While we have some criticisms about aspects of Huda’s new mascara, in the grand scheme of things we’re pretty impressed. It’s rare we can get away with just wearing just mascara without looking washed out and we’ve never once been able to get such an effect from a single mascara.
Of course, we know it’s not technically a single mascara and is in fact two mascaras in a single tube but, it also comes with a single price. We’re also know that £24 is a lot of money to spend on a single product but in this instance, we think it’s worth the investment. If you’re willing to spend a little more, you get a lot in return.
| Boots | £24 |
| Feelunique | £24 |
| Selfridges | £24 |
| Cult Beauty | £24 |
In mid-May, Huda Beauty launched its first mascara called Legit Lashes and we’ve spent the past week putting this dual-ended mascara to the test for our Huda Beauty mascara review.
Despite being a leading makeup icon since 2010, as a blogger and YouTube star, Huda Kattan released her first cosmetic line under the Huda Beauty name in 2013, in the form of false eyelashes.
She has since branched out into eyeshadows – her New Nude palette is the best eyeshadow palette we’ve ever used – foundations, concealers, and lip kits to name a few.
Earlier this year, she even spun out a skincare brand called Wishful Skin, and released a Yo Glow Enzyme scrub, the Thirst Trap Cocoon Mask and a Chin Lift. You can read more in our Wishful Skin: Where to buy guide, and our Wishful Skin Chin Lift review.
However, one makeup staple has been missing – until now.
Buy Legit Lashes nowWhen Huda Kattan teased the launched of her first ever mascara Legit Lashes at the start of May, it caused a fair amount of buzz. Largely because it was a new category for Huda Beauty but also because Legit Lashes is a dual-ended mascara that promises the holy trinity of length, curl and volume in a single product.
As you’ll read on our best mascara page, we don’t believe a single mascara with a single brush can offer the full spectrum of curl, length and volume we desire.
READ NEXT: Best mascara 2020
As a result, we often use multiple mascaras when applying makeup (namely the Benefit Roller Lash for length and separation, Charlotte Tilbury’s Full Fat lashes for volume and the Fenty Beauty Full Frontal mascara on our lower lashes). This is an expensive habit!
Huda’s bet on a double-ended product appeals to us but also leaves us feeling cynical so we’ve spent the past week putting it to the test to not only see if it does as promised, but to see if we can finally swap our three expensive brands for a single mascara that costs a relatively cheap £24.
Huda Beauty describes Legit Lashes as a “long-lasting, matte black, dual-ended mascara that delivers major volume, dramatic curl and insane length without weighing down your lashes.”
In a photo, and accompanying video, Huda Kattan’s eyelashes are shown both before the new mascara is applied, and after. These before and after photos are impressive but the distinct lack of fine lines or changes in pigment around her eye left us a little cynical about how good it really is.
READ NEXT: What is mascara made of?
The new Huda Beauty mascara costs £24 in the UK and is available from Cult Beauty (although at the time of writing it is showing as Out of Stock), Feelunique, Boots, and Selfridges.
You can also ship Legit Lashes directly from Huda Beauty in the US, but it will cost you extra for shipping costs and customs. Read more in our Huda Beauty UK: Where to buy guide
Buy Legit Lashes nowThe Legit Lashes tube holds two full-size mascaras in a dual-ended pack, one brush for Volume and another for Curl & Length.
According to the brand’s marketing, the Volume brush formula features “low gravity volumising fibres for a volume beyond belief without weight or stiffness.”
While the Curl & Length formula has been designed with “gripping waxes and fibres for an immediate elongated effect”.
It is then applied using what Huda Beauty calls an “innovative curved injected brush to boost length, define, and curl even your tiniest lashes.”
Huda Beauty additionally promises that the new mascara glides on smoothly, is buildable, and clump-free.
We’re not entirely sure what a “curved injected brush” is, or what make volumising fibres “low gravity” so we have contacted Huda Beauty to find out more about the science behind these terms and will update this article when we learn more.
In the meantime, we’ve been testing the mascara by applying each formula separately, applying them together and monitoring how well they last over the course of the day.
Although, yes, the two brushes are full-size mascaras, in order to fit them into a single mascara wand leaves the overall design feeling a little odd. We’re used to unscrewing and pulling the brush out of the tube but the Huda Beauty mascara does the opposite.
When you unscrew each end, you’re left with the brush in the hand you’re holding the tube in.
This may not seem like a big deal – or even make sense! – but it means we had to swap which hand we used to open the mascara or which hand we used to apply it, and this all felt a little strange. Certainly not a negative, just a noticeable difference.
This design also means that you get slightly less formula on each side than you would if you bought each mascara separately. Yet you’re also paying less for one, rather than two mascaras so we’ll take that hit.
As with many mascaras we test, you do need to remove excess formula from each brush before applying to your lashes, at risk of swamping them in pigment, but this was especially noticeable with the Volume brush.
It may be the shape of the brush or the consistency of the formula but it took us a while to remove all gloopy formula stuck to the end of the brush before using.
Speaking of this Volume brush, its curved shape reminds us of the design of the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara (£22) with slightly longer and softer bristles.
The Curl & Volume brush on Legit Lashes has a curved shape with short, plastic bristles and is very similar to the superb Roller Lash mascara from Benefit, although the Huda Beauty mascara brush flexes more easily and this makes it more comfortable to use.
Buy Legit Lashes nowHuda Beauty claims that, based on an independent panel test of 22 women using the “Volume” mascara followed by “Curl & Length” mascara, 100% agreed their lashes looked fuller and multiplied and that Legit Lashes gave them an instant lash extension effect.
Some 86% of them agreed their lashes appeared lifted, 95% said their lashes appeared separated and defined and 95% agreed their eyes looked “wider, lashes fanned, awake, sexier and seductive”. Our issue with this sample is that it’s so small, but in fairness to Huda Beauty our results did follow suit.
We have incredibly fair eyelashes with hardly any natural curl, which makes them barely noticeable without mascara (as you can see in the Before image below).
Mamabella Even when we’ve had lash tints, it’s been hardly worth it and LVL is the closest we’ve got to being able to see our natural lashes without any additional product.
Mamabella Our eyelashes before we applied both formulas (top) and after
This made the effect we saw with the Curl & Length brush (pictured centre above) on the Huda Beauty mascara even more impressive.
This effect was noticeable with just a single coat and it only took a couple more to get the coverage we wanted.
The Volume brush did a good job of creating similar curl and length, but the thicker finish was most noticeable at the base of the lashes, where they appeared thicker and blacker, and on the lower lashes.
However, when we mixed the two formulas is when we ran into problems.
Despite Huda Beauty’s claim that Legit Lashes is clump-free, we got clumps almost immediately after placing the Volume formula over the top of the Curl & Length formula.
This was a disappointing after experiencing such a positive effect with the two mascaras used individually.
To make matters worse, we tend to use a spoolie after applying our mascara to help separate the lashes and give a more even finish and soften some of the sharp edges on rogue hairs.
When we did the same with Huda Beauty mascara, it instantly started to flake covering our nose, cheek and eyelid in tiny flecks of black pigment.
When we tried to brush these away, we were left with smudges and streaks.
We understand that this may be a rarity, but we’ve never had any problems doing this before with any mascara we’ve used – and we’ve used a lot!
Buy Legit Lashes nowWe’ve been stung many times before when buying mascara based on marketing promises alone so we entered into this Huda Beauty mascara review a little apprehensive.
Historically, any time a single mascara has claimed to add curl, length, volume and give a false lash effect, we’ve immediately rolled our eyes. And we’ll admit, we felt this cynicism following the Huda Beauty mascara announcement. This lasted right up until we actually used Legit Lashes.
While we have some criticisms about aspects of Huda’s new mascara, in the grand scheme of things we’re pretty impressed.
READ NEXT: What is mascara made of and how does it work?
It’s rare we can get away with just wearing mascara (and foundation) without looking washed out and we’ve never once been able to get such an effect from a single mascara.
Of course, we know it’s not technically a single mascara and is in fact two mascaras in a single tube but, it also comes with a single price.
When you compare the Legit Lashes with a number of rivals, namely our favourite mascaras from Benefit, Urban Decay and Too Faced, the Huda Beauty version is only a couple of quid more while offering more versatility.
But we also know that £24 is a lot of money to spend on a one/two products. In this instance, we think it’s worth the investment, flaws aside. If you’re willing to spend a little more, you get a lot in return.
FURTHER READING: Huda Beauty foundation review: Heavy on the skin but provides superb coverage
Buy Legit Lashes now
Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget
