Let’s  hop in the hot tub and travel back in time to 2007 when the ‘natural looking makeup’ or what would become the ‘no makeup makeup’ look began to get popular. The goal of this trend is pretty straight forward, minimal makeup that looks almost undetectable as makeup. Personally I love this look. Aside from my love of a good red lipstick, the ‘no makeup makeup’ look is my favorite and my everyday go-to. I like having a minimalist look and minimalist routine - it really works with my frequent dilemma of never hearing my alarm clock. However, slap on some standard mascara and the minimalist look goes out the window. It is immediately obvious that I am a redhead wearing makeup.

The harsh appearance of dark mascara on fair lashes has always bothered me but it became quite acute when I was in grad school. It just seemed absurd to me that I would never be able to achieve this look or that the makeup industry seemed to just not notice how I was different. I would look at the few redhead models that they featured and they seemed to look like me except that their brows and lashes appeared to be naturally dark. I would later learn that this is because most of them had them tinted (a blog for another day). I have no problem with tinting but what if I just want to look like myself without the tinting but with a little makeup? What is a redhead supposed to do then? 

Photo: Black mascara vs. Gingerlash Mascara in Honest Auburn.

This dilemma is the origin story of the Gingerlash Mascara. It was created and the shades chosen to solve this particular issue. Redheads with fair lashes can swipe on some Genuine Ginger and achieve a minimalist makeup look - no more harsh “brown” mascara. The Genuine Ginger is a true light brown. We also created the Honest Auburn shade for a slightly darker look. Both give redheads a more natural lash effect. 

Similar to the shades, the current Gingerlash formula, which debuted last May, is not your everyday basic mascara. This formula was created to tint and fluff your lashes. It’s a bit dryer of a formula as it’s offering you a natural lash effect. It’s also meant to be layered so you can achieve varied levels of intensity. Unlike wetter formulas, you’re not going to get mega lash volume and length - that’s not the goal of this mascara. The gm was created really with a purpose that is antithetic to the whole history of mascara. We, the fair of lash, want to be able to have visible eyelashes without necessarily looking like we are wearing makeup. 

Now all this is not to say that we can’t or shouldn’t wear black mascara. We are the 2% and we do what we want. The Gingerlash is just here to give you options and allow you to feel seen in the beauty industry.

Photo: Mercedes wearing the Gingerlash Mascara in Genuine Ginger.