Mascara 101 – Tips and Tricks

Do you remember the first time you tried mascara?  I remember as a little girl my mom had given me this gift set that she had received with her makeup purchase.  Inside along with some eyeshadow and lipstick was a small sample tube of mascara.  I had no clue what I was doing but I knew that I was supposed to apply it to my lashes.  So I brushed the wand under my lashes and then proceeded to brush the top side of my lashes as well. And if that wasn’t enough, I applied a “healthy” amount onto my lower bottom lashes too.  What I was left with was crazy tarantula lashes that didn’t look good at all!  Then I thought maybe I was supposed to curl them?  So I proceeded to curl my still wet, overly gooped lashes only to make a sticky mess.  Needless to say I stopped playing with that tube of mascara.   Flash forward to high school, I thought my lashes could use a  little more oomph.  I started off by simply curling my lashes but leaving them bare.  Then I graduated to using clear mascara.  Until I finally got enough confidence to try some black mascara once again.  Believe me, it took a lot of trial and error and many nights of discovering that I had been walking around with raccoon eyes but I can now say that I LOVE wearing mascara and it makes such a big difference in making my eyes look more open and bigger!

Are you new to wearing mascara?  Or maybe it just hasn’t worked out for you yet.  If that’s you, here are some things that I’ve learned along my mascara journey.

Start minimally!  When I first started wearing mascara I thought I HAD to brush both the top and bottom of my top lashes and also cover my bottom lashes.  While this works for some ladies, it does not work for everyone!  I recommend only brushing the wand on the bottom side of your top lashes.  This will drastically reduce your chances of getting clumpy tarantula eyes. Once you’ve mastered this technique feel free to start testing out your lower lashes or even coating the top of your top lashes.

Clumpy tarantula eyes

Photo credit

Curl first then apply!  I know some ladies like to curl their lashes after they’ve applied their mascara but there are some cons to this method if you’re not careful.  If the mascara is still wet, it’ll stick to your eyelash curler and worse pull your precious lashes out.  If you’re going to curl after, you should make sure that your mascara is quite dry first and be super careful!  I don’t see any cons to curling first and then applying your mascara.  There’s no risk of pulling out your lashes and also there’s not wait time before you can apply your mascara.

Choose the right mascara for you!  Find one that lasts on your lashes all day without clumping, smudging, flaking or irritating your eyes.  If you have oily eyelids or have naturally watery eyes like me, look for mascaras that are waterproof.

This would be a no-no

My favorite mascara at the moment!

Covergirl Lash Perfection Mascara

Choose the right eyelash curler for you!   The best curler for you will the one that fits your eye shape the best and reaches all of your lashes.  The Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler is probably the most popular eyelash curler around and works well for those with rounded eyes.  Since my eyes are actually flatter than average the Shiseido Eyelash Curler works really well on me.

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler $20 

Shiseido Eyelash Curler $19

Additional Tips

When you’re applying your mascara, start from the roots of your lashes and wiggle your wand up.  This will prevent clumps and make your roots appear thicker.

For a longer lasting curl try heating your eyelash curler by blasting it with your blowdryer for a few seconds.  Always test the heat of your curler with your fingers before curling your lashes since you don’t want any burns!

If you’re getting clumps it could mean that you’re mascara has reached it’s life expectancy and it’s time to buy a new one.  BUT some of those super dramatic mascaras do tend to be more clumpy than others.  You can always clean an old mascara brush that you’re not using anymore and brush it through your lashes to get rid of the clumps.  Or you can buy an actual brush that looks like the mascara wand applicator- called a Spoolie.

And this last tip is actually probably the hardest one for me to follow.  Don’t pump your mascara wand into the bottle.  This action causes air to be pushed into your mascara bottle shortening it’s life span of approximately 3 months.

I really wish I had this info when I first started dabbling into mascara so I hope some of you find this helpful! Hopefully you can avoid some of the mistakes I made… but honestly learning how to wear makeup is a lot of trial and error especially since everyone reacts differently to different makeup formulas!  Be brave and try it out because sooner or later you’ll discover what works/doesn’t work for you!

Wishing you a fantastic Monday!

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