Never Fear, Gucci Is Here to Teach You How to Apply Mascara

With creative director Alessandro Michele at the helm, Gucci Beauty is breaking the bounds of conventional high-end beauty.

Michele stepped into his role at Gucci and immediately started putting his unique and unusual touches on the brand: Models on catwalks sported silicone tears, lime-green contacts and Bowie-esque orange mullets. The men’s collections suddenly included pussy-bow blouses and kangaroo-lined loafers, all soft-power and gender fluid.

So when Michele relaunched the Gucci Beauty range in 2019, expectations were high that the products would be something out of the (make-up) box. At first glance, the drop seemed a little tame—58 lipsticks in classic shades and three creamy formulas, named after Hollywood icons. The gold and floral-embellished tubes are pretty but hardly revolutionary, and the textures are what we'd ususally expect to see: Rich satin, sheer voile and a lightly tinted baume. Honestly, nothing that "out there."

However, the advertising caused a stir. The ’80s-style ads were fronted by Dani Miller, lead singer of punk band Surfbort, who has famously awkward teeth. Close-ups of her mouth sporting the luxe shades made for uncomfortable, norm-challenging viewing—exactly Michele’s style.

The Gucci Beauty range has grown since then and now encompasses nail lacquers, lipsticks, lip pencils, lip balms, foundations, serums, highlighters, face powders, bronzers, eyebrow pencils, eyeliners and a mascara that has the world talking. Partly because it’s a great product, but partly because of the offbeat advertising.

Gucci Mascara L’Obscur comes in intense black, and it adds volume, length and curl with a buildable, long-lasting formula, allowing you to create a variety of different looks. It’s a great product, certainly, but in essence, it’s just a mascara—until you encounter the advertising.

Using the same ’80s throwback format as the lipsticks, this campaign is equally divisive. Miller also fronts this campaign, and one image, in particular, you see a close-up of her eyelashes, which have been coated in so many layers of mascara as to produce a clumpy, spider-leg effect. Love it or hate it, it’s got the world talking.

To support the campaign, the brand also produced two tutorial videos for YouTube, to teach fans how to use Mascara L’Obscur to create two different looks. But, in true Michele style, they’re quirky, odd and have a very specific look—a kind of uncanny valley ’70s aesthetic.

In the “two-in-one” Gucci Mascara L’Obscur Tutorial: Bold Look, directed by Max Siedentopf, Gucci Global Makeup Artist Thomas de Kluyver teachers viewers how to build layers of the Mascara L’Obscur to create a bold, spidery look. Start with a few coats as you normally would, then add multiple extra coats to top and bottom lashes using the tip of the brush to add clumps of product. You’ll then also learn how to knit a sweater for a dog.

Well, it is a two-in-one tutorial.

The sister video, Gucci Mascara L’Obscur Tutorial: Classic Look, has de Kluyver explaining how to use Mascara L’Obscur for a classic, long-lashed look by holding the brush horizontally and wiggling it gently from roots to tips. Once your mascara is perfected, you’ll also learn how to build a mid-century cabinet.

Somehow managing to be both bizarre and informative, these videos are right in line with Gucci Beauty’s current approach to turning the industry abruptly and prettily on its head.

Have you heard? Gucci is making hiking fashionable.

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