Say it with us: Colored mascara isn’t just for red carpets and runways. Sure, it has made appearances at Fall/Winter 2023 shows (makeup artist Pat McGrath painted vibrant blues onto models’ lashes for Anna Sui), but a few sweeps of the stuff is perfect for your TikTok FYP and even — dare we say — a grocery store run. “Colored mascara is definitely trending right now,” says New York City-based Joseph Carrillo, who says its popularity is simply from people’s desire to have more fun with their makeup.
Some easy ways to try colored mascara include focusing your eye makeup with a swipe of bright purple or blue mascara on your top and bottom eyelashes. Alternatively, coat just your top or bottom lids with the vibrant hue of your choice. Take the trend even further by matching your eyeshadow, lipstick, or eyeliner to your colorful mascara for a monochromatic effect. We also love drawing on a liner in a complementary color of our mascara.
The best part? You don’t even need to put that much effort into it — in fact, makeup artist Fulvia Farolfi told Allure that colored mascara looks better when it’s clumpy. “It’s not supposed to be perfect,” she says. So layer on your colored mascara as you please, and don’t stress if it clumps or smudges a little bit.
We selected the best clump-free colorful mascaras that work on brown eyes, hazel eyes, green eyes, blue eyes, and every eye color in between. There are mascaras from the drugstore, Amazon, and Sephora to shop from too. Now that you know what to do with these mascaras, here are 9 of the best-colored mascaras to create a bold makeup look with.
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