National Lash Day (19th February 2025) has us thinking a lot about mascara. Even when you’ve picked your preferred mascara formula – volumising, lengthening, curling, waterproof – another question remains: black or brown? There’s a strong case to make for both options, so read on to find out whether black mascara or brown mascara is best for your makeup looks.
Reasons to use black mascara
Black mascara is a makeup kit classic. Black pigments help to define the appearance of your eyes and create bold, dramatic lash looks with high contrast. It’s ideal for full-glam makeup, particularly if you use false lashes. Black mascara tends to blend in better with false lashes than brown mascara, as the colour is a closer match.
Another benefit of black mascara is that it comes in many formula varieties. Our XtendLash Mascara, XtendLash Growth Serum Mascara, Fat Lash Volumising Mascara, Waterproof Full Lash Mascara, and Double-Ended Fibrelash Mascara are all available in black.
Black mascara suits all skin tones and eye colours, especially those with darker features. If you have a lighter complexion or eye colour, black mascara will really stand out. Depending on the type of look you want to achieve, you can use that to your advantage or pick the more understated option – brown.
XtendLash Mascara in Black, $28
XtendLash Growth Serum Mascara in Black, $34
Fat Lash Volumising Mascara, $22
Waterproof Full Lash Mascara, $22
Double-Ended Fibrelash Mascara, $22
Reasons to use brown mascara
Although at first glance brown mascara might look pretty similar to black, the brown pigments are designed to look more subtle. Brown mascara is perfect for daytime, soft and natural, or ‘no-makeup’ makeup looks. It’s also ideal for creating low contrast or medium contrast makeup looks.
There’s often less choice of formula when picking a brown mascara because black is seen more as the go-to. However, our XtendLash Mascara in Brown has all of your needs covered. The water-resistant tubular formula helps to visibly volumise, lengthen, and curl your lashes.
Brown mascara generally creates less of a contrast between your skin tone and eye colour. It can be suitable for all skin tones and eye colours, but may be too subtle for people who have darker complexions or eye colours.
XtendLash Mascara in Brown, $28
