Back in 2020 (remember that?), I reviewed Fenty Beauty’s very first mascara launch, the Full Frontal Mascara. Now, I was pretty critical of that mascara at the time because it was a smudgy mess. And I had been eagerly anticipating their next mascara launch. Well, three years later, we finally got the Hella Thicc Volumizing Mascara. Which I had to get my hands on when it launched at Sephora Australia earlier this year. I’ve spent the last few weeks playing with it. And I have hella thoughts! Let’s get into it!
FENTY BEAUTY HELLA THICC VOLUMIZING MASCARA – $34.00 – sephora.com.au
We shall begin with packaging. And like the entirety of Fenty’s line, the packaging is super stunning. The Hella Thicc Mascara is housed in a sleek black tube. It starts off as a hexagon style tube, but flares out towards the bottom. It kinda reminds me of a shard of glass in a way. A dark crystal, as it were. There is mirrorised detail on the front of the tube. The Hella Thicc Mascara is cruelty free and contains 10ml of product.
One of the big selling points of the Hella Thicc Mascara is it’s brush. The brush is made of synthetic hair bristles. And it’s a straight brush that tapers towards the tip. I wish it tapered off slightly more to a fine tip. As I find this brush to be a little difficult to reach my inner lashes without bumping my eyelid with the tip of it. It is also a little on the long side for my liking. But that’s a preference thing.
The other big selling point is the formula. And let’s put it this way, this mascara shade is called ‘Cuz Im Black’ for a reason. It is thick, it is rich, it is super pigmented, and I could tell as soon as I wiped this swatch off that it was a heavily wax base formula. One thing I will note is that there doesn’t appear to be any ingredients in this formula that are there to be helping with lash growth. There are some pea proteins to help condition the lashes. But that was all I saw. This mascara is here to clock in, make your lashes look great, and then go home.
Speaking of making my lashes look good, I have to say, I was pretty dang impressed upon my first application. Considering how thick and waxy this formula is, I was surprised by how easy it was to layer without getting clumpy. The brush distributed and combed the formula through my lashes very evenly. The first thing I immediately noticed was the length and lift that this mascara gave. It also volumized my lashes. But in a way that they still looked realistic.
Which brings us to the wear test. And if I’m being honest, this one is a mixed bag. You see, one of the claims this mascara has is that it’s supposed to be sweat, humidity, and transfer resistant. I’m not sure if Miss Robyn Rihanna Fenty is aware of a town called Mount Isa. But this place may have broken this mascara. I will admit, it did hold on much better than I expected. Having said that, a week of 40° heat did mean that I copped more transfer than I would like to see in a mascara at this price point. The other big way this mascara let me down was that it literally let me down. That lovely lift that I got definitely drooped throughout the day. Though it is hard to me to say whether this was related to the heat or not.
So, at the risk of being controversial, my thumb is squarely in the middle with this one. I do want to revisit this when the temperature drops to see if it wears any better when I’m not sweating my face off. But I do see enough promise with this mascara to say grab it on sale. And please let me know what you think of it. Because I would love to know your thoughts.
And that is a wrap on my Fenty Beauty Hella Thicc Mascara review. And a wrap on 2023! As always, I will be taking the Christmas break off to spend time with my family. On behalf of me, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, a Happy Holidays, and a sincere thank you for your support this year. And I’ll be back with my Taylor Swift popcorn bucket of empties on the 2nd of January, 2024!
Cheers and love and a wish for a Happy New Year!
Emily xo