For as long as I’ve been a beauty editor, I’ve had an unpopular opinion: There is no significant difference in the application performance of different types of mascara wands. Whether it’s spoolie-like bristles or silicone spikes, uniform size and shape or swirling like a spiral, I’ve always felt like the difference between whether or not my mascara clumps hinges almost entirely on the formula itself. And even with my favorite mascaras, I still end up doing some major post-application recon with a lash separator. But it turns out there is a mascara wand that makes a huge difference—it’s just not the one that comes with your mascara, and it looks nothing like it either.
A couple of makeup artists recently turned me on to lash fans, or mascara fan brushes, and, with them, the concept of lash painting. Rose Siard of Rose and Ben Beauty recently shared a prototype for her own lash fan and used it to demonstrate the remarkable difference it can make when using it to apply mascara on notoriously tricky bottom lashes.
“If you hate bottom-lash mascara, it’s because most wands deposit a ton of product,” Siard says while suggesting a fan brush like the one she’s using on herself. “This is something pros use all the time, and obviously, it’s a lot more hygienic because we can clean it afterwards.”
She also notes that, in addition to bottom lashes, this kind of brush is great for hard-to-reach areas on the upper lashes like the inner corners. “You have a lot more control because you have length,” she says, referring to the long, skinny handle.
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