Hello, dolls! We’re back after almost two weeks of travel with some news. Eyelashes are it in beauty right now. Consider it a sort of cosmic shift, if you will. After eons of decorating, removing and musing on our eyebrows, there’s a new icon in town. Think: lashes done up in bright shades of powdery white, clumped in shapes of spidery ‘60s goodness or piled on thick and expressively to maintain their status as numero uno on your face. 2023 is the year of the eyelash, and it’s for everyone.

The lash olympics kicked off in January, in my opinion. We saw massive, fan-like lashes at the couture shows, including Jean Paul Gaultier’s collection by Haider Ackermann. Mugler’s sneaky off-schedule ready-to-wear show which took place during couture week also had colorful lashes. The devil works hard, but makeup artist Lucy Bridge (responsible for both of the aforementioned JPG and Mugler looks) works harder. I love how her work feels both ephemeral and nostalgic at the same time.

Then, Doja Cat wore fake lashes on her eyebrows, above her lips and on her chin; dabbing them on as generously and effortlessly as if they were fake freckles. It was a meme-like beauty move inspired by comments on social media about her red, 30,000-piece crystal makeover worn to the Schiaparelli show—some said the look would have been better with lashes. “If lashes are all you want, then lashes you will get,” she said. Doja Cat is one of my recent favorite muses in the beautyverse.

At Prada’s fall 2023 show in Milan, models wore feather-y lashes in soft pastel shades of saccharine pink, cheeky coral and snow white, a sort of kin to the brilliantly animated white flowers that were tacked onto the skirts. It was a follow up to Prada’s spring 2023 show with dramatic downturned lashes. A clear statement of intent from Mrs. Prada and Pat McGrath, the dynamic duo who often brave bold beauty face-first. “There is a sense of the life of women,” Mrs. Prada said, of the collection. “Life and humanity crafts the clothes—not superficial embellishment, but traces of living, leaving marks. This idea of clothes shaped by humanity excites us.”

I have been thinking about wayward lashes for at least six months now and I feel like the only way to get it out my system is to relish in it. After the Prada lash escapades, I couldn’t help but dream of Marni’s fall 2023 Tokyo show which also coincidentally presented us with ginormous, highly editorial lashes.

These were lashes for dreamers, explorers and impractical women (me!—maybe you too if you’re reading this). They appeared to be falsies cut into little sections and glued around the perimeter of the lash lines, both on the top and bottom. A very fun DIY project, I think. They formed a weird sort of geometric presence, screaming into the void of ecstatic lashtopia. In a weird sort of way, they looked like something a modern-day Twiggy reinterpreted and rendered by AI would wear. I like it.

Perhaps rather ceremoniously, one of the biggest bits of beauty drama of the year was the TikTok controversy over the beauty blogger Mikayla Nogueira allegedly wearing fake lashes in an ad she was doing for mascara.

All else considered, it feels like the right time for eyelashes to take center stage in beauty right now. The flapper era from roughly 100 years ago idolized wide eye baby doll blinkers and I think lashes—white, red, spiked, extremely long and reinterpreted away from the basics, represent the new order.

So, what’s stopping you from freaking up your eyelashes?

White Mascara

Witcrskm Waterproof Colored Mascara For Eyelashes, White Mascara, $6

White lashes represent the most anti-beauty sentiment of ethereal lash queens. I’ve been seeing this all over TikTok for months now. Drew Barrymore’s Flower Beauty had the best white mascara I’ve ever tried and it was $10 (please pray that they bring it back/try Ebay, if you dare) but there are some other very affordable contenders, like the above.

Pink Mascara

Pat McGrath Dark Star Mascara in Pink Mystique, $13

This is one of my favorite pink mascaras, and it’s on sale. Super vibrant, a little bit weird and totally glorious.

Red Mascara

Diorshow Iconic Overcurl in Brick, $32

It’s the sister to pink mascara, only it’s a little safer since red mascaras typically have a lot of brown in them. I receive an insane amount of questions and compliments every time I wear Dior’s sickly-good brick colored mascara.

Blue Mascara

Lime Crime Vegan Mascara in Blue Moon, $15,

Hear me out, Lime Crime’s cobalt blue mascara is one of the best blues on the market, and also kind of under the radar. At $15, it’s sort of a steal. It doesn’t feel heavy and hard and has more of a feather-y texture—great for layering up.

Colored False Lashes

AF94 Faux Colored Lashes, $5

Do you remember when Sephora stocked the aisles with phenomenal faux lashes of all different shapes, sizes and colors? It was very much a what a time to be alive moment in time. I recently discovered AF 94’s blue fake eyelashes and I was transported back to the mid 2010s. At $5 a pop, they’re very low stakes and incredibly joyous.

The rules of eyelash experimentation is that there are no rules. Cut up your fake lashes, smudge your mascara, put the lashes on upside down etc, etc, etc.

Questions? Leave them in the comments!

BTW. I use affiliate links where possible, which means I may get a small commission from things you buy. Thanks for your support. <3

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