Madeleine Yates

Oct 1, 20197 min read

YVES SAINT LAURENT THE SHOCK MASCARA

What’s the beauty item that every girl needs in her makeup bag? A mascara to define every single lash! Let’s face it, no makeup look is complete without the addition of mascara that leaves your lashes looking flawless.

It’s the one item on the dresser that can take you from “I’m not a morning person” to “Oh, look who’s awake!”. Some may even prefer to look at it as the kind of mascara that transforms "I need to go back-to-bed" eyes into seductive-looking "come-to-bed" eyes.

No matter how this product resonates with you, it’s going to feel good and isn’t that what using beauty products is all about?

YSL The Shock mascara isn’t for the ordinary. It’s for the extraordinary like anything can happen, and you’ll be ready to face whatever comes your way!

Isn’t that what the whole “You go girl!”, self-empowering, womanhood thing is all about? If I had to name one product that channels the ultimate girl power vibe, it would have to be this mascara.

You’ve got to try it for yourself to know how luxurious it is and if you can’t already tell from my introduction to this blog post, I am a huge fan of YSL The Shock mascara.

I am excited to be able to share my findings with you all on this particular product, and I've been wanting to test out this mascara for what feels like a while now.

Adding mascara to any makeup look has to be one of the best things about a beauty routine. It just brings the entire look together and makes the eyes POP!

I’m all about having those flawless make-up staples such as a trusty foundation, concealer and mascara in your armoury. Once you’ve got the basics right, you’re pretty much sorted and everything else just follows accordingly.

If you have a bad foundation that cakes on the skin or mascara that leaves your lashes looking like spiders' legs, I’m pretty sure you wouldn't feel your best.

I’d be pretty disappointed with the results. So, that’s why it’s best to get those beauty staples right so, you can feel good about yourself and confident in your appearance.

Like most girls out there, I’m obsessed with getting the longest-looking lashes possible and I’m really happy with the results since using YSL The Shock mascara. So, on with the post...

YSL THE SHOCK MASCARA FIRST IMPRESSIONS

True to Yves Saint Laurent's form, YSL The Shock mascara does not disappoint. Intense colour, dramatic length, precision and full-impact lashes are what you’ll get with this mascara.

YSL The Shock mascara builds volume within your lashes and the super black pigment means that you end up with a smooth, smoky, sultry, glossy and healthy look.

This is true even if you go super light on the makeup front. It just feels good. I did read a review where someone said they didn’t see too much lengthening happening from this mascara, but honestly, I've seen nothing but!

I love how long and full my lashes look with this product and I feel as though the formula coats every single lash and when the product begins to dry, you get that super fluffy and full voluminous look (which I LOVE).

I’m impressed with YSL The Shock mascara and I might as well go ahead and tell you all that I’d re-purchase it in a heartbeat. So, let’s delve into my experience using YSL The Shock mascara:

YSL THE SHOCK MASCARA MY EXPERIENCE

Take it from me, I’m pretty hard to please when it comes to makeup. I know what I like, what I want and what I expect from a product and if it doesn’t make the cut, then I won’t settle for anything less.

So, take my word for it when I say that YSL The Shock mascara is life-changing, or at least it's lash-changing. I have tried so many mascaras over the years and I know that a wetter-than-usual formula is often very common for a glossy finish mascara such as this one, especially when it’s new.

In my experience, I’ve found that the reason for the particularly wet mascara formula is caused by a limited amount of air within the tube, so for glossy formulas such as this one, the initial wetness is just amplified to the point where it’s like “Woah, okay chill”.

To fix this, all you need to do is take the lid off of the mascara tube and set it aside while you're curling your lashes. Then before you use the mascara, just wave the wand around in the air a little to help the formula dry out a little and then you can use it without any problems.

You won’t always have to do this; the whole waving a mascara brush around the room thing may just be a useful tip to remember while it's new.

After a few weeks, the air in the tube will dry the product slightly so it will apply without excess. For now, though, I have a solution that has been working well for me whilst waiting for the formula to dry out a little bit more.

I’ve just finished using a mascara by N07 so, I have been applying YSL The Shock mascara to my lashes and then evening it out with a dry brush from my old mascara pot for the perfect finish.

I’m happy to thin out the new formula with my older brush because I like how that particular one applies to my lashes.

I can’t comment on how YSL The Shock mascara handles the “evening out” situation because the product is far too wet to go solo at the moment, but judging by the reviews I’ve read for this mascara; people seem to be happy with the results so I will happily wait and see.

Having said that, it’s not all a waiting game. I am really happy with how my eye makeup has been turning out each day and now I know it’s not the product that’s coming on too strong, it just needs a firm hand and a little trick up the old sleeve.

I have noticed that there have never been any clumps of mascara on my lashes or flecks of dried mascara down my face.

Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror halfway through the day, only to see that dried bits of eye makeup has flaked off from your lashes and are now resting under your eye or on your cheek? Yeah, well most of us have and do you know what products do that? Bad ones.

Luckily, I’ve not experienced the flakiness that you get with a lot of mascaras when using YSL The Shock mascara. So, it has a thumbs up from me for durability.

I’ve been wearing one coat every day because that is all I feel that I need and I should also mention that I’ve found it stays on well with no eyelid transfer or smearing either.

It looks just the same as when I first applied the product in the morning, which of course gives me confidence that I can feel good in what I’m wearing.

It’s possible to wear more than one coat if you want to though. This would work well for a dramatic going-out look as the soft brush and wet formula allows you to quickly build up a dramatic lash effect without clumping taking over your lashes.

YSL THE SHOCK MASCARA PACKAGING

Okay, so the packaging isn’t my favourite YSL packaging ever. Don’t shoot the messenger, but YSL is well known for their stunning packaging with extra attention paid to the smallest details and I just feel like they could have done something a little more with this tube.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty, it’s pink and it looks super cute, but YSL is YSL. Know what I mean?

Compared to the Baby Doll Mascara packaging, I just feel like the luxurious vibe isn’t there with this design. With the Baby Doll mascara, there is a fair amount of weight to the packaging and it just looks like a premium product.

This mascara does feel like you’ve paid more than the likes of L’Oréal Paris or Rimmel London for sure, but it’s kind of in-between the high street and high-end packaging if I'm being honest.

Having said that, I think that this may be either one of the cheapest or their cheapest mascaras that YSL sell so, maybe that’s why they went for a different vibe, but there is only a couple of pounds in it so I’m not sure if that has any truth to it or not.

I do think they could have made it a little more luxurious but, the main point of buying something is for it to do a job and yes, it does do its job very well.

I’m sure you can tell from the images in this blog post that I purchased YSL The Shock mascara in black, but that isn’t the only colour in which the mascara comes.

If you’re after something a little more out there, Yves Saint Laurent has your back. See that’s what higher-end brands are for. They offer diversity, and this product is available in black, electric blue (perfect for really bold lashes) and burgundy.

So, the choice is yours, but who says you need to pick just one? I’d highly recommend this mascara as a staple in your make-up bag and hope you guys will love it as much as I have begun to since discovering it.

YSL has long been one of my FAVOURITE make-up brands for incredible, high-quality products and The Shock mascara is no exception to the standards I expect from the brand.