Glossier's New Lash Slick Mascara Is the Perfect "Your Lashes But Better" Formula

Mascara, being one of the most boastful makeup products, is the most likely to overpromise and underdeliver. Good mascara generally exists on a maddening three-pronged axis: making your lashes look nice (the whole point of mascara), a non-smudging and non-clumping formula, and is easily removable without claiming several lash casualties. If you're lucky, you can get two out of three. Scores of beauty editors and mascara-wearing civilians alike have negotiated these points and have settled for more or less, some finding their holy triumvirate of lash victory but many of us trudging along in the continuous search for the ultimate mascara.

Along comes Glossier's Lash Slick Mascara, in its modest pale pink tube and its modest spiky tapered silicone brush. The name "Lash Slick" denotes a kind of glossy pomade for the lashes — not unlike the brand's star product, Boy Brow, which is a pomade for the brows (though it's considerably less glossy). Indeed, Lash Slick is the cousin to Boy Brow, doing for your lashes what Boy Brow does for your brows:"enhancing the look of your natural lashes instead of clumping them together or spackling them in product." It's water-resistant (not waterproof) so it's meant to wash off easily with warm water.

According to the brand, Lash Slick's formula includes "Japanese Fiber Technology," meaning one and two millimeter-long curved fibers that hook onto lashes, adding length like microscopic extensions. The formula did kind of remind me of some of my fave Asian mascaras, which share that same lengthening method. There's also vegan biotin to condition your little lashes and natural shine polymers (hence the name Lash Slick, I imagine).

For fussy eye makeup-wearers, this is also cruelty-free, paraben-free, fragrance-free, hypoallergenic, allergy-tested, dermatologist-tested, ophthalmologist-tested, and suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers — basically, this mascara would probably score higher on any standardized tests than I ever did in high school.

Like the little black dress or the classic white t-shirt, Lash Slick turns out to be the kind of mascara that outfits your eyes in a coating of "your lashes but better." I swiped it on after curling my lashes and was surprised at how the brush made separation a non-issue. I didn't have to comb through the application with a lash comb, as I usually do, it didn't wilt my curl, and it delivered what it promised: lengthened and sculpted lashes that didn't clump, smudge, or flake all day until I removed it (which was indeed quite easy and didn't murder my lashes).

Well, damn if I'm not impressed with Glossier's first mascara. Here's a brand that really knows how to get the most mileage out of a color formerly reserved for fancy preppy tailored shirts and how to make the little hairs on the upper part of your face look their spiffiest. Well done, Glossier, this may actually be my new go-to everyday mascara.

Lash Slick launches on Glossier.com May 9 and goes for $16, a very modest price for zhushed-up version of your own lashes.

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