My whole life I have been a resolute black mascara wearer, convinced that it was the only way to make my eyes stand out and accentuate my lashes which have, thankfully, always been quite long and thick. However recently I’ve seen more and more people turning to other colours in order to make their eyes pop, and I wondered if I’ve maybe been too stuck in my makeup ways.
In the name of beauty research – and improving my makeup – I decided to put three different coloured mascaras to the test to see if any of them could stand up to my tried and tested black mascara, and I wasn’t prepared for the results. The three colours I chose were brown (not too crazy), purple and mint green to see which accentuated my green eyes the best.
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Brown mascara
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Faith Richardson)Before going too crazy with colours, I wanted to see if a more subtle change could make a difference. I swapped my brown mascara for a chocolate brown colour and honestly, I was shocked at the results. It made my lashes stand out just as much as the black did, but gave a softer, more natural effect. The brown also complemented the green of my eyes much better than black, making them look more open and enhancing the colour. This was definitely a strong start.
Splurge: Mac’s Macstack Mascara in chestnut brown, £27
Spend: Iconic LondonTriple Threat Mascara, £16.50 (was £22)
Save: Catrice Pure Volume Magic Brown Mascara, £4
Purple mascara
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Faith Richardson)My first foray into a more colourful mascara was a pleasant surprise. Before I tried it, I would have placed purple mascara firmly in Halloween costume territory, only to be used when doing fancy dress makeup. However, I have eaten my words. Of all three colours I tried, this may well have been my favourite. I shouldn’t be surprised, as purple and green sit opposite each other on the colour wheel and therefore are naturally complementary to each other, but rather than looking costumey, the purple mascara was so subtle you could hardly tell it was coloured unless looking at it from certain angles. And yet it brought out the many different shades of green in my eyes, giving them a much brighter hue than usual and making them stand out much more vividly on my face. We have a winner.
Splurge: By Terry Terrybly Mascara in Purple Success, £36
Spend: Oriflame Hypnotic Colour Coloured Mascara in Purple Pop, £8.49 (was £14)
Save: Revolution Relove Volume Lilac Mascara, £2.50
Mint green mascara
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Faith Richardson)This one was admittedly a wild card when I decided to try it, as I’m not 100% sure which makeup I would ever wear this with. However I’d seen Pat McGrath do a similar shade of mascara and thought I may as well give it a go. Now, I’m not sure this necessarily complemented my green eyes; it would look absolutely amazing with brown or hazel eyes, which would allow it to really shine, but it did get a little lost with my green ones. However, I have to admit this was a really fun colour that I didn’t expect to love wearing. I still have no idea how to incorporate it into my makeup, but I’m going to have fun figuring it out.
Splurge: Pat McGrath Labs Dark Star Mascara, £39.99
Spend: 3INA The Color Mascara 793, £13
Save: Oriflame Hypnotic Colour Coloured Mascara in Minty Magic, £8.49 (was £14)
As it turns out, purple mascara is now my go-to shade for days when I want to subtly make my green eyes pop, with brown coming in a close second. The mint green shade may be saved for days when I want to do something more fun and statement-making with my makeup, but its my poor black mascara that's officially been put on the bench until further notice.
English (US) ·