I wore this to a rooftop bar at golden hour. By midnight I looked like I’d been in a fistfight with a raccoon — and lost.
But here’s the twist: I still didn’t hate it. That’s the weird part about Rare Beauty’s mascara. It fails spectacularly at one thing while nailing everything else.
It’s $22. The claim: “Universal Volumizing” that lasts through anything. I called bullshit immediately — I have straight, stick-straight lashes that point downward like tiny umbrellas.
The Wand
It’s a weird cone shape — fat at the base, skinny at the tip. Catches every lash, even the baby ones in the corner.
The Formula
Thick like cake batter, but dries fast. You have 10 seconds to wiggle it or you’re stuck.
The Packaging
The cap clicks shut with real weight. Feels expensive in your hand — rare for a celeb line.
Photo: Jocelyn Morales / Unsplash
It’s not a clean beauty formula — it’s a flex formula. The first coat gives you “your lashes but better,” the second coat gives you falsies. The hero is bamboo extract, which adds stiffness — that’s why your lashes don’t droop by hour 4. But the wax load is heavy, so it flakes if you rub your eyes even once.
- Bamboo Extract: Adds a stiff, hold-curl backbone
- Carnauba Wax: Thickens volume but causes flaking
- Vitamin B5: Conditions so lashes don’t snap
- Glycerin: Keeps it flexible enough to not crack
Photo: Content Pixie / Unsplash
It glides on like soft-serve — thick, creamy, almost too wet. But it sets fast, so your first eye is always better than your second. You learn to work quick.
Week two, I stopped using a lash curler entirely. The formula holds a curl so aggressively I got a headache from the tension. No joke — my lashes felt like they were doing planks.
Photo: Evangeline Sarney / Unsplash
My lashes measured 11mm before, 15mm after two coats. That’s real growth — visually. But by hour 7, there were tiny black flecks under my eyes. Not a full meltdown, just a slow crumble.
Photo: Marek Studzinski / Unsplash
It’s the best volumizing mascara for straight lashes I’ve ever used — and the worst for longevity. Buy it for the curl, keep it for the drama, and accept the smudge.