I recently wrote something on the merits of a bright mascara for Marie Claire (click here to read), then promptly realised I’d barely written anything about mascaras of the ordinary black variety at all and should probably address that – rarely do I go a day without a little lick, though as I’ve rarely encountered a horrific/stellar one, I’ve never felt compelled to write about them.
Here, then, is my current mascara menu (along with a sincere promise to write more updates on the very essential but under-praised – by me at least – mascara)…
CHANEL LE VOLUME ULTRA-NOIR DE CHANEL out on on 14th of August here / for speedy lashes // I always have to remind myself when using Chanel make-up to forget the interlocked Cs and the sleek, black tubes because nobody can see that stuff when it’s on my face. Here’s what you can see: a whole lot of black lashes going on. This is its selling point – rather than need building up to have an impact, the carbon coating is intense enough to almost provide an invisible liner at the roots of lashes. Don’t expect it to do much by way of really bulking or lengthening, it is instead your ‘bugger, I don’t have time for fussing over my make-up today and need to look pulled together quickly’ mascara. And it’s jolly good at that job.
LAURA MERCIER EXTRA LASH SCULPTING MASCARA for mega lashes / One flick of this mascara does the work of ten of another – never before have my lashes looked so thick and fluttery so very quickly. Also, as they’re dead straight and need much curling before I get that wide-awake look, I am hugely impressed that they stay standing to attention after a whole day when I’m wearing this. Can’t offer higher praise – just buy it if you like a whole lotta lash.
LANCOME HYPNOSE VOLUME-A-PORTER for day-to-day lashes / See the shape of that head and the many, many little bristles (306, to be precise)? That head is able to get close to your lashes and grab every single one, coating them in a thin and even layer of the black stuff with alacrity. For this reason, it’s a good option if you don’t like to look like you’re wearing tonnes of mascara and just want your lashes to look a touch more prominent. Once on, I love that it isn’t crumbly in the slightest and that Lancome have whacked a complex in the mix that’s designed to make lashes healthier as you wear (you guys know how I love a make-up/skincare – or in this case lashcare – hybrid).