It was January 2023 when I asked Lauren Santo Domingo to name her favorite beauty products launching at Moda Operandi. Of the 10 must-haves she selected, most were expected—Costa Brazil’s body oil; her facialist Iván Pol’s Secret Sauce; Crown Affair’s dry shampoo. But one pick surprised me: the Surratt Noir Lash Tint. I was intrigued not because I hadn’t expected a mascara to top her list, but because I hadn’t heard of it before. But, LSD—known arbiter of taste—was of course, ahead of the curve.
Unlike your traditional mascara, the Surratt Lash Tint is designed to coat and define lashes rather than volumize and lengthen. What’s important to keep in mind is that this is technically a lash tint, designed to coat and define lashes rather than volumize and lengthen like your typical mascara.
“It’s not about creating bulk, but rather enhancing,” Surratt Beauty cofounder Heleyne Mishan-Tamir tells Vogue. “It can be layered for more intensity, but our goal was to create a product for the client who wants a more weightless, natural look and feel.” This “subtle and sophisticated” look that Mishan-Tamir describes is exactly what Santo Domingo was after. “[It] doesn’t clump and provides the right amount of definition to the eyes without looking obvious or makeup-y,” she previously shared.
As someone with relatively short lashes (though the best eyelash growth serums have seriously helped!), I’ve found the lash tint to be quite refreshing. Traditional mascaras tend to feel quite heavy on my fine lash hairs. No matter how lightweight the formula or how spaced out the bristles are, I still experience clumping; because my natural lashes are also very curly, residue ends up on my lids more often than not. It’s something I had reluctantly come to accept when applying mascara, but the Surratt Lash Tint has proven it’s not as much user error as I thought.
Photo: Courtesy of Ingu Chen
The immediate difference between this tint and traditional mascaras is the wand. Instead of bristles, it’s a Japanese-made metal wand that’s reminiscent of a screw design. [Because of this] celebrity makeup artist Christian Cook Zito says “you can really capture every single lash, even short, sparse lashes or hard to reach areas.” The effect is a natural lash separation and dark intense-black pigment he explains is unique to Surratt. Plus, the formula is fast-drying, flake- and smudge-free, and water resistant.