How would I characterize my current mascara philosophy? Three words: Zac Efron’s lashes.
Allow me to explain… 🙂
Last weekend I watched a (SUPER cheesy) movie starring Zac that I thoroughly enjoyed called The Lucky One.
In it, Zac plays a marine who falls in love with a woman whose picture he finds one fateful day on the battlefield.
There it is, on the ground among the rubble.
He has no idea who she is or where she’s from, but he promises himself that day to find her if he survives.
Anywho, I spent the entire movie dazzled by this boy’s long and luscious, curly lashes.
They are, simply put, perfection, and really, really glossy!
Homeboy hit the genetic jackpot in the lash department, and it’s so not fair.
Like, if Zac’s sad face was in a tight closeup shot on the screen, and a tear was slowly rolling down his left cheek, I wouldn’t even notice the tear because I’d be too busy staring at his long, wet, glossy lashes.
So to make a short story long…those are the kind of lashes I’m obsessed with at the moment, and I’ve been on a mission this week to find a mascara able to give me that Zac Efron lash look.
As luck would have it, I think I may have found it (or, I’m getting close to finding it) in Guerlain’s new Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara.
It’s $30, new for spring and currently available on counters now (it launched earlier this month), and it’s designed to deliver full lash looks by doing a bit of everything — lengthening, thickening, holding the curl and separating each of your lovely lashes.
It comes in two shades, Violet and Black — whoops! I meant, Violet and Noir.
Noir…
That reminds me of high school French. My parents would always say, “Why are you taking French? You’re never going to need it!”
Oh yeah, Mom? Well, look at that! BAM! Now I can translate the French words used by beauty brands. 🙂
Sorry, where was I…?
Ah, yes! — Guerlain’s new mascara. It’s designed to do a bit of everything, and it’s supposed to do it all quickly, without any clumps.
Perfect, because that’s what I want from a mascara. I haven’t been wanting to deal with any lash drama lately. I just want things to be easy.
So, does Cils d’Enfer Maxi Lash Mascara deliver?
You know what? I think it does. If nothing else, it gets me a lot closer to Zac’s lashes in a number of ways.
First, it really is easy to use, which I love. I find that I don’t have to follow it up with a lash comb, thanks to the smooth, non-clumping formula.
And I don’t have to pull off any trickery with the brush, either. The bristles just naturally deposit the right amount of product.
Occasionally, it will overload, which leaves me with some slight smudging along my lower lash line, but that’s pretty rare.
It lengthens like a champ, keeps the curl curly and separates well, too (especially at the roots).
Oh, and get this! When you pull out the wand, it smells like roses. 🙂
Nice touch.
I love it. Cils d’Enfer Maxi definitely delivers a different lash look than the one I get with Chanel le Volume, which I’m still loving, by the way. Chanel’s lash look is thicker at the base than the look I get with this, but this does a slightly better job of separating my lashes at the root, for more of a doll-eyed effect with longer, better defined lashes.
Now for the million-dollar question: does Cils d’Enfer Maxi recreate Zac’s lovely lashes?
Hmm… After much deliberation and scientific analysis (not), almost. I think it gets close on the length, curl and separation, but Zac’s lashes look a tad thicker to me overall.
Of course, I could always apply a second layer to get even closer to that Zac lash effect…
Good thing the formula is so smooth and doesn’t clump.
Yeah, it’s kind of expensive at $30… Could you find a simiar mascara for less? Probably. But you might not get the little extras with it, like the fancy gold tube and rose fragrance, and those are nice little touches to have.
PRICE: $30
AVAILABILITY: Available now at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Sephora and nordstrom.com
MAKEUP AND BEAUTY BLOG RATING: A
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
That DOES sound like a luxe mascara. Love that it smells like roses! My personal favorite luxury mascara is DiorShow Blackout. I got a tube for my birthday Sephora trip (courtesy of the fiance, who very patiently walked around Sephora with me and held the basket 🙂 ). I hadn’t bought it in years and I wore one coat for an interview yesterday. I love how it gives me the false lashes look with one coat! However, I’d give this Guerlain one a try 🙂 It sounds pretty awesome for a luxe mascara!
How did the interview go? 🙂
I felt like it went well, but the perfectionist in me always wishes I said more or phrased things differently after. Thanks for asking!
You’re welcome. Fingers crossed for you!
Okay, please tell me… What concealer are you wearing (if you are wearing concealer) and what is on your cheeks and lips? I adore this fresh natural look.
Hi Chris,
Yup, definitely wearing concealer. I used a multi-step process: Laura Mercier Eye Serum (just a tiny bit) to prime, Bobbi Brown Color Corrector in Peach, MAC Select Moisturecover in NW25 and Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder. The trick is to do it in layers, use a little bit of everything and buff it all in so that it doesn’t look heavy. It’s kind of a process but I like how it looks in pics!
Oh wow, this mascara sounds amazing! It gives you the length, the curl, the separation, no smudging…plus…rose scented?! *swoons* :p
It’s such a nice touch! I love little extras like that, don’t you?
Finally someone’s posted what the brush looks like! I haven’t had the change to try it out in Sephora, and I’m really picky with my mascara brushes. I might just have to try this one out.
Hi Melissa,
The brush is really easy to use. I like it a lot!
I’ve been curious about this, with a name that translates to Eyelashes from Hell…
I’m still loving my Le Volume de Chanel, but I’m such a sucker for mascaras. It’s my favorite makeup, and one I prefer to buy high-end. I have such a hard time not buying every mascara I see.
“d’enfer” does not mean “from hell” 🙂 It’s a popular expression which means “great” or any synonym (awesome, wicked, sick, etc.), or to put it into a closer expression: “One hell of a… “. Sorry, the professional translator in me could not resist ;-). (By the way, I love how I learn so many expressions in this blog: the day I travel to the US, I’ll be throwing “Wassup guuurl” every five seconds, heehee!!)
Hi Melitina,
You’re the second translator I’ve met through MBB! Agata, who posts here in the comments, also works as a translator as well.
So…I’m dying to know. How do you say “Where can I find an ATM?” in French?
Heehee! Well, the natural way of saying it (in French from France) would be: “Y a-t-il un distributeur automatique près d’ici / près de l’hôtel / dans le quartier? (Is there an ATM close by / close to the hotel / in the neighborhood?). And you can just say “distributeur” instead of “distributeur automatique”.
Thanks for the cool reviews and swatches, Karen. I find them very useful, as my skin tone seems very similar to yours. My cats (errr, bosses) Sáchica and Chapi say hi 😉
Awesome, thanks Melitina. There are just some things that high school French doesn’t prepare you for! (Like finding an ATM or buying an umbrella…I ended up just drawing a picture and pointing, hahaha).
Please tell your feline overlords hello from California and have a great weekend!
Le Volume de Chanel is EPIC. I hope they come out with more colors! I think a dark blue one would be killer. 🙂
I’d LOVE to try this one! Now come to think of it I still have a little sample tube of Noir G lying around. Maybe I should shop my stash before going mascara-shopping again 🙂
I always say that to myself, but then I conveniently forget once I’m at the counter, LOL!
I like the lengthening but it definitely didn’t plump. I always need thickening mascaras!
Hi Jennifer,
You should see my lashes beforehand! They’re pretty thin. This does a good job of plumping, I think.
ROFL…”Oh yeah, Mom? Well, look at that! BAM! Now I can translate the French words used by beauty brands. ”
Karen you are HILARIOUS!
p.s. what’s your blush/lippie combo in these pics? its GORGEOUS!
LOL, and I actually also ended up using it when I went to Paris in 2005. 🙂 I ordered food and got around the subway system okay… Although high school French never prepared me to ask “Where’s the ATM?” and “Can I buy an umbrella?”
Re: the blush/lippie combo, it’s BECCA Dragonfruit:
https://www.makeupandbeautyblog.com/product-reviews/becca-dragonfruit-beach-tint-feeds-dragons-tints-lips-and-cheeks/
thank you for responding! this color is just breath-taking on you! i really really really want it! haha.
You’re welcome! I hope you give it a try, it’s a really pretty shade that’s so easy to wear.
You are never going to believe this one- my son, not my daughter, hit the genetic eyelash lotto with dark long lush and naturally curled false looking lashes. and what does he do with said bounty? use them at his HS to flirt with all the pretty girls? Heck NO! he TRIMS them regularly with nail scissors, because they get in his way(end up in his eyes or annoyingly scraping his glasses) OH. My. Gawd. I will know he has discovered girls when he starts eating something other than burgers and pizza for dinner and finally stops cutting his lashes and straight ironing his head full of perfect curls. Teenaged boys!?!?!!
WHAT THE WHAT?!? I’d happily take those lashes in a heartbeat! What a lucky boy. 🙂
The packaging and the rose scent are really luxe touches. The mascara sounds really nice! BUT, I don’t think I’m quite ready to pay $30 for a mascara…yet 😛
Hi Becca,
Just you wait! You’ll get addicted!
I work at Sephora and I constantly make my clients try maxi lash on one eye and their favorite on the other. They always love maxi lash! I did a makeover on a woman and I used it, she complained that it looked like she was wearing false lashes and asked if we could make it less dramatic! And that’s the only complaint I’ve gotten 🙂 I guess not everyone wants Efron lashes.
Is the mascara waterproof?