Mascaras, As You’ve Never Seen Before

Anyone who buys makeup will have seen the same claims made by mascara brands over and over. What if those product features were mapped into a beautiful visualization instead?

That’s exactly Sonja Kuijpers from Studio Terp decided to do when she needed a new mascara (since, as we know, mascara should be tossed out every 3 months). She was faced with a common dilemma: how to choose a mascara, when every tube claims to be lengthening, curling, volumizing, thickening, and durable at the same time? The claims can’t all be true, so how to find the ideal choice?

This playful visualization maps out the key claims that each mascara makes, with a handy legend on the side to show what each eye symbol denotes. For example, a white reflective circle on the pupil shows that that mascara is good for sensitive eyes, while a ‘W’ means ‘waterproof’, and cartoonish eyelashes sticking straight out symbolize high volume.

Looking at this visualization shows a simple truth: makeup companies are not particularly creative with their mascara claims, which explains why consumers sometimes struggle to tell different products apart. Of the 390 mascaras analyzed by Sonja, 304 claimed to add volume, of which 12 claimed to be ‘ultra’ and 10 claimed to be ‘extreme’. Ultimately, if every brand makes the same claims, they mean nothing- so it’s best to go by recommendations and reviews and ignore the marketing hype.