claims, which are getting more outrageous as we speak.

Take MaxFactor Masterpiece Max mascara which claims your lashes will get 400% thicker:

"New micro channels in-between each soft flexible bristle hold more mascara to ensure Masterpiece MAX is able to deliver more mascara to the lashes for high impact volume. It actually creates up to 400% more volume*. In addition, a dual combing action detangles and separates the lashes as the mascara is applied, enhancing the sleek and smooth lash definition."

From my point of view, four times thicker lashes would look like fat caterpillars stuck to your eyes - not a flattering look I assure you. In fact, I did a test and plucked one lash, put it on a piece of white paper and painted that thickness times four - caterpillar I tell you. This is not mascara for me, if hat's true.

At least one mascara brand got exposed for lying: Penelope Cruz was in fact wearing false lashes in the new L'Oreal Telescopic mascara advertisement:

"L'Oreal told the ASA that Penelope Cruz was wearing a few individual false lashes inserted into her natural lashes to fill in the gaps in her natural lashes for a consistent standard of lashes. They sent a signed affidavit from Penelope Cruz and from the make-up artist in support of that. They explained that Telescopic mascara was then applied over the lashes. L'Oreal argued that many women wore false lashes as part of their beauty routine and reiterated that up to 60% longer lashes could be achieved by using the mascara, irrespective of whether lashes were real or artificial."

I don't wear false lashes, do you?