NARS Audacious Mascara Review

We all know I’m a huge fan of the Audacious lipsticks which launched in 2014. I love the payoff, the range of flattering colors that range from best-in-class classics to modern brights, and I love the satin texture and presentation.

This year, NARS launches Audacious mascara (September in Singapore). And this formula promises to be all all-rounder that is:

• non-waterproof but smudge-resistant formula
• volumizing
• lengthening
• lifting/curling

Sounds like every other mascara’s claims? Well I put it to the test.

2 coats NARS Audacious - not the best idea

I’ll say it’s:

• pretty lasting for me and stiff enough when set to hold curl quite well, which is usually not the case with many non-waterproof mascaras - but my lashes are not super-stubborn so keep this in mind
• easy to remove with cotton pad and cleansing water - no scrubbing and rubbing
• non-smudging on me, but then I do not have oily lids so I am p[robably not the absolute best judge; it doesn’t start running the moment it gets wet but be careful not to rub your eyes too hard
• moderately lengthening; those curved spikes on the wand (see below) that look like the fangs of some carnivorous plant do manage to grab your lashes and coat and separate them well
• not extremely volumizing for me; I did find that it had a tendency to grab some lashes and coat them thickly, but not others, so you end up with inconsistent volumization
• sorta clumpy; this doesn’t turn my fringe of lashes into 5 fat stumps - it’s not that sort of clumpy. But it does have a tendency to deposit fatter clumps around the tips of your lashes if you try to build up the product a bit, because the nature of the formula and the wand makes NARS Audacious mascara lengthen faster than it can build thickness around each strand. Maybe I'm just imagining it. You tell me! 

All in all, I would say this is just not a mascara designed for layering (unless you actually like clumpy dramatic lashes). It CAN give you pretty good results in a single coat as you can see above. I think it’s a great mascara if you want length and separation with moderate volume. But if you like to slowly layer, you will need a clean disposable mascara wand to comb out the clumps between coats.

One extra benefit going for this is how black it is and how well it seems to coat every lash. From what I've seen of demos and other reviews, this is a great one for those with paler lashes, who need a mascara that can really coat every strand properly and make everything more visible. Yep - this does that job.

Note: with any mascara that you layer and layer, you might also be more prone to flakiness. Flecks of black crumbling onto your cheeks over the day. I didn’t experience that with Audacious mascara wearing just one coat, so I daresay you’ll be fine if you don’t try to get TOO audacious with it.