What Would You Give To Create Your Own Personalised Mascara? I Tried The NEW Eyeko Bespoke Service...

A slick of mascara gives me more satisfaction than it probably should. It's one of my favourite things about beauty and I love everything about the process: from the pop of the tube as you pull out the wand, to the layers of thick black goop and the motions of coating your lashes in an upward motion to reveal a flutter you never knew was there.  One of the things I've learned about mascara over the years is that the price tag in no way reflects the quality; I've tried cheap ones that are blooming amazing and expensive ones that are utterly useless, but I've also tried the opposite. You really have to take a leap of faith and put them to the test yourself, especially as we all tend to look for slightly different things from these tubes of black stuff (whether that's lengthening, volumising, curling, separating or a combination of them all.) Over the years I've tried hundreds of different formulas and tested hundreds of different wands, always searching for the holy grail that will never be outdone - and I know many of you are the same. So what if you could create your own bespoke and perfectly formulated mascara that ticked all your boxes? What if your fluttery lash dreams were only a hop and a click away?

Over the next twelve months bespoke beauty is set to become huge news (have a read of my other beauty predictions for 2018 here!) as we look for products that deliver against our individual expectations. We want more than ever before and brands are trying to meet those needs in unique and innovative ways - including mixing your own shampoo and conditioner with Concoction, creating a bespoke body scrub with Beauty Kitchen and even brands like Geneu creating face creams using your own DNA. (Equally ingenius and creepy.) Eyeko have long been known for their mascaras (and liners, which in my opinion are some of the best out there!) and have made a long term effort to push the boundaries and deliver the ultimate flutter to their customers, so it was only a matter of time before they flipped the beauty market on its head and allowed mascara addicts like me the opportunity to create my very own.

Although I'm not a huge fan of their regular mascaras (I've never found them great at giving me the results I want, despite the fact they have a cult following) I was really intrigued to give their bespoke service a go. Filled with high hopes I popped over to their website and filled out my specifications - including the length, style and condition of your natural lashes, which finished effect is most important to you and what brush most appeals - before their clever little online widget served up my very own recommendation. As my lashes are quite short and fine, and I love a tonne of volume and curl, my bespoke mascara included a 'buildable formula with a lash defining carbon black finish' alongside 'Korean tubing technology and thickened with plant-based fibres to add instant definition, volume and clump-free curl.' So far so good!

I did try a good few number of combinations to check that the outcome would be different, and that this wasn't just a marketing story to get us to part with a serious amount of cash for the privilege of 'designing' our own beauty product, and thankfully the results were always different; even better is that you're provided with an ingredient listing so you can really compare, contrast and understand what's inside this pricey lash enhancer. At £30.00 a go, this really isn't a cheap experience - but instead one designed to appeal to those of us obsessed with lashes and who are willing to part with the cash to achieve their perfect flutter. But was it worth it?

After waiting just over a week for my mascara to arrive, it dropped onto my doorstep and was immediately ripped open and applied to my naked lashes. My first impressions were that the brush was long, perfectly curved and had a tip precise enough to reach all of those little lashes; the liquid applied beautifully and built up with ease, helping to define and lengthen lashes whilst lifting and creating a subtle curve. I really love how the formula is light enough to coat lashes while allowing me to apply a tonne of layers, building up to the powerful flutter that I really love creating - this certainly ticks all those boxes and has undoubtedly been created to meet my needs. In my opinion it's incomparable to the existing Eyeko mascaras, as it performed from the very first application and delivered exactly what I needed (versus the usual disappointment and frustration I get from their mascara range.)

But was it the best mascara I've ever tried? Nope. It's great yes, and I've thoroughly enjoyed using it over these last few weeks, but at £30.00 a tube it doesn't deliver above and beyond many others I've tried and love - most of which are at least 50% of the price. It was a great experience and definitely made me feel a little bit special (especially as it arrived in a super luxe box,) but it's not a mascara I'd rush to recreate or repurchase simply because of the price. I totally understand that you're paying for the privilege of creating something unique to you (or at least one of a number of different combinations) and the manufacturing and logistics costs associated will therefore be high, but there are so many other amazing mascaras that deliver just as good results. I would thoroughly recommend giving it a go at least once just to experience creating something bespoke and treating your lashes to something special, but it's not something I can see many people going back to time and time again.

Personalisation is going to be huge over the next couple of years and it's a trend to defintiely get on board with, but in my opinion the price needs to drop to engage the beauty community in the long term and ensure we're all getting the best from our makeup products - every single time.

What are your thoughts about creating your own bespoke mascara? Would you pay £30.00 for the chance?


The world's first bespoke mascara service is now available from www.eyeko.com priced £30.00.