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I’ve been a fan of Hourglass from the moment I tried their Ambient Lighting Powder for the first time. An instant convert to their products, ethos and aesthetic. One thing they haven’t totally nailed before though (in my humble opinion), is mascara. Their ‘Caution’ mascara was good, but not amazing, however that’s all about to change with the launch of their new ‘Unlocked’ Instant Extensions mascara.
It promises sky high, super-defined lashes that last all day, smudge-proof but easily removed (no mean feat when it comes to mascara!) and I can confirm after 4 days of road testing that it delivers on almost all of these claims.
Firstly, let’s start with the look. The easiest way to review this is to say that it’s the first time in a while I’ve been asked by numerous people in one day if I’m wearing false lashes when I’m not. It really does give you that much length. Super long, glossy, black lashes – simply beautiful. The brush is a slightly unappealing, spiky rubber number that I was apprehensive at first, but it does a good job. The one downside to this is that it dries down to be quite firm, so makes your lashes quite stiff. If you’re into the light fluttery look, this isn’t for you! This mascara gives you a true, bold lash look. Easily buildable to create a really chunky, 60’s vibe too.
And it stays. I am fairly prone to smudging my mascara (NARS Climax & Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Lashes, I’m looking at you here!) but this doesn’t budge or smudge ALL DAY. It doesn’t even do that thing that lengthening mascaras do when the colour stays, but the length seems to come off… it stays as it was applied, all day.
BEFORE
AFTER
One bugbear I do have is the removal though. It’s a tubing mascara, and as most tubing mascaras do, it claims to be easy to remove with just warm water. I personally didn’t find this to be the case. I tried water, cleansing balm, cleansing oil and micellar water and it was a little bit of a faff with them all. Not a major issue, but worth noting if you like makeup removal to be a quick process.
Overall, I love this. It’s definitely found a place in my go-to makeup arsenal, along with my staple Lancome and YSL Mascara favourites.
Hourglass’ Unlocked Instant Extensions mascara is out now, available at SpaceNK, priced at £29.
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