Pump up the volume with summer's best lash-boosting mascaras
So Dramatic: Summer's best volumising mascaras. Image by MAC.
Dramatics are rarely welcome— even less so after months of Sturm und Drang— but well-defined, voluminous lashes are always a pretty sight. Face masks continue to make us focus on eye makeup more and some of this summer’s launches for lashes were hotly anticipated.Â
Vegan celebrity-favourite Bite Beauty landed in Europe last week and MAC’s newest offering for lashes had a 180,000-person waiting list prior to its July 7 launch.
There is also something lovely from Chanel that beats the heat. Other newbies are predictably strong efforts from brands that are good at much but great with lashes.
However, as any drama queen knows, it is not what you hear about a mascara but the true boost and brilliance of its black that make an epic beauty moment.
MAC promised something spectacular from this mascara and it does deliver. Lash Extension is a fibre-based volumising formula, which is nothing new, but they claim this one’s 5mm-fibre boost is the longest on the market and creates a “crosshatch effect.” I can think of few jobs more tricky than measuring every mascara fibre on the market but the look is impressive, especially if stretched out, falsie-like lashes are your goal. The tapered brush is great at separating and fanning lashes. The formula densifies lashes further with light-tricking crystal elixir powder and conditions them with a dash of olive oil.
Bite is one of the LVMH-owned Kendo Brands, all known for their fun and creative approach to beauty. Marc Jacobs Beauty and Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty are part of the same division. Bite, as the name hints, is fruit themed and fragranced. Perfumed makeup around the eyes is rarely comfortable but Upswing is one product that’s fragrance free. Bite went 100 per cent vegan in January 2020.Â
The mascara trades traditional beeswax for vegan tree-berry and carnauba waxes. This black is bold and the thick texture gives lashes an instant boost. The hourglass-shaped brush is similar to that of TooFaced’s Better Than Sex Mascara, which fans will know is adept at completely coating lashes quickly. Upswing’s formula is very distinct, it feels light and is truly flake and smudge resistant. It has fantastic hold and proof that going vegan does not mean sacrificing your glamour.
L’Oréal is so good at volumising mascaras. This balmy new formula is part of the popular Million Lashes formula and has the same 320-bristle, lash-boosting brush. It is 99% ingredients of natural origin— mainly plant waxes— and quite conditioning without smearing over the course of the day. The lipids speed up application and give lashes the sheen of polished onyx. You can also build sparse lashes with a couple of coats without any flaking. This mascara is fragrance free but contains denatured alcohol, which sensitive types may seek to avoid.
Rimmel’s latest is another formula working to emulate lash extensions with some success. This mascara has an unusual, noticeably stringy texture that stretches lashes and builds volume without clumping. The brush grabs lashes of all lengths well. It is clump-free, long-lasting, smudge-proof, flake-proof and easy to remove. This one also contains denatured alcohol.
Part of Chanel’s new eye collection, Le Volume Waterproof delivers tear-proof, plumping perfection with every swipe. The formula also resists humidity and sebum. The brush sculpts on new volume as it goes using disks that are stacked and oriented for this purpose.The quick-drying fluid contains cellulose micro-beads for a smooth coat and clump-free volume. It is carbon black with a polymer blend that keeps it smudge resistant but is easy to remove. It conditions with provitamin B5, known to strengthen lashes, and softens with antioxidant Vitamin E acetate.
Keep your favourite mascara and give it a boost with Dior’s recently reformulated lash primer. Diorshow Maximiser 3D has long been credited with giving even the sparest of lashes a lusher look. The updated formula is infused with protective cotton nectar and berry extracts. Conceives as a conditioning treatment, it plumps every lash before you apply your mascara to hold their curl and give them extreme, long-lasting volume.
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