Lash Love: Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash

I picked up Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash in Paris over Christmas, and although it was just a sample size, I’ve been using it fairly regularly which surprised me. With that in mind, I wanted to show you all what it looks like on and how it performs. I’ve got mixed feelings, so it’s an interesting mascara to review because there are good and bad points.

For me doing a review like this one is fun because as a beauty blogger I can’t hide behind retouching, or using four sets of fake lashes to pretend to show you how a product performs. With this review of MUFE Smoky Lash, it’s forced me to be really honest about the mascara, because the pictures don’t lie.

Before I tell you about what MUFE Smoky Lash claims to do, I thought I’d show you before and after pictures first. I’ve been doing this with a lot of the products I’ve been trialling, even though I’m an intensely curious person and I hate surprises - hence the blog, right? I find it removes any expectation and allows me to be objective about a product’s performance when I don’t really know what it’s meant to to do or achieve.

Here’s a picture of my eye sans mascara, or eyeliner, or concealer, or anything really and I haven’t used an eyelash curler.

Here’s a picture of the same eye with Make Up Forever Smoky Lash applied on the top and bottom lashes. It’s one quite heavy and worked-in coat of mascara.

I didn’t add anything to it, and I didn’t curl my lashes, but I did clean up under the eye a bit before applying mascara as I realised had some day-before grey smudge….

My Overall Impressions

I guess you can see that as far as mascaras go, MUFE Smokey Lash is quite clumpy. It gives an “I’m wearing mascsara” look, more than a more natural and smooth lash.

It’s also kind of crunchy. Not as crunchy as Diorshow, but still at times uncomfortable if applied heavily. Especially if like me, you’re one to touch your lashes occasionally. It’s not a pleasant feeling when you try to push them upwards after the mascara has dried – does anyone else do this? No? Just me then…

It also doesn’t hold the curl that well throughout the day, which I think is a bit disappointing.

That said, I’ve found MUFE Smoky Lash is a mascara that works well with gel and liquid eyeliners, and it looks great with a lot of makeup. If you remember my FOTD Fridays Fyrinnae Fantastic post, I used it there but much more lightly.

It also does a good job of thickening and lengthening the lash, as you can see from the pictures above, and the formula is super black which is nice.

The one I’ve been using lately is a sample size so the wand is a little short and annoying - I can see how it would be a lot easier to use with a longer wand though.

The brush itself is also quite wide and full which makes it great for doing most of my lashes. When it gets to my bototm lashse and the corners of my eyelashes where they’re quite fine and hard to get to though, it can be a little bit fiddly. It doesn’t pick up every little small lash.

In short – I’ll use this while I have it, but I wouldn’t buy the full size when it runs out. There are too many other mascaras out there to try and this one doesn’t measure up in my opinion.

Cost?
UK: £17.95 from Guru Makeup Emporium
Australia: $35 from PM Studio in Sydney
USA: $22 exclusively at Sephora
France/Europe: €20,90 from Make Up For Ever

Full Disclosure: The gorgeous French girl at the MUFE store in Le Marais gifted this to me – what a sweetheart!