Makeup Monday–Mascara

We’re back on with Makeup Monday. Sorry I missed it last week.  I had something important happening but I’ve already forgotten what.

This week we’re going to be talking about mascara.  I have to be truthful here; mascara is not that big of a deal to me.  I have dark hair and decent eyelashes so it’s way down on my list of beauty priorities.  However I have heard from a couple of my blonder friends who are incredulous that I’ve gone this long without talking about mascara.  They get a little Sissy Spacek without the stuff, so it’s a Very Big Deal.

So let’s talk.  Mascara, on the whole, always leaves me a tad disappointed.  I’m always so sure that my latest mascara will be the one that finally thickens my lashes 300% and makes them look 8x longer.  That’s what every mascara package says!  But then I try it out and my reaction tends to be somewhere between “Hmm.  Not too bad” and “Yuck!  What a mess!”

Let’s think about it, though.  We’re talking about two skinny lines of short hairs (one on the top lid and one on the bottom).  That’s a lot of pressure to put on not a lot of substance.  How much difference can mascara make?  For me, not a ton.  For you it may be different.

My current fave in the world of mascara is this one by Sonia Krashuk (Target of course).  Not only is it never clumpy, it ironically comes with the nicest lash brush I’ve ever seen.  I buy the waterproof, but it is not the best at water-proofiness.  It smudges by the end of the day.

I also don’t use a lash curler because I think they make the lashes curve in a weird angle.  I generally just push mine up with my fingers for ten seconds or so as my mascara dries.  It’s very high-tech.

I think we should take this opportunity to educate each other about mascara.  What have you loved or hated?  Do you have any mascara advice of your own?  What is your 2¢ on the subject?

| Filed under Makeup and Hair

6 thoughts on “Makeup Monday–Mascara

  1. Finally – mascara! I live for this stuff. My bottom lashes are, well, pitiful. So far, my favorite at making them sorta look like they exist is Maybelline Stiletto in very very dark black.

  2. I have to be really careful with mascara- a lot of brands irritate my eyes. I've never used a mascara curler, either.

    You did just remind me that it is about time for me to buy a new tube, it's been a few too many months.

  3. My experiments have shown that, on the whole, water-based mascara goes on smoother and less clumpy, but runs at the drop of a tear, humidity, sweat, or the unconscious rub of a finger.

    But I value staying power enough that I am very, very careful with long-stay mascara, the longest-lasting of which is Cover Girl Marathon Waterproof
    Mascara Hydrofuge.

    By "very careful" I mean I get 2-3 solid swipes before it begins to go clumpy, and then I must separate stuck-together lashes with a pin tip before it dries(not as scary as you think, and only takes a few seconds.) It will often last for 2 or even 3 days, but then the lashes begin to stick to each other. The only remedy is mascara remover.

  4. I <3 mascara. I always shimmy the brush a little to a.) get better coverage and b.)separate my lashes better.

    I never use mascara on the bottom eyelashes–I've always been told not too. Sometimes it looks all right, but I've seen enough people with scary spider-leg eyes to stay away from it.

    And this might sound obvious, but when mascara starts getting clumpy, it really helps to wash out the brush . . .

  5. I had a recent mascara ephiphony. I have used non-waterproof as long as I can remember for the simple fact that it comes off so easily at night (and if you buy the right one, it doesn't smudge or flake unless you get seriously wet or cry a whole ton). but I mistakenly bought the waterproof version of my favorite mascara recently (CG Volume Exact) and found that though it is an absolute nighmare to get off (and I mean rubbing with make up remover for 20 seconds per eye!), it actually keeps my lashes curled! It's a miracle! I previously would curl my lashes, put on mascara (which would uncurl them 80%), let them dry for 20 minutes, then if I could remember I would come back and re-curl them. It was a pain and usually I forgot the last step, leaving me with stick straight lashes. Well, the waterproof kind doesn't do that. I curl my lashes, put on the mascara, and my eyelashes stay gorgeously curled! I am loving it. I hate it at night, when it takes me forever to get the stupid stuff off. And it's not the most un-clumpy mascara. But the fact that it makes my eyelashes stay curled is nothing short of miraculous for me. Yeah!!!! (I might now experiment with different waterproof brands to see if I can find a less clumpy one.)

  6. That is so me serious mascara equipment!

    I don't wear mascara. The one time I bought some as an adult (for my sister in laws wedding…she requested that we wear eye makeup…I am pretty sure that request was intended for me) my daughter got ahold of it and colored all over my bathroom and her doll. That was 4 years ago. Haven't owned mascara since. 😛

    I think I need an intervention!

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