Beauty writer Eve Rowlands tested out three of Maybelline’s newest mascara colours and one of them made her eyes pop
As someone with pretty sensitive eyes, I am very picky when it comes to mascara. It needs to deliver some serious drama to my eyes without making them irirtated, or watery, or flakey – and I’ve found some gems over the years, both inside and outside my job. So, when I find one I love, I’ll wear it to death and then repurchase it and repurchase it – and one of those repeat buys has been £12.99 Maybelline’s Sky High Senational Lash mascara.
Having made me fall in love with its formula on first wear, helping me achieve some serious height on my lashes – which is quite the task considering I have really quite whispy, dull, uninspiring lashes – I was immediately intrigued when it started bringing out coloured iterations.
Its first colour launch was burgundy haze, as well as an electric blue hue and bright pink. Not being quite so brave, I went for burgundy and loved how it subtly made my green eyes pop. But recently Maybelline has added to this range and so naturally I had to get my hands on it.
While it’s introduced a festive sparkly collection – in silver and gold – I ordered the Green Altitude, Plum Twilight and True Brown shades, to see if they really do what the website claims: make the eye colour look brighter, and bolder.
Coming in the same, iridescent tube that’s undeniably Maybelline Sky High, the green mascara comes in a casing that matches its hue, as does Plum Twilight, while True Brown comes in its original pink packaging.
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Maybelline has recently introduced its Lash Sensational Sky High Mascaras in a range of new colours, including Green Altitude, Plum Twilight and True Brown.
Familiar with the brand and this mascara, I knew the application, with its Flex Tower wand, would be easy and coat all my lashes (even the ones in the corner that are hard to get, without poking myself in the eye). I also knew I wouldn’t be disappointed in its results; it always deliver serious length (thank you bamboo extract), creating the fluttery, clump-free lashes I’ve always dreamt of – without the need for an eyelash curler.
Plus, is doesn’t make my eyes itchy or sore, being opthamologist-approved. But I was intrigued by the fun colours.
Now, the Maybelline website states that “Green Altitude is a standout choice. Not only does the green colour help darken and lengthen lashes, but it can work to bring out the natural green already within your eyes”. It also added, in relation to the new True Brown colour, “Similarly, a brown mascara like Brownish Black can perform the same for your eyes’ darker tones”.
Trying out the former first, I did expect its green hue to be a little brighter. It’s a relatively subtle shade I’d say is akin to forest green. But after a few coats the green is smidge more noticeable and did make the olivey flecks in my eyes stand out a little more, which did shock me. I wouldn’t say it made the colour in them eye-catching – for that, I usually applying an orange-based bronze eyeshadow to create a contrast. But it is quite nice for the Christmas period, being green.
The True Brown colourway is also a lovely alternative to black as it’s softer on the eyes and works nicely with my curly brunette hair. With a good few layers too (I stopped at three), it basically looks black as I have naturally dark lashes, so it wasn’t really an obvious change to my look. Although it did add a warmth to my makeup, which I enjoyed.
As for the Plum Twilight shade, which is a dark purple – said to be good for green, hazel, and brown eyes when taking into consideration the colour theory (with purple contrasting nicely with green/gold tones) – I wasn’t quite as impressed.
To me, it just looked black and didn’t really seem to make much of a difference to my hazel eyes in terms of their colouring. Maybe I need to wear it a few more times to see it in different lights, although I will say that it did seem to make the whites of my eyes and iris look a bit brighter – if I really looked.
Now, as a beauty writer, I do have the very lucky job of getting the chance to test out new launches and formulas, such as these, which I will most definitely be adding into my beauty rotation, swapping in and out with some of my other faves. These include ICONIC London’s Triple Threat offering, which delivers some serious drama to the eyelashes with its deep black pigment and keeps it like this for most of the day. Although I will say, it can sometimes flake, and smudge if I wear it to the gym or in light drizzle. This isn’t something I’ve yet experienced with the Lash Sensational Sky High mascaras, which I’m hoping isn’t just luck.
Alongside Iconic London, another brand I’ve been loving is UKLash, whose Tubing Mascara, £16, gives me such long lashes that don’t really drop throughout the day, don’t look spidery and is so easy to wash off at night.
As with UKLash’s formula, the Maybelline mascaras aren’t too difficult to get off either. Granted it takes a few goes with a flannel and warm water to get the dregs off the base of the lashes, but there’s no heavy rubbing or wipes needed, which to me is a total win. Especially for a mascara that’s on sale at Boots for £10.99 (from £12.99).
All in all, as expected, the Sky High formula is fantastic – there’s a reason it went viral when it launched – and the new colours are really nice. On their own, they’re quite subtle and soft, which is great for those who don’t like the harshness of black. For a more obvious edge, they just may take some experimenting with eyeshadows to find the perfect complementary eyeshadow colours to make my eyes really pop – but I’m up for the challenge.
