Emmie Reviews – Nars Cosmetics Climax Extreme Mascara

One of my favourite series that I do here on Emmie’s Beauty Life is my One Brand Recommendations (weird start, I know, but go with it). And for a while now, I’ve been working on one for Nars Cosmetics. Seeing as they are one of my favourite brands, I figured it would be easy. It was in the process of choosing my picks however that it occurred to me that I, The Mascara Queen of Aussie Instagram, haven’t actually tried a mascara from Nars before.

So, I knew I had to remedy that. I hopped onto Mecca and chose their best selling Climax Extreme mascara to put to the test. Ive been wearing it for the last few weeks and I definitely have thoughts. If you want to know if Nars’s best selling mascara is worth the splurge, just keep reading!

NARS CLIMAX EXTREME MASCARA – $37.00 – mecca.com.au

Starting with the packaging, the Climax Extreme mascara is housed in a sleek, matte black cylindrical style packaging. There are ridges that go all the way down the tube. If I recall correctly, this mascara was released in collaboration with an eyeshadow palette that had a very similar style of packaging. It’s also worth noting that this mascara is a spinoff of another very popular mascara in Nars’s line. The Climax Mascara. The Climax Extreme Mascara is fragrance free and contains 7g of product.

The wand on this mascara was weirdly deceptive. For much longer than I care to admit, I thought it was a slightly fatter than normal rubberised wand. It wasn’t until I cleaned a heap of the mascara formula off (and we’ll talk about the formula) that I noticed that it was in fact natural bristles that are spaced out evenly around the brush. It also tapers slightly towards the tip. I have really grown to love brushes like this because they allow for great separation of the lashes. And I can use the tip to get into the inner corner lashes more effectively

But now, we have to talk about this formula. First of all, the good news. Nars describes this formula as being Latex Black. And they aren’t lying. This might be one of the most richly pigmented mascara’s I’ve tried in a while. On the flip side, however, is the texture. Fam, she thicc. With all of the c’s! I haven’t used a mascara formula this thick and chunky in ages. It’s quite reminiscent of the Kosas mascara in that it’s very creamy as opposed to waxy. The difference being that this formula actually does pair well with this wand.

The first time I used this mascara, I went in guns blazing. No scrapping off the excess, no nothing. And let me tell you, if you want a volumising mascara, this is the one! Like hot dang! I often hear about mascara’s that give that falsies effect. But this might be the first one that actually does. The formula does coat every lash. And the brush is excellent at not only separation, but picking up any clumpy bits that might end up on the lashes. The biggest surprise for me though is that even though it’s a thicker formula, I found that it gave my lashes a nice lift and it didn’t feel excessively heavy.

Now, I’ll admit to being impressed with the volume. But for day to day, I do find that I want to take an extra second to scrape off the excess formula and go for a more paired back look. I still get some volume. But it’s not nearly as dramatic. I will admit that a part of me wishes that the stopper scrapped off more of the formula as it’s coming out of the tube.

And now, the wear test. And y’all, I’ve tested enough mascara’s over the years to know one thing for certain. Thicker formulas always equal transfer on the lower lashes. And that was the case here, unfortunately. In something of a unique case, I only really noticed the smudging late in the afternoon. So, it must stay pretty intact for a while before it starts breaking down. I also noticed that I had some drooping of the lashes throughout the day. But I didn’t experience any noticeable flaking, which is good. Especially when you consider how wet and creamy this formula is.

All in all, I kinda love the Nars Climax Extreme Mascara. Yes, it smudges, but the effect it gives to my lashes is so good, I almost want to give it a recommendation. I’m going to put this in the camp of ‘not for everyone’, but if you’re a fan of volume, this is a must try! Have you tried the Nars Climax Extreme Mascara? Let me know in the comments below!

Cheers and love
Emily xo