Mascara, in the nonpoetic sense, is make-up applied to the eyelashes to make them appear more prominent (and therefore beautiful). It comes in many different types: lengthening, volumizing, curling, defining, thickening, water resistant, water proof, and so on. Generally the popular colours for mascara are black and brown (and many in-between shades) but my favorite is bright blue. There are a myriad colours out there and, recently, it's become popular to wear clear mascara, which I believe entirely defeats the purpose.