Mascara: it’s a tricky one to reinvent the wheel. While it’s one of the essential items in any makeup bag, it can often be seen as an afterthought, well, in my case anyways.
A mascara is something I throw into my shopping cart because I remembered I’m running out. As I’ve never found “the one”, I have gone through numerous tubes in my time as a beauty writer, but recently I have come across a new formula that I will be repurchasing over and over again: Vieve’s Icon Mascara. If you’re already a fan of the Vieve Modern Mascara, see this as an amped up version. More volume. More length. More everything.
What I love about the Vieve Icon Mascara:
- It provides dramatic volume (in fact, brand studies found that lash volume increased by 356 percent)
- It instantly adds length and defines, without going clumpy
- It lasts all day without flaking off or smudging under my eyes
- The weighty, gold packaging feels very luxurious
The best way I can describe the result is like false lashes from a tube. The volume of my lashes transformed with one swipe, but they weren’t at all clumpy – in fact, brand statistics found that volume increased by 356%. Now those are the kinda stats I like to see. In the same way that falsies give you that volumised, fluffy effect, this is exactly what the Icon Mascara did for me, all while depositing a jet-black pigment.
To be fully transparent, I naturally have long lashes, but even so I was impressed at how well the brush grabbed onto each lash to lift to its highest potential. Seriously, I could almost feel them getting caught in my eyebrows.
Now, I’ll be honest, when I first saw the wand I didn’t think we’d be friends. I’m more of a plastic wand girlie, but this has a jumbo, fluffy bristle wand which, from past experiences, usually flicks the product onto my eyelids. In this case, my lids remained mascara-free.
In terms of application, Jamie Genevieve, founder of Vieve, says: “Apply while looking down into a mirror – it helps catch every single lash, from the root to the tip.” Following her advice, I wiggled the wand up from my roots and allowed the formula to dry before going in with a second layer. The wand also tapers in ever-so slightly at the end, so you can use it to catch shorter hairs in the inner corner or bottom lashes.
As for the staying power, I really can’t fault it. Nothing turns me off a mascara more than under-eye smudging, so I was thrilled to find that the mascara was still on my lashes by the end of the day – and not down my face. I also found that the volume remained throughout the day. Even after hours of wear, they still looked as long and bold as they did when I first applied the product. An “icon” indeed, I say.