The hack Using mascara to touch up your roots in between salon visits. The promise Having a salon colour can cost a small fortune, particularly when you have block colour and just need your roots touching up. If you have dark hair, can a quick lick with a mascara wand tide you over? The test I’ve had a blond streak put in at the front of my hair, which I like to think of as Cruella de Vil chic when it’s freshly done. But once most of it has grown out, I just want my hair to be all one colour again. This happened recently, so I took a mascara wand with a large and fluffy brush (the one that comes with Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Brag volumising mascara is massive) and combed it through the blonde. It took some time, and the wand got tangled a few times, but by the end, the blonde was disguised. Once dry, it went very hard, so I brushed it through. Some of the colour came off, but it softened a tad. All was grand until later that day when I touched my hair with a wet hand, then touched a white wall and left a black smear. The next day I tried again with a waterproof mascara, which lasted longer but went corpse-level stiff. The verdict This isn’t an everyday hack, but if your mascara matches your hair colour, and you’re skint or in a bind – why not?