A smokey eye is a Nigella Lawson beauty signature, and it wouldn’t be complete with full, fluttering lashes. So what’s the secret? A set of £900 luscious lash extensions, à la Trinny Woodall? Nope! A £4 product that belongs in a dental regime rather than a makeup bag.
The Great British Bake Off star has revealed the secret behind her sultry lashes is a not-so-sexy interdental brush – a product normally used for hoiking out trapped food from between the teeth. Yum!
However, according to Nigella, it’s the ideal way to prettify lower lashes without mascara smudging, smearing or flaking. It's worth trying when a pack only costs around four quid at Boots or Amazon, or you may already have them knocking around at home anyway?
Nigella's recipe for perfect lashes begins with the standard ingredient: a good mascara. She likes a tubing formula, writing in The Sunday Times that Too Faced Ribbon Wrapped Lash is a favourite. It’s ‘clump-free’ and gives ‘bold fluttering length’ she explained in a breakdown of her beauty secrets.
Too Faced Ribbon Wrapped Lash Mascara
Then, to give her eyes the full and fluttery 360 treatment, she opts for a quirky finishing touch.
‘I advise applying it to your lower lashes with one of those little interdental brushes,’ Nigella wrote. ‘I dab the flossing brush delicately on the mascara applicator, which is anyway less loaded once I've done my top lashes, then just lightly touch my lower lashes with it.’
As her preferred formula is a tubing mascara, it’s easy to clean the residue with just warm water and a rub between the fingertips. This, she says, leaves it ready to be used again, ‘either on your teeth or lashes!’ You have to admire the multitasking spirit.
Testing the Nigella dental lash hack
GH beauty director Lynne says: I’m with Nigella on tubing mascaras. I absolutely love the way they wrap snugly around lashes, rather than sitting on top, waiting to flake. They’re my go-to for everyday wear as I know I can count on them to stay put.
However, I must admit that bottom lashes remain a danger zone for me, even with this type of mascara. I think it’s because there’s so much more contact between skin and lashes that even the trusty ‘tubes’ risk sliding off. And maybe, just maybe, I'm applying too much. Hmm.
I didn’t have Nigella’s Too Faced mascara to hand so I tested this out with Merit’s Clean Volume tubing mascara, which is excellent for darker, bigger lashes. (I find some tubing mascaras fall short on drama; not this one.)
Using an interdental brush sounds slightly unhinged but I found this method really compensated for my naturally heavy-handed tendencies. It forced me to apply less, and I didn’t splodge mascara on to my undereyes, which usually happens when I’m venturing into lower lash territory. I actually thought it looked better than usual, too – less product equals less shadowing under the eyes. And if I’m honest, my usual, heavy lower lash application can risk resembling crow’s feet.
Plus, it really didn’t budge. There were no nasty surprises in the midday mirror, when I often discover I’ve been walking around with hideous under-eye crumblings.
Oh and the ‘easy clean’ claim for the brush itself? Well let’s just say there have been no complaints from my husband, who is blissfully unaware that I borrowed his final (clean) interdental brush for this one. Best he doesn’t know, eh?
