Physicians Formula Eye Booster Instant Lash Extension Kit Review

Physicians Formula Eye Booster Instant Lash Extension Kit ($12.79 at Bed, Bath & Beyond) is a brand new 2-step formula that includes a mascara and fibers, similar to Too Faced's Better than False Lashes or Younique's 3D Fiber Lashes.  This is the first of it's type I've seen at the drugstore and although it's a bit on the pricey side for a drugstore mascara, there is a $7 mail-in rebate on the box. Personally, I hate mail-in rebates because they take such a long time to come back and are just inconvenient.  Physicians Formula normally puts instant coupons on their packaging that you can use at the register when purchasing the product, so I was a little disappointed that it was a mail-in rebate (though $7 is nothing to sneeze at). 

As with all Physicians Formula products, the packaging is a bit wordy and makes a lot of lofty promises and claims.  Among them are phrases like, "Total Lash Transformation" and "Shockingly Outrageous Results".  They also say that 100% of people who used it saw "the most dramatic effect ever experienced with a mascara."  Whenever I see claims like this, I feel like I am let down more often than not, because they set me up to expect a lot out of the product.

The back of the box outlines the steps of how to use the kit.  Similar to the higher-end versions, you apply mascara first to give the fibers something to stick to, then add a layer of fibers, then seal it with another coat of mascara.  You can repeat this process "For Life Changing Lashes" (to quote the box).

The box also comes with warnings that this mascara may cause...

Serious Lash Envy!
DIY Lash Extension Addiction!
Random Compliments from Strangers!

The tubes are silver and red, and are very pretty and eye catching.  The mascara tube is considerably larger than the fiber tube, but that's been the norm in my experience with this type of product.

The mascara wand has the regular brush type, not the hard plastic bristle type and has a slight curve to it.  The formula feels a bit thick and on the drier side.

The fiber brush is smooth and completely coated in fibers.  When I removed the brush from the tube, tiny black fibers went absolutely everywhere. I've used the Too Faced Better Than False Lashes and the Younique 3D Fiber mascara and while both of them shed a few fibers here and there, neither one did it to this level. This made a mess!

Here's my eye before.

Then, I applied one coat of mascara and then applied one coat of fibers....and this happened:

So yeah...the fibers went everywhere. All over my face, eyelid, and INSIDE.MY.EYE.  As I'm blinking furiously trying to get them out, I start scanning the box to see if this is contact lens safe (because I usually take it for granted since pretty much every mascara is) and I can't find that wording anywhere.  So I'm going to go ahead and assume it's not.  
I tried brushing the fibers away from my face and they were actually stuck to my skin...like tiny pieces of lint on a sweater.  I couldn't get them off at all!  In the end, I had to use a makeup remover wipe which really sucked because I had just applied my foundation, concealer, blush and eye makeup.

So here's the final result...nothing too life changing.  In fact, my lashes stuck together quite a bit and while I got a little bit of length and volume, I've gotten better results from regular mascaras. This photo is after two applications of fibers (yes, I actually went through that process again to see if I could get those life-changing results).

So if it were me, I think I'd change those warnings on the box to read:

Warning! May Cause...

Tiny Fibers to glue themselves all over your face!
Tiny Fibers to embed themselves in your contact lenses!
Tiny Fibers to still be coming out of your eye hours later!

Overall, this was a total flop for me.  Even if it had delivered amazing results, I'm not sure I could get past the absolute mess this makes when applying it and if it's truly not contact lens safe, then it's not something I could use anyway.  I was disappointed because I had gotten good results from the Too Faced version and was hoping that this could be a cheaper dupe.  Unfortunately, I'll just have to wait for the next drugstore brand to try something like this.
I just can't recommend this one guys, sorry to disappoint you!  I was really looking forward to this one...