Hey, my loves!

I have a very exciting review for you all today.

This is the brand new RIMMEL LONDON ScandalEyes “Kate” Mascara, which is Rimmel’s blackest mascara ever, designed by Kate Moss herself. She was actually personally involved in the design of the bold shade of this mascara!

This mascara actually came in four different shades: Jet Black, Emerald Green, Amethyst and Sapphire. I was sent the Jet Black shade to review.

The mascara boasts its “curvacious” and innovative wand, which they claim would create dramatic volume.

Well, let’s see if they live up to their claims, shall we?

The formula is very wet – probably the wettest mascara I’ve ever owned. It’s so wet that application can be very messy!

This is not the type of mascara you could use when you’re in a rush. Look at all that mess on my lashline! This wasn’t the first time I used this mascara, and I still had trouble applying them neatly. First time I used this mascara I had black stains on my upper lid!

Due to the wetness of the formula, this mascara is better suited for people with naturally thicker lashes. People with thin lashes will suffer from droopy lashes if they wear mascaras with wet formulations like this – their thin lashes would not be able to hold up the curl.

For an Asian woman, my lashes are considered pretty thick and curly – they’re not as short and sparse as Asian women’s lashes in general, which I’m quite happy about. However, they definitely do not measure up to the thickness of non-Asian lashes. So I guess my lashes are somewhere in between thick and thin, which is why wet mascaras could still work on me.

In the photos you see here, I was not wearing any makeup and I did not curl my lashes.

My lashes are naturally quite curled up, but I’m very impressed with this mascara for being able to curl up my lashes even more without me having to use an eyelash curler. The curl actually lasted the whole day, which is surprising because wet mascaras usually weigh my lashes down.

I guess the formula is lightweight, even though it’s wet.

(Btw, sorry for the different intensities of lighting – the sun keeps playing peek-a-boo with me!)

With one layer, my lashes definitely look longer. I guess the wand really does lengthen and curl well! I also like how it separates my lashes.

The only problem I have with it is that it applies messy, I guess.

With the second layer, I didn’t really see much change, except that I see more clumps, but I could brush them off with the wand, which is good.

I waited a few minutes before applying the second coat because when I was applying the first coat, the formula was too wet for me to keep building it up. If I had built up more layers at first try, it’ll just get messier!

The two coats lasted the whole entire day (had them on for about 12-14 hours) even though I was sweating like a pig (it’s summer here in Australia!). I was impressed that there was minimal smudging. For a non-waterproof mascara, it actually holds up in the heat pretty good!

Rimmel London claims that this is their blackest mascara ever, and I have to agree.

It’s probably one of the blackest mascaras of all time.

Definitely a bull’s eye with this one, Rimmel! Look at that intensity!

The wand is one of the things that bothered me the most about this mascara.

I cannot stand weirdly-shaped mascara wands! 

How am I supposed to know which side is up without an instruction manual?!

Anyway, I’ve tried using a few different ways, and this side up seems to work best for my lashes. This way, my lashes are “hugged” well and they end up being curled up.

The bristles are long and tightly spaced to help paint the lashes one by one, down from the roots. However, I find that they’re a bit too long – too long that they sometimes get on to the lid (which is what happens to me every time I wear this mascara), but as long as I’m careful and slow, the mess isn’t that bad.

The bristles also helped minimize clumping, which I think is one of the best features of this mascara.

Rimmel claims that…

I totally agree about the thin tip – reaching hard-to-reach lashes are effortless with the help of the tip.

As for the “broken-heart-shaped” brush, I’m honestly not a big fan. I find it to be confusing, and I find that it makes application kinda messy! I honestly prefer a good ol’ half-oval curved wand.

The packaging is the one thing that I love the most about this mascara!

Look at how sleek and stylish it is? Reminds me of Kate herself.

The mascara is presented in a beautiful, luxe-looking silver metallized bottle emblazoned with Kate’s signature and heart motif in red. It doesn’t get any classier than that.

And the wand handle isn’t too short and stumpy either (which I hate in a mascara) – so holding the wand is such a breeze!

In Australia, the Rimmel London ScandalEyes Kate Mascara retails for AU$16.95 at Priceline, Chemist Warehouse, Target, KMart, Big W and selected Coles and Woolworths.

PROS:

Beautiful, sleek packaging

Curls, separates and lengthens well
Curl lasts a long time (10-12 hours) if you have medium to thick lashes

Doesn’t have an overpowering, disturbing scent

Minimal clumping

Minimal smudging (but smudges when applied on lower lashes)

CONS:

Messy application

Formula is too wet, can make application a bit tricky

Wand shape is a bit difficult to work with

Doesn’t volumize at all

Suited For:

People with naturally non-black hair. 

This mascara is clearly targeted for caucasian women like Kate herself,

whose main concern is darkness and color intensity when it comes to mascara.

The wet formula is also much more suitable for non-Asian women, who are known to have thicker lashes.

Rating:

I heavy-heartedly have to give this a 3.5/5 because of personal preference. It’s just too wet for me, and I hate that I have to be super patient when applying this. I personally like wet mascaras like the Lancome Hypnose, which is one of my all-time favorites, but this mascara is just way too wet for my liking. I also prefer mascaras that give dramatic volume like the Benefit They’re Real or Too Faced Better Than Sex mascaras.

I also don’t like that I have to wait a long time for this to dry up on my lashes! I have to be extra cautious when blinking so it won’t end up all over my lid!

Bottom line is…

If you’re looking for a volumizing mascara, this is not for you.

If you’re looking for a mascara that you can apply fast and easy, don’t even bother.

If you’re looking for a mascara that will simply lengthen and blacken, then this is it!

Repurchase?

Definitely not because the formula is simply too wet for me,

and I don’t need intensely black mascaras. My lashes are naturally black 🙂

However, I do highly recommend this for people who are looking for intensely black mascaras.

Especially blondes! <3