Am I Blue? Colored Mascara

By Lori Ferraro

Because frosted blue eye shadow and electric blue eyeliner was simply not enough blue on our eyeballs back in the 80s, we also had this:

Blue mascara wand

Electric blue, red and yes, even yellow and green mascaras were available for our lash-lengthening pleasures.

80s mascara came in a rainbow of colors

Blue was by far the most popular of the colored mascara colors. With my dark hair and olive complexion I thought blue mascara would really top off my look and make my eyes totally pop!

Instead it kind of made me look like I had two black…I mean screaming electric blue eyes.

Lori rocking some blue mascara in the 80s

Most cosmetic companies hopped on the colored mascara bandwagon – I remember my Maybelline Shine Free (remember Shine Free?!?) blue mascara that came in the lavender tube.

Maybelline Shine Free print ad

Obviously, there was nothing at all natural about this look – the brighter, the bolder the better…like the model on this ‘45 cover – she woke up and decided to “go-go” with blue.

Wham's Wake Me Up Before You Go Go cover art

If you wanted to stand out and make a statement that you could wash off at the end of the day, colored mascara was the way to go. From experience I know that it also worked really well in your hair, creating funky temporary highlights.

And like all good things of the 80s it’s made a comeback. Sephora has a lovely bright shade of blue and high-end brands like Dior and Yves Saint Laurent also have fancy blue hues available for you.

And did Maybelline ever stop making the blue mascara? I don’t think so….God bless you, Great Lash.

Maybelline's Great Lash in Blink of Blue

My peepers may have to pop on the blue mascara bandwagon once more – this time around, minus the big hair and braces.

80s blue mascara makes a comeback

Author: Lori Ferraro

Lori is a writer and actor living in Portland, OR. Her website, Drawn to the 80s, is where her 5 year old draws the greatest music hits of the 1980s. She is a blogger for The Huffington Post and her own blog, Once Upon a Product, is where she writes about important things like beauty products, music, her obsession with Mick Jagger and of course...the 80s.

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3 Comments

  1. One Mascara not shown here or talked about was Pink it was a hot pink. My favorite. But I. Always wore the blue or teal eyeliner. Recently started wearing purple eyeliner. Still have blue and teal.still use pink blush.

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