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While the qualities shared between sports and beauty aren’t glaring to some, they’re obvious to anyone with a discerning eye and a passion for performance. Like the athletes competing themselves, we demand a lot out of our products, whether that be the technical precision of a new formulation or the deft ability of an application tool. And where competitors have idiosyncrasies that push them to get ahead, beauty savants have an amalgam of resources at their disposal to help unlock their individuality, too.
Mecca, Australia’s definite homegrown beauty powerhouse, has been aware of this facet throughout its entire 27-year history. But in 2024, Mecca’s propensity to supercharge your uniqueness through cosmetics shifted into overdrive with the launch of the new Mecca Max Zoom Zip Liner Liquid Eyeliner.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Mecca Max has ensured this for its customers by unveiling its latest innovation in the beloved (and Beauty Election winning) ‘Zoom’ eye colour category. (The Zoom Zip Liner Liquid Eyeliner joins the pencil-style, twist-up Zoom Liner, creamy eyeshadow stick Zoom Shadow Stick Matte and buildable Zoom Flex Fluid Liquid Shadow.)
This efficacious arsenal already targets a myriad of needs but the Zoom Zip Liner Liquid Eyeliner really shines in its ability to deliver a pigmented, fast-paced and precise graphic look with each and every application. “The benefit of a liquid is that application is a lot smoother and you can create much sharper lines,” explains Mecca’s makeup education manager, Hannah Daniel. “A liquid gives you more flexibility to create graphic shapes that will really last throughout the day.”
To test drive that mission myself, I stepped into the proverbial front seat at one of the biggest sporting events of the year; the Formula 1 Melbourne Grand Prix. Under the beating Victorian sun, this GRAZIA writer put the malleable, long-lasting formulation to work, testing its perseverance, intensity and endurance in the elements. The result? A powerful makeup bag essential worthy of pole position.
Zoom Zip Liner Liquid Eyeliner, Fast Facts:
Mecca Max is the company’s signature line that bottles cosmetics the brand’s beauty-obsessed crave at an affordable price point. Discerning the need for a high-performing product that can deliver a vivid result in seconds was the impetus for this launch, specifically the unique design. The Zoom Zip Liner is a vegan, fluid formula applied with a unique, pointed-tip dip brush.
“A dip liner allows you to draw on an incredibly defined and opaque line in a single stroke with its firm brush, and it doesn’t require any sharpening to achieve extreme definition,” explains Daniels. “We wanted these liners to be the perfect format to achieve coloured wings in a swipe, and complex graphic looks alike!”
From simple wings to a more creative, sculptural look, five impactful shades are at our fingertips for professional-level application and day-to-night staying power. Reach for the jet black or chocolate brown for a more conventional look, or the bright white, electric cobalt and balmy coral for something more dynamic. This was also another consideration when creating the product. Given shows like Euphoria and The Idol encouraged decorative eye makeup shapes, the Zoom Zip Liner will provide “more colour and also a sense of play: unconventional shapes rather than the standard wing”.
Road Test Review:
Arriving at Mecca Max’s Beauty Pit Stop to trial the new Zoom Zip Liner was the first port of call at the F1. While Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc were warming up their engines, I primmed my eyelids with Mecca Max’s pencil stick Zoom Liner to carve out the shape I wanted to create. I’d previously used the black Zoom Zip Liner to create a 90s, editorial-style eye makeup look for the pre-Grand Prix Glamour On The Grid event. That colourway lent perfectly to the Kate Moss, grunge-inspired aesthetic I hoped to achieve, so for my time by the track I looked to the coral colour to really inspect how the colour and shape faded over time.
To maximise impact, a Mecca Max makeup artist began by tightly rimming my upper lash line with the black shade, before winging it out into a small flick. The coral hue was then streaked over the top, which injected the look with a high-voltage finish and dimension. As someone with partially hooded eyes, I was pleasantly pleased to see that the product didn’t crease or move upon initial application. (A testament both to the ability of the makeup artist to perfect the shape of the look, and the resistance of the smudge-proof formula.) The liner was then applied to the inner corner of my eyeliner, but I noticed that the thinness of the skin in that area made it prone to blending as time wore on.
I wouldn’t recommend this product to line your waterline given the formula can easily smear due to the wetness of the area. (This isn’t exclusive to this product but something every liquid eyeliner will encounter). As someone with ultra-sensitive eyes (and had just had corrective laser eye surgery over a month prior), I was pleasantly surprised by how composed my easily-irritable eyes were when coated by the ultra-fine brush and lightweight concoction.
Pro tip: The best advice for creating a graphic liner is to look straight ahead – into a mirror, and keep the eye relaxed. If the eye is more hooded or you have expression lines on the outer corners, try focusing the product on the inner corner of the eye where there is less movement.
When watching cars speed around the grid at speeds of up to 350 kilometres per hour, the Zoom Zip Liner was certainly under pressure to keep up with the action. But unlike heavyweights like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton who did not finish the race, the Zoom Zip Liner expertly delivered on pace, precision and pigmentation.
Aside from the aforementioned blur in the inner corner (a result of straining my eyes to keep up with the race!) the wing and a sharp line remained in place throughout my time trackside. Even when challenged by nearly 28°C weather, the colours stayed intense and sharp. The final caveat worth mentioning is to consider the pressure you apply the product with as working with liquids can easily go astray if not used confidently. As for that, Mecca Max recommends you “relax the brows, keep the eyes open and let the product do the work! If all else fails, map the wing with a little eyeshadow first.”
