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Mascara Brushes 101: How to use a Mascara Brush for Your Lash Look

Mascara tubes with mascara brushes which are curved, oversized and comb wands

Mascara is one of the biggest staple products in a makeup routine and it’s often one of the only makeup products we wear when we are in a rush to leave the house. Picking the best mascara formula for you is one facet of choosing a mascara – but another important part of your mascara to consider is the mascara brush. Learn how to identify the different types of mascara brushes and how to select one that works for you and your lashes.

Mascara Brush Bristles

The shape and size of your mascara brush may be the most important facet of your mascara brush, but it’s also important to consider the materials and fibers that make up your mascara brush. Many mascara brushes use a classic fiber bristle with a soft and classic style bristle. These mascara brush styles are great at applying a lot of product to the lashes and creating a feathery and voluminous effect.

Mascara wands with a more plastic style bristle on the other hand give a “cleaner” defined, and lengthening effect as they comb through the lashes, reducing the likelihood of mascara clumping. These mascaras are usually a comb mascara brush type which helps to separate and lengthen the lashes with ease.

Mascara bush close up of Lancôme mascaras with different mascara wands


Mascara Brush Shapes and Styles

Thin Mascsara Brush: For Natural, Defined Lashes

Whilst many look to mascara to create big, false-lash looking lashes there may be times you prefer to create a natural look. A thin, sparsely packed comb-like mascara brush is ideal. Unlike thick and densely packed mascara brushes which coat lashes with a lot of product – a thinner brush like the one used in our Définicils Mascara allows for a gradual and even application of mascara. With a fine comb-like brush designed with a hedgehog bristle pattern, Définicils dispenses the perfect amount of product to each lash without clumping. The formula itself features bio-selective polymers that cling to lashes for an even application and lengthens and outlines lashes from root to tip.

Shaped and Hourglass Mascara Brushes: For Volumized Lashes

Not quite the same as a curved mascara brush – shaped mascara wands are often carefully crafted to apply mascara in a very specific way in order to create a dramatic lash look.

Our Le 8 Hypnôse Mascara uses an ultra-soft vegetal fiber for the bristles and a uniquely shaped “8-Shape” Mascara Wand. The 8-shaped brush features a curved hourglass mascara brush (to build plush volume) which can then be turned to the side for a flat sided mascara wand which sculpts and lifts the lashes. The two together work to smoothly coat lashes for even, volumized, full-bodied and plush looking lashes. Use the brush in an upwards swiping motion for the top lashes and downward swiping motion for the bottom lashes.

Our “S-Shaped” curved convex mascara brush in our Hypnôse Drama Mascara is shaped to coat each lash with ease. Unique and oversized, the mascara brush gets full lash contact and delivers a full coat of mascara for maximum lash coating and instant volume. Aided by a creamy gliding formula which evenly coats lashes from root to tip and a triple coating system with a texturizing complex, the combination of the brush and the formula gives lashes total volume.

Curved Mascara Brush: For Clean, Lifted, Long Lashes

A curved mascara wand is one of the quickest and easiest ways to give lift to the lashes.

Our Lash Idôle Mascara features a curved mascara wand which pushes up and fans out lashes to give an instant open-eye and lash lift effect that lasts for up to 24 hours. Instead of using a more traditional mascara brush bristle, this wand uses 360 micro bristles which work to grab every lash from root to tip (no matter how short they may be!) for longer looking eyelashes without clumps. The curved mascara brush and bristles work in harmony with the lightweight gel formula (which doesn’t weigh on lashes, but rather leaves them feathery soft and doesn’t flake or smudge!) to give lashes a stunning lifted effect.

Plush Oversized Mascara Brush: For Big, Volumized Lashes

For big, bold and voluminous lashes – an oversized brush is the answer. Our Monsieur Big Mascara features a big, soft brush which pairs perfectly with an ultra-black, volumizing, and longwearing formula for bigger looking lashes. The wand is carefully crafted, with wavy fiber bristles that allow for quick volume and sensorial application and bulk reservoirs which hold and encapsulate the formula to deliver the perfect amount of mascara to the lashes. Monsieur Big gives lashes a false lash effect with up to 12x more volume* than natural lashes (and up to 24 hours of wear).

Top tip: try using a mascara primer before your mascara to elevate your lash look.

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