Readers think that the brush is way too big to handle. Says one reviewer, "After I had poked myself in the eye 3 times with the enormous wand, I finally threw it away." Another agreed "YES! That wand is dangerous and barely fits in my hand. Awkward to handle and it smells bad, too." Some are equally as miffed with the mascara itself. "It's thick, clumpy and all a mess! I threw it away after one use," exclaims one exasperated reviewer. "It is horrible and clumped my lashes. I tried it a few times and could never get them to look good," bemoans another. Still, some think it's not all bad: "Don't let the huge brush throw you off," says one, "because it's actually much easier to put on, as long as you know how to apply mascara fairly well. Plus, I love the loud orange color and huge easy-to-grip tube."

The Bottom Line: Bigger hands and a little patience may help this new mascara live up to its hype. Or not.

Next: Do minerals belong on our faces or in the ground? See what reviewers had to say about Bare Escentuals.

The Hype: This queen-of-the-infomercial says it will "give you an incredibly flawless, even application and picture-perfect skin. Its silky, soft texture looks like a powder, but it feels like a cream and buffs on beautifully, without settling into fine lines or drying out the skin."

Next: See what our readers have to say

"Not so," say some women. "I keep wanting it to work for me. But it makes me itchy and gets me a little bumpy. And I never get bumpy," claims one. Another maintains that "aside from being difficult to use, the results were an awful enlarged-pores/caked-on look. The iridescent shimmer that it produces on the skin is horrifying!" Others concur: "It looked so cakey on my face no matter how I put it on! What a waste of money and the coverage wasn't even that great! Yuck!" and "it is ridiculous unless you're 19 and already have flawless skin."

The Bottom Line: If you find yourself getting sucked in to the commercial, change the channel.

Next: What's so great about that little pink and green tube?

The Hype: This venerable mascara has been around forever and is often cited as every makeup artists' must-have tool.

Next: See what our readers have to say

"Great Lash is horrible. Makes me look like I have 3 eyelashes all glopped together. Why does this crappy mascara get such rave reviews?" is what one reader wants to know. Another says, "it gave me stubby lashes and at the end of the day I just couldn't get it off." Still more contribute that "it's like tar," "it did nothing special to my eyelashes, just made them clumpy and stubby looking," and "I never understood the fuss over Great Lash, it gives me raccoon eyes."

The Bottom Line: Just because something's been around for ever doesn't mean it's necessarily great.

Next: What real women have to say about Jessica Simpson and Julianne Hough's favorite acne-fighting products.