We Tried Huda Beauty’s New Mascara, and These Are Our Honest Thoughts

If there's one thing Huda Kattan knows, it's a good pair of lashes. In fact, her now billion-dollar brand, Huda Beauty—an empire spanning skin care, fragrance, and color cosmetics—was built on her signature pair of fluffy falsies. So it's a bit surprising the brand hasn't included a mascara. Until now.

On May 20, Huda Beauty is launching its very first mascara, Legit Lashes. The formula is inspired by Huda's love of false lashes and will give you the same drama without the fuss, thanks to the extra-black pigments and lengthening fibers. Like the brand's Life Liner that launched last summer, the mascara is a dual-sided product, with not only two wands, but two different formulas, so it's super customizable.

One end is meant for volume and definition, and has a cone-shaped rubber brush featuring "intertwined petal bristles," to evenly load mascara on your lashes without adding weight. It has a lighter, fluffy formula to build up as much volume as you want without getting crunchy. On the other hand—or end, I guess—is the lengthen and curl brush, which has a curved brush and nine rows of bristles to curl, lengthen, and separate. This side's formula has five-millimeter lengthening fibers and a formula that grips onto each lash for definition and length.

For falsies-level lashes, Kattan recommends applying both formulas, but you can layer in whatever way you're into. Or, for more natural days, you can wear just one formula at a time. Since the customizable formula is part of the draw, we had six Glamour staffers, all with different wants in a mascara, give Legit Lashes a try. Read on for our honest thoughts.

Talia Gutierrez, beauty assistant

I just about gave up finding the ideal mascara that not only lengthens but adds definition without flaking onto my undereyes throughout the day. I have “J-curl” lashes—they curl only at the tips—and strive for length and volume, and this mascara delivers both (and much more). I started with the volume brush, and upon application my lashes resembled defined, eye-popping falsies. You could stop there, but I added the lengthen and curls side on top. I found both brushes extremely forgiving; the flexible bristles help to wiggle out any clumping or product buildup. I was astonished by the results from merely three passes on each side of the wand. The name is right—this mascara is legit.

Bella Cacciatore, beauty associate

I have to say, I expected this to be kinda gimmicky, but I'm happy to be proved wrong. I love the promise of voluminous lashes (Bambi is one of my beauty icons), but for some reason volumizing mascaras always make my sparse lashes clump together. Sadly, this one was no different, and the volume side just doesn't work for me. However, the length side (pictured here) is honestly one of the best mascaras I think I've ever tried. My little lashes nearly tripled in length—they touch my eyebrows, which never happens—and the spiky brush perfectly separated them into cartoon-level precision and curl. I love how inky black the formula is, and this stuff does not budge until you want it to. Although it feels a little wasteful to use only one side of the product, I love the length side so much I truly don't care.

Khaliha Hawkins, producer

Mascara is my go-to product when I want to look more awake, but since the stay-at-home orders have been in place in New York, I haven’t worn it that much. That might all change with this new Huda Beauty mascara, specifically the length and curl side. I could definitely tell a difference after application, the lengthening fibers added some much needed definition and length without weighing down my normally straight lashes. This is the first time in a week my mom hasn’t told me I look tired, so I’ll definitely be keeping this in rotation.

Lindsay Schallon, senior beauty editor

Few things bring me joy more than full, thick, dark lashes but how I get to that point is extremely particular. A good mascara in my eyes can't be clumpy, needs to build easily, and must make your lashes still look like actual eyelashes. I tried layering the two formulas together (a longtime makeup artist trick I usually swear by) and really want to say this delivered. It does, indeed, make your lashes thick and long, but the result for me erred just a bit too dry and clumped for my taste—which I think has a lot to do with the fiber formula, because with fewer coats, I had more success. So if you're someone who really likes to layer it on, go for less is more or just stick to the volume side.

Shanna Shipin, commerce editor

This has to be the one of the best lengthening mascaras I’ve tried in a long time. I can’t believe how much lift I got with my short, stubby lashes—it's almost like they belong to someone else. The volume wand is perfect for everyday: It’s easy to apply, doesn't smear, and leaves you with light-feeling but full-looking lashes. I nearly wrote off the curl and length end because, at this point, I have mascara trust issues—but whew, was I wrong. My lashes curled so high I got some of the formula on my eyebrow hair. With the second wand, it took me some time to apply the way I wanted (I don’t like clumpy or spidery-looking lashes, so I took extra care to make sure they separated). Whichever end you use, you can't go wrong with this one if you're looking for length and definition.

Brionna Jimerson, associate social media manager

I wasn't expecting to go up for this mascara upon first application, but life's full of surprises these days. The first thing that caught my eye when I applied the volume wand was how creamy the formula felt without venturing into greasy territory. I was pleasantly surprised by the buildable nature of the mascara. After allowing each coat to dry, you can layer to your heart's content without worrying about the mascara transferring to your top eyelids or undereye area.

Huda Beauty Legit Lashes Double-Ended Volumizing and Lengthening Mascara

$27.00, Available May 20

BUY NOW

Bella Cacciatore is the beauty associate at Glamour. Follow her on Intagram @bellacacciatore_.

Originally Appeared on Glamour