Yves Saint Laurent 'Shocking' Mascara Review

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, or Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) to you and I, left a fashion legacy behind following his death at the humble age of 71 years in 2008 in the hands of Chief Designer Stefano Pilati.
In case you aren't aware, YSL was one of the first brands to showcase women's pieces influenced by male style - such as blazers, tuxedos and leather jackets - and to use darker skinned models, these bold looks were a hit in the 1960's throwing the label into the highest stakes of catwalk couture; today it is one of the most influential, well recognised and designer brands to grace the catwalk, retailing in the most exclusive of stores.
Since Yves death, YSL is a brand which has very much lived on, continuing to deliver a catwalk of designer pieces and key beauty products. The latest launch from YSL fresh for the party season is 'Shocking' mascara, which follows the ever-popular 'false lash effect' trend; YSL mascaras tend towards a bad reputation for drying up quickly, I've put the latest edition to the test to see if it's really worth spending your pennies on. 

PRICE: £22.00 for 6.4ml

AVAILABILITY: Sephora, Selfridges, Harrods, Debenhams instore and online, House of Fraser in store and online, selected concessions.

CLAIMS: "Luxurious mascara for a shocking lash effect. Instant excessive volume.' - product packaging

PRODUCT: Encased in the traditional golden packaging with blackest black font, the mascara has immediately become a part of the infamous YSL beauty family, it feels deluxe and couture as soon as the eyes are laid upon it. The wand is a good length with a helix-shaped brush to capture each lash, coating them with a layer of mascara in just one stroke. The brush is under 1cm in width which I'd expect makes it easy to use, this isn't the case due to the amount of bristles and their tight helix shape, which also means it's hard to separate the lashes with the brush. The brush can become a little clumpy also which transfers onto the skin around the lashes if you quiver a little through application, practice using the wand here is key to ensure you're not also layering the surrounding area to the lashes with mascara too. 

The results are dramatic and intense, possibly one of the best results I've achieved with a false lash effect mascara - you may have heard in my video that when I first wore this everyone was asking where my false lashes were from! 

As you can see, the difference in my lashes between no mascara and one coat of mascara is huge; my coated lashes are longer, thicker and far more voluptuous, it's a shame they aren't separated so much.
This isn't a look I'd sport every day, I save it for special occasions or outings because my lashes appear increasingly thickened and lengthened after only one coat, they appear very dramatic but not very natural despite being my natural lashes. Needless to say, the results from this mascara are phenomenal making it, for me, worth every penny spent.

RATING: 9/10 - a fantastic addition to the YSL family which adds intense drama, volume and length to the lashes. Poor separation of lashes and the ease of clumping with the mascara pulled it one point away from full marks.

YSL Shocking mascara is available in 6 show shopping shades including Black, Black/Blue, Green, Bronze, Black/Grey and Burgundy.
Black seems to be sold out at present on most online stockists so I recommend visiting your local Debenhams or House of Fraser store (where I got mine) to get it in your desired shade, not to forget picking up your loyalty card points on the way!