Yes, You Can Pull Off Colored Mascara This Summer

You have a rainbow of eyeshadow palettes, but your mascaras range in color from black to "very black." It doesn't have to be like that: colored mascaras are gaining major momentum this year. Vogue just called out jade green as the lash color of the summer, Maybelline revived its cult classic Great Lash in Royal Blue after Jason Wu used it to stunning effect in his Fall 2017 show, and M∙A∙C just rolled out a special collection with mascaras in colors like aubergine, hot pink, and teal.

How can we pull off a crazy mascara color off in real life, not the runway? Makeup artists answered all our burning questions about how to wear colored mascara, and it turns out that this might be the easiest makeup trend to nail this summer.

Jared has prettied up the peepers of actresses like Gabriela Milla (above)

Green mascara isn’t as daunting as it might seem. “It’s lot more subtle than people anticipate,” says celeb makeup artist and Priv Pro Jared Lipscomb. "They think they are going to be walking around with this ring of green."

Instead, a jade or hunter green mascara works for all skin tones and eye colors. "If you have a green eye, green mascara is going to not make it pop as much as accentuate it in a soft kind of way. If you have brown or hazel eyes, it's going to make it pop," Jared says.

He loves green mascara from brands like NYX, YSL, or Makeup Forever paired with a nude lip. Pro tip: try a couple coats of clear lash primer to make green mascara last longer. Then Jared recommends using an earthy neutral tone on the eyes: maybe a champagne color on the lid or a wash of the bronzer you used on your cheeks. “You don't want to do any other bright colors because then you are going into 80s' clown territory,” he jokes.

Other than that, colored mascara is hard to screw up. “That's why it's such a fun, easy way for you to get in on a trend. When the blue eyeliner trend was such a thing, it is really fun and really pretty, but you have to worry about it smudging and smearing. Mascara, we're pretty much all used to putting mascara on,” he says. Another way Jared suggests to cautiously try the trend is stick to your normal mascara on your top lashes, then paint on a green mascara on your bottom lashes vertically to avoid smudging.

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In 2014, Maybelline New York discontinued its Great Lash Mascara in Royal Blue, and after that, prices of the blue mascara spiked on eBay for up to 5 times more than the original retail price. There’s a reason this mascara is so beloved. “I’ve tried it on almost every eye colour and it looks great on everyone,” says Maybelline New York Global Makeup Artist Grace Lee.

So this spring, Maybelline brought back Great Lash Royal Blue exclusively on Maybelline.com and at Walmart. Grace says there’s a couple of ways to style it, either with a completely clean eye or a soft wash of eyeshadow, or you can line with a neutral colour or black. "You can never go wrong with black,” Grace says. She’s got a few more important tips to pulling off colored mascara: “Own it. Make it bold! And don't forget to curl your eyelashes.”

If you have green eyes, purple mascara could be your new go-to. "A plum mascara like M∙A∙C’s Zoom Lash in Plum Reserve will really help pop a green eye, whereas a vibrant orange shade will play well with a blue eye," says M∙A∙C Cosmetics Senior Artist, North America Victor Cembellin, explaining color theory for mascara.

He's noticed makeup pros on the runway using colored mascaras with M∙A∙C’s Mixing Medium in Shine ("this gives a balmy, naturally reflective sheen"), and he also likes M∙A∙C Studio Eye Gloss. "Keep it simple; no need to match shades to these brilliant adornments," he says. "That being said, if one wanted to go for a full-on look, find a corresponding eye liner to line the inner waterline of the eye. For a bright and tight encapsulated eye, try smudging a bit outside of the eye with a 239 Eye Shader Brush."

To prevent colored mascara from smudging, M∙A∙C Cosmetics Senior Artist, North America Louise ZIzzo suggests an eye primer under the eye if you have oily skin. "Try something like M∙A∙C Prep & Prime Skin Refined Zone, which will just absorb any oil and a lash primer to help hold the color in place." she says. Now we're ready to bat our lashes in way more than basic black this summer.

But if you're still not sure about teal-blue anything, let pros like Jared come to you! Whether it's a massage, manicure, haircut or beauty booking of your choice, Priv's got you covered. And don't even worry about schlepping to a spa or salon—the professionals will come to your home. Download Priv now and use promo code privnow20 for $20 off of your first booking.