Lancome Cils Booster XL Mascara Primer - Review

For some reason, I have been pining away to use a mascara primer. Nothing really spurred this desire, but it was becoming all-consuming - all I could think of was mascara primers. During Sephora's Friends and Family sale, I found a kit from Lancome that included a trial size of one of their primers, Cils Booster XL. Because the kit also had a mascara I wanted to try (Hypnose Doll Lashes), I finally could try a primer without spending too much money.

Although this is a trial size, it looks like the full size, just smaller. The cap/brush are black, with silver lettering saying what the product is. The bottom/tube is white, most likely to make it easy to determine what's inside - no Lancome mascaras (or anyone else's, for that matter), have white tubes.

The primer it's self is white, as well. One coat will start to dry clear, but if you layer (which is a must), it stays white-ish. One coat doesn't seem to do much, but with 2 - 3 coats helps define my lashes, which seems weird because that means I'm putting more and more stuff on my lashes, but it's true. It also adds length, but no real volume. Sephora says:

Give your lashes an XL boost. This innovative mascara base maximizes the result of any Lancôme mascara. Features micro-fibers for enhanced effect; triangular brush helps separate lashes.

I haven't noticed any fibers, and I didn't get a chance to use this under a Lancome mascara (I had other things to use up), but I tried this primer with They're Real! and Lashblast 24Hr, and it seemed to add soemthing to them. Neither mascara flaked without the primer, and there wasn't a difference in wear time or smudging, either.

To sum things up, this mascara added length for me, but little else.  For $23, I would hope it'd do something really measurable, but I don't know if the cost is worth it. I probably wouldn't purchase this on it's own, but I'd happily use a sample.