How to pull off the clumpy eyelash trend

Bold peepers cue the new trend for more is more mascara

Wednesday 19 October 2016 12:51 EDT

The quest for longer, thicker lashes has been greeted with a flutter of more-is-more mascara (Rex)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

For us beauty buffs, clumpy eyelashes are something we have been encouraged to avoid; they signify a poorly designed mascara, an out of date formula or someone who is a little overzealous in their application. All-in-all, they’re a serious no-no. Right?

Wrong. Thanks to a clump revolution on the runway our quest for longer, thicker lashes has been greeted with a flutter of more-is-more mascara.

From bare-faced beauty to bold peepers, the beauty world has done a full three-sixty, taking its cue from 1960s icons such as Twiggy and Diana Ross. This season, it’s all about spidery, doll-like lashes.

At Jason Wu, the models’ faces were kept clean and polished with a subtle highlight across the cheekbones. Instead, the real focus was on the clumps of mascara that decorated their lash line.

Make-up artist Yadim described the look as “beauty with distortion” as he and Wu longed to create a classic girl with something “kind of cool about her”. What’s interesting here though is that the lower lash line is left bare, preserving the looks delicately and a sense of sophistication.

On the other hand, Dior opted to decorate his models’ top and bottom sets with a pretty-punk take on spidery lashes. The face, just like Wu, was kept fresh and paired back albeit for the addition of a glossy wine stained lip.

While this might seem like a tricky trend to master, translating it into real-life wear is easy but take your cue from the runway and keep everything else fresh, minimal and subdued. For modest impact, opt for a thicker, darker formula and coat your lashes in layers, wiggling the wand horizontally from root to tip. If it is baby lash clumps you’re after, though, continue by turning the wand vertically and use the tip of the brush to push the mascara on the tips of the lashes and group them together.