Old Skool: Forty Years of Great Lashing

Then

Maybelline celebrated the fortieth anniversary of Great Lash Mascara this year. This is no small feat—as other makeup products have come and gone this mascara has managed to become one of the bestselling cosmetic items of all time. It's been the #1 selling mascara in America for most of its forty years.

Now

Here's why I think Great Lash has stayed on top this long:

• Quality: it's a good, basic clump-free mascara at a reasonable price.
• Shade Range: It comes in a wider variety of shades than most mascaras. The range includes three different blacks, clear (so hard to find) and a bright Royal Blue that is like no other mascara I've ever seen.
• Packaging: the lime green and hot pink tube is fun and eye catching (any resemblance to my blog is purely coincidental :). Incidentally, any resemblance to Lilly Pulitzer's designs is not coincidental—they were actually the inspiration for the packaging. Although other features such as the logo and tube shape have evolved over the years, Maybelline has wisely kept the iconic pink and green combination.
• Tradition: Many girls' first mascara experience came from experimenting with their mom's makeup kit which inevitably included this mascara. The easy application and familiarity led them to choose the same product when they made their first mascara purchase.

As part of Maybelline's celebration they commissioned three famous designers to create patterns for a limited edition collection. Pictured above, from left, are the designs created by Tracy Reese, BCBG/Max Azria and Vivienne Tam.