“Susannah Taylor test-drives a brand new bespoke mascara service from Eyeko
I’m all aflutter. In this neverending whirl of beauty and health products I live in, sometimes something launches that makes me think, ‘Why the flippin’ heck has no one thought of that before?’
The product I’m talking about is the new Eyeko mascara service which has just launched into Harvey Nichols this week. The brand, which creates products only for eyes, and for the last few years has teamed up with Alexa Chung (who is a long-time fan of their liquid eyeliners), has launched the UK’s first bespoke mascara bar. Dreamed up by Nina and Max Leykind, Eyeko’s founders, it’s one of those ideas that you never knew you needed until now, but in 6 months, you’ll never know how you made up your face without it.
The service goes like this: you arrive at the mascara bar and meet with a dedicated ‘Lash Stylist’ who asseses your lash type as well as what you love and hate about mascaras (let’s face it none of us like the same one, so all our needs are different). The Lash Stylist will then test out different brushes and formulas until you discover your perfect lash love match. There are thin bristles, fat bristles, tiny bristles and bulbous-at-one-end bristles, which you then combine with a formula of your choice – there are ones to help short lashes grow, a formula to thicken, another to lengthen, and so on – with 100 different brush and formula combinations, there are a lot to choose from. Then your mascara is whisked off, packaged in a lovely box like a piece of jewellery (complete with metal plectrum-shaped lash comb) which is stamped with your initials.
Me? I went for a brush that was short on one side (I have fair lashes so this is good for getting to the roots), and long on the other (great for lifting and sweeping). I also went for a lengthening, separating formula because I’m not a fan of the clumpy spider leg lash look. Just for the record, Nina is also not a fan of the plastic brush: “We only use bristle brushes at Eyeko, rather than the plastic ones which all come from the same mould. A bristle brush has the same effect on your lashes as your hair – it adds volume and lift.”
The verdict? I have been wearing my bespoke mascara for the last two days and I can confirm it doesn’t smudge or end up down my cheek even when I’m sweating it out in a fitness class. My lashes look long and lovely, without a clump in sight – most importantly, just how I like them.
The service costs £28, which compared to say Lancome’s Grandios, £24 and YSL’s Shocking Mascara, £25, isn’t too bad at all. You wouldn’t expect the same highlights as your neighbour, so why settle for matching eyelashes? Definitely worth a trip to Harvey Nichols for.”
Read the full article here.
Email bespoke@eyeko.com for appointments.