I can’t think of a more polarizing beauty product than mascara. What’s celebrated as an icon by some, is deemed a fail by others. It’s incredibly subjective; everyone’s criteria on what makes a mascara great is really personal. (I still cannot understand what the fuss has been around Maybelline’s Great Lash the past few decades.)
Here’s my criteria:
Let me do a quick swipe and look natural.
Let me apply several coats, building so I’m *this close” to looking like I have lash extensions on.
Truly black pigment, nothing that looks dark grey in sunlight.
No black crumbs stuck to the tips of my lashes, no flakes accruing underneath my eye.
(Lastly, the clincher that separates a winning formula from just about every other tube on the market.)
Holds a curl all day.
My lashes are blessedly thick and somewhat long, but really fine and stick straight. Which means a couple minutes post application, they flop down, defeated, underneath the weight of the mascara. This is even after a serious session with a Shu Uemura lash curler (the gold standard by many) used Kevyn-Aucoin-style (curl at the bottom, walk it out and keep lightly pressing as you angle the handle of the curler upwards each time. Feels weird at first, but really makes a difference!)
This tube, by Nu Evolution, has been a repeat buy several times. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write about it, it’s frankly brilliant. The formula and brush surpasses any other. It checks all my boxes and gets better with each use as the pigment dries down and gives me more control. I used to be able to buy this at Credo Beauty, who’s sadly stopped stocking the line. But it is still available from the brand’s website directly. ($28 Nu Evolution).
