This is one clever concept that we've got the beauty blogosphere to thank for. Some gifted soul somewhere (possibly in a bedroom in Leeds), inundated with new mascara samples decided to take the radical step of, WTF, combining them. And so mascara cocktailing was born. We're not sure how nobody ever thought of this before, but we're already so on board with the idea it's untrue.

My morning skincare routine already rivals the work of some of London's best mixologists with the sheer amount of ingredient selection and blending involved, so why stop there? Mascaras are possibly the most personal and nuanced of all the daily make-up staples, so it figures that custom blending your own - a dash of chunky volume here, a side of fibre-enhanced length there - might be a good idea. And don't even get me started on favourite brush shapes.

The rules are, there are no rules. So go wild and have a play. Here's how we got on creating our own custom blends...

Joanna, beauty director tried, Max Factor Excess Volume Extreme Impact Mascara in Black, £9.99 at Boots and Clarins Be Long Mascara in Intense Black, £21

'I detest applying mascara. I know as a British woman (we devour it by the truck load every year), that’s tantamount to sacrilege but it’s so… finickety, which makes it impossible to do in a rush. And so, oftentimes I go without it completely, but sort of look unnervingly like a tired, hairless Siamese cat. Because, despite it being the most high-maintenance cosmetic to apply, mascara is the most generous in its face-transforming gifts. Mascara cocktailing, is an organic celebration of that; a way in which women are curating their own lashes, applying one, two or three formulas in the most idiosyncratic way, pulling those weird mascara faces that we all do. My triptych (the MaxFactor is double ended) of lash dressers gave me the sort of Twiggy doll lashes that had died away with the 60s, I look immediately more wide awake and a bit more girlish (read: younger) than usual. I am converted. It may take 4.5 minutes (I counted), but these hyper-lashes are worth the toil.' 

 

 

Carrie, editor tried Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara in Black, £22, Kiko Overblown Volume Mascara in Black, £9.90 and Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara, £10

'I usually pile on eyeliner and shadow on top of mascara for extra emphasis, but I really didn’t need to here, the eyelashes took over everything. In terms of the amount of mascara, I never stop at one coat anyway, so it felt entirely natural to pile on three. The Bobbi Brown one is a beautiful natural mascara after one only coat. It almost has me changing my ways. Kiko’s Overblown Volume mascara is thick and creamy with one of those ball ends that can do your lower lashes easily. I felt this was really enough of an effect, until I piled on the Soap & Glory’s Thick & Fast. I thought it was going to clag in a big way but it layered on fine. No need for any other eye make-up though. Considering I didn’t use an eyelash curler, which I do every morning, the effect was great. Thick and spider-like, just how I like it, that said, my make-up bag is unwieldy enough without the addition of two more mascaras. You know what Vidal Sassoon said about taking two bottles into the shower…'

 

 

Alice, beauty intern tried Givenchy Noir Couture in Black Velvet, £22.50 at House of Fraser and Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes in Glossy Black, £22 at Selfridges

'I love mixing multiple beauty products together, it just adds something extra to the equation. Like the added boost of radiance you get by mixing illuminator and foundation. Layering different mascaras however, is something I'd never really considered. To me, it just seems like a one-way street to clumpy lashes. A mascara overload. But, when you think about it in terms of wand shape and reaping multiple benefits from different formulas – it actually makes a lot of sense. The Givenchy mascara, for example, was the perfect base. The ball wand separated my lashes and gave them a boost in length. Then Charlotte Tilbury’s added volume and definition. Individually, these mascaras are amazing. But, when combined, they form this specially-crafted blend that gives you the best of both. Ok, so it seems like quite a high maintenance and excessive way to apply make-up, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it for yourself.'
 

 

 

Laura, staff writer tried L’oreal Paris Miss Manga Mascara in Black, £8.99 at Boots and Estee Lauder Sumptuous Infinite Daring Length + Volume Mascara in 01 Black, £21

'This was an easy enough process - I simply applied one coat of each mascara, so it was no more work than just applying two coats of one. First I used a thickening and then a lengthening mascara. Sometimes a thickening formula can look a bit chunky at the ends of lashes, while a lengthening one won’t beef them out enough, so I worked the thickening one into the roots and then applied the lengthening one right to the ends. The chunky twisted brush with the thickening mascara really spread the formula into the roots of my lashes and then the fine comb of the lengthening one separated them out nicely for a voluminous but spidery finish. I usually use quite a multi-purpose mascara that does a good enough job, but using two with targeted benefits definitely gave more dramatic effect.'

 

 

Elin, junior fashion editor tried CK One Volumizing Mascara, £17 at Debenhams (available from 29^th January), Tom Ford Extreme Mascara in Raven, £34 at House of Fraser and Revlon Lash Potion Mascara by Grow Luscious in Noir Intense, £9.99 at Boots 
 

'The first mascara to go on was the CK One volumising mascara, right at the base of the lashes, then came the Revlon lash potion on the ends and to finish from base to tip covering the others I used Tom Ford Extreme mascara. The result was a really intense mascara look – and not spidery as I was expecting. Not a look for day-to-day but great for an evening out.'