Yeah, I wasn’t going to make you wait too long for this review!
Happy Tuesday, everyone. I am so unbelievably excited for today’s review. I am chatting about the brand spanking new Marc Jacobs Beauty Flashes Panoramic Volume Mascara. And seeing that the Marc Jacobs launch is two weeks away, I figured it was the perfect time to share my thoughts on what has easily been my most requested review of the year. So, let’s get into it!
MARC JACOBS BEAUTY FLASHES PANORAMIC VOLUME MASCARA – $59.00 – selfridges.com
We’ll kick this off with the packaging. I mentioned in my Marc Jacobs haul that the packaging for the entire range has gone for a more whimsical and fun direction. And the Flashes Mascara is no exception. The Flashes Mascara is housed in a long, lilac purple, star shaped tube style container. There is the most adorable little star cushion embellisment on the top of the handle. And the Marc Jacobs insignia is embossed on the tube itself. The packaging itself feels very solid and weighty. Definitely in line with how expensive this range is. I absolutely adore this packaging and it’s a real standout amongst the sea of boring mascara tubes that I see doing this gig. The Flashes Mascara is vegan, cruelty free, and contains 6.6ml of product.
The brush for the Flashes Mascara is one that I’ve definitely seen before. But it has a few unique edges that make it stand out in my eyes. It is a molded, hourglass shaped brush head. The bristles are mid length, evenly spaced, and I would say that they like little lightening bolts in shape. Wider at the base and angles at the tip. I can’t say that I’ve seen a bristle quite like it and it makes it a good option for getting maximum product on the brush.
The formula is one of the more interesting ones that I have come across recently. As far as consistency goes, this is a very thick, wet formula. It that you can tell on the hand swatch. It’s a good idea on paper for creating volume. But from my experience, can be very messy. Especially if the formula isn’t one that dries down quickly (is this foreshadowing? Stay tuned…). The pigment is extremely rich and black. I expected that for sure. And there are peptides and Clover Flower extract to help nourish and condition lashes. I also spotted biotin to help with lash growth.
2026 has so far been the year for high volume, high impact mascaras. And the Flashes Mascara is definitely in that camp. It was way too easy to get a ton of volume. And I got pretty instant impact from just one coat of product. But I always do my wear tests with two coats. What surprised me was how easy this was to build up without looking heavy or clumpy on the lashes. Having said that, I did find that I had to scrape off the excess and wriggle the brush around a little bit to help with seperation. This formula does like to try and stick my lashes together if I’m not careful.
Again, the big selling point of the Flashes Mascara is the volume. And you can see the immedaite difference between the two sides. Volume for days! I was reasonably happy with the amount of length I got. But I am a a length girly when it comes to mascara, so I always want a little more. The definition was a nice surprise. A lot of brands tend to sacrifice definiton for volume. But my lashes had a great shape and a stunning fan effect. Which I personally really liked. First impressions, no complaints!
But that brings me to the all important wear test. And I apologise for teasing you with the foreshadowing. Because you can knock me over with a feather, I was that stunned at how well the Flashes Mascara wore on me. A formula this wet and thick, I expected my lids to be a smudgy mess. But there is barely anything there! The dry down for this formula must be dam near instantaneous. My lashes did fall throughout the day (that is bordering on inescapable for me at this point). But otherwise, they wore incredibly well. The formual felt super lightweight and it was very easy to remove at the end of the night (that’s when I became a smudgy mess).
Well, first review of Marc Jacobs down and we have a winner already. I happily recommend the Marc Jacobs Beauty Flashes Panoramic Volume Mascara. And I am sorely tempted to buy the blue one when it launches at Sephora. I hope that if and when you try it for yourselves, you love it as much as I do. Let me know in the comments if you’re picking this one up at launch.
Cheers and love
Emily xo