The rise of skin tints, multi-sticks, and the growing popularity of one dark horse mascara shade in recent years have solidified the fact that minimalist makeup is here to stay. Since the dawn of time, black has been the leading lady of mascara colors, but now, it seems that brown is having its moment in the spotlight. While it was previously more of a hard-to-come-by hue, steadily, the demand grew until finally the beauty industry started listening.

More and more brands are now dropping their own takes on brown mascara — with one of the most recent launches coming from effortless beauty champion Ilia. While many consider the brand’s Limitless Lash Mascara in After Midnight a staple, the brand’s founder, Sasha Plavsic, says that they couldn’t ignore the cry for a softer, more organic shade.

“We have continued to see a steady, outpouring of desire for a brown [shade] from our customers since we initially launched Limitless Lash Mascara seven years ago,” she tells TZR. “Even in this past year or so alone, we received nearly 1,000 requests directly from our customers. Since the launch of the original Limitless Lash Mascara, we’ve been working on honing the perfect brown — one that wasn’t too warm, yet not too cool.”

The demand for a more demure lash look shows no signs of slowing down, so we reached out to makeup experts to get to the bottom of it. So, is brown truly the new black? TZR breaks it down below.

Why Brown Mascara Is Trending

For starters, brown mascara naturally creates a softer look than black. It’s less bold and works well for fairer skin tones that may find black a little too harsh. Plavsic sees its rise to fame as a no-brainer — cementing its place among soft glam makeup enthusiasts everywhere. “A softer look (which brown mascara provides), seems to be a natural progression of recent beauty trends, like clean girl makeup, that have inspired so much of recent makeup looks and consumer preferences,” she says. “These trends allow the opportunity to have the best of both worlds, striking a balance of natural and vibrant similar to what we aim to strike with our products at Ilia.”

Celebrity makeup artist Nick Barose also thinks that the return to a minimalist approach is imminent, with folks gravitating toward organic makeup looks rather than a full beat. “We’ve been seeing lashes that are too bold and too big — whether it’s falsies, extensions, or super volume black mascara,” he says. “We are noticing a shift and the pendulum swinging towards defined lashes that are fresher looking and not too bold, which is why brown mascara works perfectly instead of black. With brown mascara, your lashes still look defined, a lot softer, fresher, and a lot less harsh than black.” He also notes that brown mascara is also great for people who already have high-volume lashes.

To add a layer to this, if you follow TikTok’s viral makeup contrast theory, brown mascara could very well suit your level of contrast more than black. To give you the TL;DR, makeup contrast theory is just a way to help you find the most complementary makeup shades for your particular skin tone, hair, and eye color. Those who fall under the category of low contrast (light hair, skin tone, and eyes) may find that brown mascara works especially well for them because softer hues and no makeup-makeup looks particularly suit this category. Those with medium contrast (only a small difference between the color of their hair, eyes, and skin tone) may also find that they love brown mascara for nude makeup looks or ones where they’re going for uniformity.

Choosing The Right Brown Mascara

The great thing about brown mascara is that it’s incredibly versatile. Barose always reaches for shades that are a true brown with no harsh red undertones. This is especially important, he says, if you’re a brunette. His number one go-to formula is Chanel’s Inimitable Mascara in Noir Brun for its soft, muted brown shade. For blondes and redheads, he loves using a brighter brown shade like Le Rouge Francais’s Le Pourpre Andromède in 430. “Apply a few coats after curling your lashes,” he shares. “I also love painting [the eyes] with brown liquid liner and eye shadow. By layering various shades of brown from the mascara to liner to eyeshadow, it adds richness and more depth to the eyes without going too dark.”

Makeup That Pairs Well With Brown Mascara

As previously mentioned, the brown mascara pairs well with a variety of makeup looks — the possibilities are truly endless. Barose often combines it with a brown liner and eyeshadow. As a rule of thumb, neutrals pair extremely well together. For a brown pencil liner, he swears by Dior’s Diorshow on Stage Crayon in 664 Brick. Eyeshadows that are gold, bronze, or other warm tones complement brown mascara perfectly, and Barose loves Chanel’s Stylo Ombré et Contour in 52 Attaya or Charlotte Tilbury’s highly pigmented Palette of Beautifying Eye Trend in Sunseal Sunset. Occasionally, though, he also loves to pair brown mascara with a bold lip. “It’s a great way to play down the lashes and keep the lips bold without competing,” he explains.

If you’re a true minimalist, Plavsic recommends Ilia’s Limitless Lash Mascara in Before Dawn, of course, paired with the brand’s Eye Stylus Shadow Sticks in any one of its shimmer shades. “My current favorite shade is Nymph, providing an interesting pop of color, along with Regal and Brocade for lining and defining,” she says.

You can shop the best brown mascaras on the market below.

Shop Brown Mascaras For Mastering The Trend