As a blonde with light eyelashes, a good mascara is paramount in my beauty routine. Though I’d love nothing more than to roll out of bed and look bright-eyed, I just never do without mascara. (The year I had lash extensions is the exception.) And, because my lashes are light, I gravitate toward those jet-black, super voluminous formulas that really make an impact. The latest one to grab my attention is the new Charlotte Tilbury Exagger-Eyes Volume Mascara.
When this mascara launched last week, there was confusion about whether or not it was a tubing mascara. I, too, had heard rumors that it was tubing, but when my early sample arrived, I realized it wasn’t. So if you are still wondering, it is in fact not a tubing formula. Admittedly, I was ecstatic when I heard it was tubing because I’m a huge fan (the easy removal process is unmatched for a busy mom like me), but this volumizing formula deserves its hype. And hey, there’s room for both on the market, so hopefully we’ll get a tubing mascara from Tilbury next. In the meantime, here’s my honest review of Exagger-Eyes, along with insight from Tilbury herself via a Zoom call about the new launch.
What Makes This Mascara So Good
Volume is a top benefit shoppers look for when purchasing mascara, and this formula delivers it in a va-va-voom way. “My lashes are thin and sparse and short, and I like a lot of lash,” Tilbury says on the Zoom call. “I always had to use multiple mascaras to achieve the look that you can get with this one in seconds. That’s how I know there’s nothing else like this on the market. I’m obsessed with it.” Tilbury credits the brand’s exclusive Lash Vinyl-Black Wrap Tech for the mascara’s volumizing power. “I worked on this for years to develop the most incredible lash-plumping polymers that coat and wrap each and every lash,” she explains. “They elasticize and stretch the lashes to give you the look of nine times more volume in just one coat.”
Not only does it volumize, but it curls and lengthens, too. “It’s like nothing you’ve never seen before,” says Tilbury. “I’ve always had a vision of taking the incredible effects of a hairstyling tool and bottling them into a genius volumizing mascara. But, I could never find a volumizing mascara that also really lengthened and could be applied with instant precision. This one gives you that long-lasting curl from root to tip, as if you’d literally just had a lash lift done professionally. You don’t need a lash lift; you don’t need an eyelash curler—just this mascara. It will give you the greatest lashes of your life. There’s also no clumping or transferring. And, it preserves the richest vinyl black shade that never goes gray—it’s so rich and shiny.” In clinical trials, 94 percent of users agreed the volume stays all day, 90 percent saw a root-to-tip curl, and 95 percent agreed their eyes looked bigger and brighter.
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The Mascara Brush and Packaging
I personally love the design of the brush, which features soft fiber bristles on one side and defined bristles on the other. “This brush really fans out the lashes for exagger-eyes,” says Tilbury. “The wedge of the brush gives that real root-to-tip lift.” On me, it deposits a lot of product on my water line when I hug the root of my lashes. This makes the overall look even more bold.
The Art Deco–inspired glass packaging is unique for mascara as well, as we’re used to most tubes sharing the same shape. “Not only does this look like a work of art—it’s like the shape of a woman’s body—but it also helps to maximize the formula and its performance and preservation,” Tilbury adds.
