Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes Mascara: Tia Williams' Lash Must-Have

No matter what you look like or what your personal style is, there’s one universal beauty trick that immediately turn everyone (men included) into a hyper-glamorous bombshell. Major lashes. I found this out as a 13-year-old in glasses and a retainer. I swiped on some Wet n Wild mascara for the first time, witnessed the birth of my lashes, and instantly became afflicted with lifelong lash-lengthening lust.

These days, my makeup drawers are filled to the brim with every type and genre of mascara—lengthening, volumizing, separating®, thickening, vibrating—all of it. I’m somewhat of a connoisseur on the topic. So when I stumbled across Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes Mascara ($30), I figured it would be awesome (considering Givenchy’s reputation), but nothing different than I’d experienced before. The product was definitely revolutionary when it launched a couple of years ago—it comes with a fancy wand with a rounded ball at the tip, a wand style that’s since been copied more than a few times over. The design is meant to really grip each lash at the root, sweeping it up and outwards for an extra-dramatic effect. On paper, it sounded good, admittedly.

But when I tried it? I lost it. I couldn’t believe the results. My lashes seemed to stretch and grow, and fanned out so dramatically! My eyes popped, my lashes looked almost faux—and I was every bit the siren, even in sweatpants and a circa-1996 UVA sweatshirt.

To get the sexiest results, curl your lashes first, pressing the applicator down at the base of your lashes. Then, using the round ball on the applicator, jiggle the wand at the roots of your lashes before sweeping upwards. Sweep on another coat and voila, out-to-there, mile-long, Old Hollywood movie star lashes. Don’t even dream of attending a holiday party with this stuff. Oh, and the added bones? My eyes are prone to smearing and mascara always ends up flaking onto my cheeks by 4 p.m. But this formula didn’t budge, all day. Transforming and long-wearing! What’s not to love?

Tia Williams has been a beauty editor for 15 years, at publications like Elle, Glamour, Lucky, and Essence.com. Back in 2005, Tia created one of the first beauty blogs, Shake Your Beauty, where she wove her love of products through hilarious vignettes from her life as a beauty expert and mom living in Brooklyn. She’s also written several books, including the best-selling novel The Accidental Diva and supermodel Iman’s The Beauty of Color. Follow Tia on Twitter @shakeyourbeauty.