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New and inventive mascaras were all the rage last year and several brands released vibrating mascara wands to much fanfare and applause. But the products put out by Lancôme, Estée Lauder and Prescriptives were tough on the wallet, usually averaging around $32 per tube.

So it was exciting news when discount makeup giant Maybelline announced that they would be releasing the first pulsating drugstore mascara at a fraction of the price.

Like many other women, I was extremely excited to try Maybelline’s Define-A-Lash Pulse Perfection Mascara when it hit counters earlier this summer. Due to my affinity for Maybelline products, I had high hopes that this would be my mascara of choice for years to come. Unfortunately I was somewhat disappointed.

Like other vibrating mascaras, this one pulses with thousands of vibrations (7,000 in this case) per second. Although there is a slight tickling feeling when you first go to use it, the vibrating is barely noticeable and it is easy to get used to the strange sensation.

At first, the product seemed to be doing what it claimed on the package. It immediately helped to lengthen and curl my lashes with ease. I especially liked the long, skinny brush, which made it easy to reach the corner lashes lining my lid. However, I began to notice problems when I attempted to put on multiple coats. After two coats my lashes became clumpy, stiff and stuck together. The color (I chose Blackest Black) was wonderful– deep and dark– but the formula left me frustrated. Throughout the day, I experienced a fair amount of flaking as well.

Don’t get me wrong– this isn’t a terrible mascara. It really does lengthen and define lashes as you can see in the image above (left is without mascara, right is with two coats). But at $14.99, this mascara is still moderately expensive and I don’t think that the price is worth clumpy coats and a flaky formula. There are several non-vibrating mascaras on the market that cost less and simply do a better job.

Another complaint I have, albeit a small one, is the placement of the button on the mascara wand. The button is right at the very tip of the handle on the side. You have to hold down the button while applying the mascara so the process is a touch uncomfortable.

My honest opinion is to give this mascara a pass. If Maybelline can come up with a non-clump formula and maybe give the wand a redesign, it would be a much better product.