Review: Essence I ♥ Extreme Volume Mascara

Hello and welcome to my first beauty review of 2015, and we're starting as we mean to go on with a budget-friendly mascara - but is it worth spending your cash on? I received Essence's I ♥ Extreme Volume Mascara as part of a giveaway prize last year, and have been using it as my day-to-day mascara for the past few weeks. "Mascara for extreme volume; ultra black; ophthalmologically tested."
First things first, I can't help but think the tube is just too chunky, I can't see why it needs to be so fat - it makes it harder to store and means it takes up more space in my make-up bag so it's less than ideal for travelling with. Maybe a minor thing but the little things can add up! That aside, the packaging is quite nice, with the product name printed in hot pink on the black tube - simple but effective. The wand features a standard brush-style application - none of these new-fangled plastic combs or spoon-shaped things here! - though the brush is a little on the larger side.
I find that the mouth of the tube doesn't tend to remove excess product from the tip of the wand, meaning you have to remember to do this yourself or risk ending up with mascara-blobs in the corners of your eyes - never a good look! The large brush makes application a little tricky, as it can be hard to reach the inner corner lashes without getting mascara blobs on the lids - see photo below...
I'm lucky in that I have quite long lashes as it is, so in a mascara I'm generally just looking for a jet-black colour and a nice amount of volume, rather than anything extreme in terms of added length. For me, though, I felt that this mascara actually made my lashes look shorter somehow. Seriously, I don't know how it would achieve that, but everytime I apply it I feel like my lashes end up looking kinda stumpy...?!
I should mention that this mascara lasts well - I've not experienced any flaking or smudging, even when wearing it for 14+ hours - and removes reasonably well with an eye make-up remover on cotton pads. I do get a nice dark, black colour but, rather than adding volume as it claims, it has a tendency to clump a little if you try to apply more than one coat, and that alongside the fact that it somehow manages to make my lashes look shorter means this isn't a winner for me! All in all, the little things have added up to make this a pretty poor offering as far as I'm concerned; the excessively chunky tube, the mascara blobs not being removed from the wand, and the way it looks on my lashes, mean I won't be repurchasing this and I don't really feel like I could recommend it, though I wouldn't be put off trying other Essence mascaras as for the price they have the potential to be an absolute bargain! Have you tried Essence's I ♥ Extreme Volume Mascara? Did you have a similar experience? Would you recommend any other Essence mascaras, or should I give them a miss?

xo