Makeup brands and their marketing departments seem to think that when it comes to eyelashes, more is more.
The assumption is that the best mascaras are the ones that create the chunkiest, darkest look possible, and have names like "X-Treme Drama Skyscraper Everest Lash." But is drama what we truly want? I'm not sure.
Speaking from experience, isn't the wishlist more along the lines of something to stop our eyes disappearing into our heads without making a smudgy mess in the process? These formulas are trickier to find than youth-oriented XXX-Treme ones (sigh), but here's something new and pleasingly affordable that fits the bill.
Why this elegant, lengthening mascara is my beauty buy of the week
I've got my issues with the 'clean girl' aesthetic that's dominated the last few years. But one thing it gets right is that, day to day, a lot of us aren't trying to make an impact with our makeup; we just want to look fresh, wide awake, and a bit more groomed.
Also, anyone with hooded lids, or who is menopausal or peri, will take one look at those spidery, sooty formulas and think, that'll be all over my eyelids in a hot second.
The rise and rise of tubing mascaras backs me up on this - these formulas are subtle, and built to be completely smudge-proof. But even as a tubing loyalist, I'll admit I sometimes want a bit more oomph than they can offer. Hence, my giving the latest L'Oreal launch a whirl...
If you know a thing or two about mascara wands, you'll look at this one and know it's all about length. If you didn't realise that's what skinny curved combs did, now you do! The one loads on small amounts of pigment and fibres via teeny-tiny channels between hundreds of short, flexible bristles. These then gently pull lashes up and out as you comb through them, so the finished look is very defined, unclumpy, lifted, and long. The clue's in the product name, I guess, but don't take my technical spiel's word for it - I've got photographic evidence.
Because it's 2026 and every makeup launch must boast a novel claim (72-hour wear is always a fun one), this says it gets your lashes 5mm closer to your eyebrows.
I believe it, while simultaneously having no idea how I'd check. To add my own statistics into the mix, I will say the curl and lift on this makes my face look one hour better slept and undoes 2.5 years of child-rearing from my eyes.
The fact that this mascara rings in under £15 - £11.20 at the time of writing on LookFantastic - is a bonus. It also adds weight to my theory that, just like underwear and chocolate bars, unfancy high street mascaras are often superior to overdesigned expensive ones. Sounds good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.
