After Years Of Testing Mascaras, I Finally Found My Go-To Formula

As a beauty editor, I’ve obviously gone through my fair share of testing every type of product under the sun. And although skin care has been the main topic of conversation in the beauty world over the last few years, lately I’m much more interested in learning about what’s fresh and buzzy in the makeup arena. Even as a self-proclaimed less-is-more type of cosmetics user, my love for discovering a new formula that perfectly aligns with my streamlined aesthetic still brings me oodles of joy. For the mascara minimalists in the crowd — I see you, I hear you, and I present for your consideration the Lancôme Le 8 Hypnôse Mascara.

To tell you the truth, it takes quite a bit to impress me with a mascara formula. There are hundreds of options on the market, all promising various combinations of benefits like length, curl, volume, so on and so forth. There has to be some added benefits for the health of your eyelashes to really stand out from the crowd.

Happily, the Le 8 Hypnôse Mascara prioritizes conditioning and revitalizing your lashes along with boosting volume thanks to a formula that contains 91% black balm, eight revitalizing amino acids, and shea butter. And, as anyone who regularly wears mascara knows, constantly removing makeup around the delicate eye area can take a serious toll on the quantity and quality of your eyelashes. However, this wax-free formula is meant to help preserve and protect lashes which automatically piqued my interest.

So, I set about testing Lancôme’s latest mascara to see what kind of results (both instant and over time) this formula could provide.

My Natural Lashes & Mascara Needs

While I’m blessed to have naturally long eyelashes, they are also devastatingly straight and like to point either straight out or down. The base is also blonde while the tips are light brown, so I need my mascara to impart plenty of dark black pigment (I’ve never been one to deviate from classic black in favor of brown, maroon, or any other color). Because of the nature of how my lashes want to lay, I like a mascara to hold the curl throughout the day after I use my go-to curler (which you should always do before adding in the mascara).

First Impression Of The Lancôme Le 8 Hypnôse Mascara

I put a lot of stock into a mascara’s wand — that’s the make or break factor as to whether or not my lashes will end up clumpy or droopy. At first glance, I loved the hourglass shape of the Lancôme wand and the even spacing of the stout, medium-length bristles. It felt like I could really work the formula close to the base of my lash line without getting a huge mass of mascara in my eye. The packaging itself is also super intriguing — it’s a flattened, wavy black tube — and I was honestly surprised by how nice it was to feel like my grip on the wand was so secure. As someone who tends to drop... everything, I knew that the mascara wasn’t going to fly out of my hand in case my morning caffeine jitters got the best of me.

Testing The Lancôme Le 8 Hypnôse Mascara

I’m not a fan of super voluminous lashes — I find that they look clumpy rather than dramatic on me — so I was eager to see if the Lancôme Le 8 Hypnôse Mascara could give me a natural and plush look. The formula doesn’t feel super wet right out of the tube like some other mascaras on the market, so I gave the wand a second dip to make sure I had plenty of product on the bristles. After curling my lashes, I maneuvered the wand to the base of my lash line and rocked it gently side to side as I pulled up on my lashes. I tend to apply a coat right in the center, then move to each side of my eye to ensure I get every last hair. I don’t always like going in for a second coat with my mascara, but this formula is buildable so you can customize your lash look from natural to bold. I landed on two coats for the perfect amount of lift and color.

There was zero transfer to my undereyes for that dreaded 3pm raccoon eye — one of my biggest makeup pet peeves — which was impressive given that I added a coat to my bottom lashes to define my eyes even further.

I’ll need to keep wearing the mascara for a few more weeks in order to see if my lashes look or feel any healthier, but I will say that there was no harsh scrubbing needed to remove the formula at the end of the day. A reusable cotton round and some micellar water with gentle pressure was enough to fully clean my lashes, and that in and of itself is so crucial with a mascara — you never want to pull your lashes or disturb your skin.

All in all, I’ll keep the Lancôme Le 8 Hypnôse Mascara in my permanent beauty rotation for a high quality weekday option that leaves my lashes looking natural and flirty, without ever sacrificing the quality of my skin or lashes. In my opinion, that is the mark of a truly great beauty product.