I wear and test enough mascara to have very little patience for a mediocre formula. A smokey eye is my default whenever I do my makeup, which means my lashes have to work a little harder than most. I want obvious length, clean separation, and enough definition that they don’t disappear behind a wash of my Patrick Ta brown shadow. Volume is welcome, but not if it turns my lashes into five chunky little spikes.
Naturally, the new NARS Notorious Mascara—that comes in both a black and brown—caught my attention. The formula promises lift, length, volume, definition, humidity resistance, and several hours of wear, which is a fairly ambitious résumé for one tube. The formula itself isn’t reinventing mascara—film-forming polymers, waxes, and conditioning oils are all familiar players—but I’m less interested in a flashy ingredient list than I am in whether the product actually performs.
