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There are plenty of “rules” about getting dressed and wearing makeup I picked up in the late nineties/early aughts that I’ve spent the last decade and a half trying to unlearn. (You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me etc., etc.) While I no longer feel compelled to add a belt to every outfit, I stand staunchly by the color theory that drove Almay’s Y2K-era Intense i-Color shadow palettes—which means my green eyes and I are big supporters of the burgundy mascara trend. Specifically, I’m all in on Benefit Cosmetics’ Badgal Bang Mascara in the newly released Wild Plum shade.
According to Google Trends, searches for “burgundy mascara” have been up since the beginning of this year. TikTok is full of videos of people saying they’re swapping their black mascara for this rich, purple-red shade which, they say, offers a softer look while making eyes of any color “pop.” Although burgundy options from L’Oréal Paris and Maybelline New York seem to have starring roles in the majority of these videos, there are also comments complaining that those two products are often sold out. Enter, this new one from Benefit, which launched in April.
Badgal Bang has been one of my favorite everyday mascara formulas since it launched in 2018. (The Allure editors working here at the time agreed it was pretty special: Badgal Bang won a Best of Beauty Breakthrough award that year too.) It adds serious length but just a touch of volume and, while the black shade is great, I think the colorful options are even better.
I haven’t tried the two burgundy mascaras that keep going viral—Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara in Burgundy Haze (which is no longer available) and L'Oréal Paris Makeup Voluminous Original Mascara in Deep Burgundy—but based on those aforementioned TikTok videos, Benefit’s version seems to be the most subtle of the bunch. It won’t necessarily make people stop and stare (or be concerned you have conjunctivitis), but it might make them wonder why your eyes look particularly alluring.
I like wearing Wild Plum on days when I’m not wearing much other makeup; I swipe two coats on both my top and bottom lashes (without a primer, though I’d bet if you laid down a white mascara first the burgundy would be more noticeable). The slight hint of color makes me feel like I made some extra effort, and I really do believe it makes my green eyes look brighter than regular old black mascara does. Just like the OG Badgal Bang formula, the burgundy version makes my lashes look extra long and lasts all day without much flaking—the only con is that this means it takes some extra elbow grease to remove at the end of the day.
I get why wearing mascara in any color other than black could be intimidating—especially if you’re more of a makeup minimalist, like me. But trust me: This stuff is just plain pretty. Plus, you can take comfort in what makeup artist Fulvia Farolfi previously told Allure about colored mascara: "It's not supposed to be perfect.” A little smudge of burgundy mascara arguably looks less like a mistake (“Is that eye shadow?” passersby will wonder) than a smudge of black.
Anyone who’s taken a single art class (or was a fellow devotee of those Almay palettes) knows that green and red/purple sit across from each other on the color wheel, so it’s barely a surprise that the burgundy shade works for me. But since TikTok users claim burgundy looks good on everyone, I asked some of my non-green-eyed colleagues to test it out too.
Jesa Marie Calaor, senior editor
Colored mascara has never been in my everyday beauty vernacular. (Regular mascara barely makes the cut—I’m more of an eyeliner girl.) But Benefit Badgal Bang in Wild Plum’s medium burgundy color and lifting action is enough to make me into someone who can’t stop talking about colored lashes. It deposits a shade so subtle that I don’t have to work hard to match it with my outfit. It does, however, prompt a “You look really pretty today,” from my sweet husband who could not figure out exactly what I'd added to my beauty look.
Sarah Han, commerce editor
I’m in a colored mascara renaissance. OK, fine, mostly brown mascara—but, nonetheless, I’ve been wearing non-black mascara nonstop. My barely-there lashes are already black, and when I layer black mascara over them, it’s a bit too harsh for my everyday liking. With that being said, you get why I adore Benefit’s Bad Gal Bang Mascara in Wild Plum, right? It coats my lashes with a subtle but pretty wash of burgundy that complements—rather than overwhelms—the rest of my eye makeup. Speaking of eye makeup, Wild Plum and Kulfi’s Purply Pataka (one of my all-time favorite eyeliners) make an extra-cute duo.
At $29, the Benefit Cosmetics BadGal Bang Mascara in Wild Plum is a little pricier than the two going viral on TikTok (though, like I mentioned, one of them is no longer available to buy). That said, it’s a perfectly reasonable amount to spend on your everyday mascara, which I think this subtle burgundy shade could certainly be. You can pick up a tube at Ulta Beauty or benefitcosmetics.com.
Read more product reviews from Allure editors:
It’s About Damn Time E.L.F. Launched Bronzing Drops
Did the Nars Blush Need to Be Reformulated?
We Tried Beyoncé's Hair-Care Line, Cécred, on 3 Different Hair Types
Now watch Madelaine Petsch react to TikTok Trends:
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