Guerlain Noir G de Guerlain Mascara ($49)
This is Guerlain, so it doesn’t come cheap by definition. New Guerlain Noir G mascara looks like a chic piece of art, stunning in a shiny black case with mirrors and all. Guerlain claims that it’s formula is volumizing, lengthening and curling at the same time. And their black pigment is supposedly the blackest black out there. What else? “A fortifying agent helps to regenerate lashes by stimulating keratin for fortification and lash growth.” Let’s see how this wonder behaves in real life.
Noir G goes on smoothly and separates lashes at the same time. It gives a good volume with second coat, creates and holds a curl, but only when you know how to wiggle the brush to make one. It also lengthens lashes a little bit, but not to an extend to make a big difference. The black pigment is… well, black. It’s impossible to tell if it’s blacker than other black mascaras, all I can say is that the lashes look black, that’s it. But the good news is that the mascara doesn’t flake or smudge for the whole day, even in the windy conditions.
About that brush. It’s size is somewhere in the middle, neither too big, nor too small, in other words, just right. It’s comfortable to hold and easy to navigate through lashes.
Now back to the initial question: is this product worth $49? First of all, the mascara itself doesn’t cost that much. The separately sold refills are $26. It turns out that the rest of the money you are paying is for the mirrored case. Although it does look wonderful, I personally never care for the mascara case anyway. And I don’t find the little mirror comfortable to use. I usually apply my mascara at home, in front of the medium size mirror that can be seated on top of the table. And another thing – I didn’t see much of a difference in results between Noir G and, say, Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes. So in my case the answer to the question is ‘yes’, 49 bucks are too much for this mascara.
