Audacious Mascara

NARS recently discontinued their old mascaras (which weren't that great to begin with) and brought this out to replace it. The artist who helped me with NARS said the company is so passionate about this product, they believe in it so much, it's the best mascara ever.... So I bought one, and it 100% did not live up to the hype. The brush is one of those new plasticky, pokey wands covered in barbs and hooks that are supposed to grab every lash and coat and lengthen. Well, they hurt. It's too easy to poke your eyelid or your eyeball. And the mascara itself dried so fast I couldn't even finish one coat before it started to clump at the tips of each lash. It did not curl ( I used a curler before application), my lashes looked like straight sticks. It didn't smudge all day, which was the only positive thing I can say about it, but it did drop some black flakes under my eyes. Want the best mascara out there? Try Estee Lauder's Double Wear mascara. Nothing performs better!

I got a sample of this mascara, was pretty excited to try it as I really like Nars and it sounded promising. I have long, not very thick lashes, so I usually like volumizing mascaras. The Audacious formula is on the thin side, and very wet. The brush has silicone bristles which are sparsely distributed on the wand, and combined with the wet formula created a mini disaster. My lashes were clumped together and lost all natural curl, so they were just sticking straight out. It took longer than usual to dry, so there was some smearing as well. I had to remove all of it. I tried again, wiping the excess mascara off the wand on the edge of the tube, but had pretty much the same result. I'm glad I didn't buy the full sized tube.

I heard amazing things about this mascara, and I love NARS. I purchased this with high high hopes. However it goes on super wet and clumpy and after about ten minutes of wear, my eyelashes are clumped together in three bunches. I have normal eyelashes that look very long with normal mascara but this did nothing for me. So disappointed, going back to my Benefit Theyre Real and I will be returning this to the store.

NARS Cosmetics definitely has its strengths. The brand makes excellent blushes, brushes, lipsticks, face products, and decent eye shadow. This mascara is a fail, for me, in almost every way. I feel sad writing this, but this product sells at a premium price point, and so it should perform at a premium level. The packaging is great. No issues there. Sleek tube. The brush seems very...pointy and intimidating, if you're used to more traditional spoolie style brushes. The formula of the mascara itself is very "wet", that is, it is heavy and takes a long time to dry on the lashes. You have to sit very still and not blink, otherwise the wet mascara will transfer to your eyelid or lower lashes. When applied, the mascara clumped more than any product I've used. I had to separate my lashes with a pin and another clean spoolie brush. If I hadn't been late to work, I would have taken it off and started over. Another reviewer mentioned she used a primer with good results - I will try that, but you should not have to use another product to achieve the minimum acceptable level of performance. I can't recommend this mascara.