I’ll tell you what bothers me: mascaras that won’t hold a curl. That, and ones that smudge. Grrr…
I know it’s a crowd pleaser, but Maybelline Great Lash smudges on me like crazy, unlike my current favorite, Urban Decay Skyscraper Multi-Benefit Mascara, $22.
How to apply mascara
- Start by curling your lashes with your trusty eyelash curler. NOTE: If you curl your lashes after you’ve already applied your mascara, you run the risk of ripping some of them out! I’m guilty of having done it before… but it’s a big no-no that probably isn’t worth the risk.
- With your mascara wand in hand, remove any excess product from the wand by brushing it lightly against a clean tissue.
- Now, apply your first one or two coats.
- For better definition and more length, use a lash comb, getting in there *before your mascara dries*.
- For super-deluxe-crazy-dramatic length, apply one or two additional coats of mascara, but only to the tips of your lashes. Then, reach for your eyelash comb again, and run it through once more.
- Clean up any mess with Q-Tips or a tissue. 🙂
Loading ...Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. For more fun with lashes, check out 11 Luscious Lash Tips.
Tali says
July 5th, 2009 at 11:07 amMy issue is that my eyes never EVER match. One is perfect the other spikey and clumpy and odd…. its so frustrating!
.-= Tali’s last blog post… Illamasqua Powdered Metals- Review =-.
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:18 pmHi Tali,
Eek! Is there a mascara that you’re currently loving?
Sarahc says
July 5th, 2009 at 11:11 amHahaha Tali, me too! My eyes never match. Does anyone make a y-shape mascara wand with two brushes lol?
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:17 pmHi Sarahc,
Oh wow. What kind of mascara are you using?
Shontay says
July 5th, 2009 at 11:27 amI’m glad to say I don’t have a gripe with mascara. My lashes are pretty good and using my chanel mascara makes them hot. I don’t even curl my lashes beforehand.
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:16 pmHi Shontay,
You’re so lucky, girl!
Kate & Zena says
July 5th, 2009 at 12:18 pmMy eyelashes are still trying to grow after a bad bout with Maybelline Great Lash so clumps and lack of volume are the big ones. There’s nothing worse than having all your eyelashes fall out because you’re allergic to a mascara!!! Grow, lashes, grow darnit!
I have about 3/4ths of them back but it’s taking so looooooong. Gah.
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:15 pmHi Kate & Zena,
Your lashes will get there. 🙂 Hang in there!
Beth says
July 5th, 2009 at 12:27 pmI’m a chronic eye-rubber, so mascaras that flake or smudge are my downfall and a quick way to panda eyes.
I agree with you totally on Maybelline Great Lash – I have no idea how it has cult status, its truly terrible.
The mascaras I’ve found that smudge the least are Maybelline Lash Stiletto (so god knows what they do differently in this one), either Cliique Lash Power or High Power Curling and Smashbox Bionic. The clinique ones stay on even if I sleep in them. Not that I go to bed in my makeup, but I often have an early evening nap! lol
.-= Beth’s last blog post… Video Blog Update =-.
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:15 pmHi Beth,
One of these days I’ll get around to trying Lash Stiletto… I know a lot of women like it, but I just can’t get myself to go there because of the trauma from Great Lash!
wehkwas says
July 5th, 2009 at 12:30 pmOne thing I do which I suppose is kind of sad if I’ve given up on eyelash curlers. I swear I could not find one in my price range that works and it never held the curl all day and for me its such a worthless step in getting ready that I skip it all together. I’ve done this for years and one thing I’ll always do is make sure my mascara curls.
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:14 pmHi Wehkwas,
What’s your fave curling mascara? I haven’t found one that curls my lashes naturally.
Mariah says
July 5th, 2009 at 1:37 pmI absolutely cannot live with any mascara that smudges! I have trouble with dark circles under my eyes as it is, so I can’t risk anything dark migrating down there! LOL!
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:10 pmHi Mariah,
Ugh, smudges are a pain! What do you do to prevent them?
Glosslizard says
July 5th, 2009 at 1:39 pmOh, the smudgies get me down! I’m also in with Tali and Sarahc with the mismatched lashes! It seems that one set of lashes always behaves beautifully, and the other has bed-head or something! LOL!
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:10 pmHi Glosslizard,
I’ve never heard of that problem before. Do you have to do special things to adjust? Like use an extra layer on one of your eyes?
Marina says
July 5th, 2009 at 3:03 pmI voted Other cause all of the options annoy the hell out of me 😀 i’d say my lashes are my gripe! they’re bad asian lashes – sparse, short and straight. I’m always on the look for my HG mascara… *sigh* hope it exists!
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:08 pmHi Marina,
I think the hunt for the HG mascara is a never ending one. I’ve gotten pretty close a few times… Have you tried Chanel’s Exceptionnel? It’s pretty great in the thickening, lengthening and curling departments.
Gina says
July 5th, 2009 at 3:16 pmMy biggest gripe is mascara thats to heavy. Sometimes when you add the second coat, your eyes tend to feel a little heavy. I would like a light weight lash extending mascara.
.-= Gina’s last blog post… On Turning 30: The Series =-.
Karen says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:07 pmHi Gina,
Yah, that bugs me, too. So do crispy lashes… I like ’em soft!
bomi says
July 5th, 2009 at 5:58 pmi love mascara…
i really really really do…
but the thing i hate most about it is that it doesn’t dry fast enough for me (well lashmaxxx by rimmel atleast)
i hated how if i blinked the mascara would get everywhere and stuff.
but i changed mascaras to loreal’s telescopic and now its much better.
Kate & Zena says
July 5th, 2009 at 6:03 pmKaren,
I know they’ll get there, it’s just taking so long. This is going on a year and a half now and it’s like, “Grow. Come on, I know you can do it. You’ve done it before. Grow!!!”
The current mascara I’m using packs natural volume and some length (though it isn’t advertised as a lengthening mascara) while giving my lashes good vitamins and aloe. I’m on a break from my stand-by Almay Triple Effect nourishing mascara and using Almay Nourishing Volumizing Mascara. Now, if they could swipe the brush from the Triple Effect which loves to clump on my lashes with the one from the volumizing one and I would have the HG mascara (for me, anyway).
By the way, did you get the e-mail about possible Arena dupes to test out?
Melissa says
July 5th, 2009 at 8:28 pmA huge issue are mascaras that give you the look of spider legs! I hate that! I’ve gone through too many tubes but thankfully max factor doesn’t do that [:
Stephie says
July 5th, 2009 at 8:37 pmMe and mascara have a love hate relationship.
Besides smudging I would say my biggest gripe is having eyelashes so short that I constantly hit my eyelids with the wand. I was in the Japanese supermarket earlier today and was VERY tempted to pick up this ‘mascara shield’…
It looked like a plastic spoon with a hole in the middle 😛
H. says
July 5th, 2009 at 8:38 pmHey Karen!
i hate clumping, so i always use a lash comb (doesn’t matter which mascara i use) before my mascara dries (just like you mentioned). i usually stick with Rimmel’s Sexy Curves mascara, as it thickens, lengthens, doesn’t flake, and hardly smudges. im not to fond of the brush (although, it’s not too bad), so i always go in with the lash comb. definitely my HG mascara. plus, they’re coming out with a waterproof version so i can’t wait!
cheers!
H.
Glosslizard says
July 5th, 2009 at 8:46 pmI just comb through to make sure I don’t get spider-lashes on one side. It’s annoying, but not as heinous as it sounds!
Yarisse says
July 5th, 2009 at 11:27 pmWell, I do not know why but I have never had any problems with mascaras. And I have used high-end brands as well as low-end.
Karen says
July 6th, 2009 at 8:46 amHi Yarisse,
Lucky girl! Maybe you’re just blessed with great lashes and mascara skills.
Meream says
July 6th, 2009 at 4:49 amYeah, eyes never match. Same is true when I apply eyeliner. Very frustrating.
Karen says
July 6th, 2009 at 8:44 amHi Meream,
One thing I’ve noticed that helps with eye liner is to take a few steps back from the mirror while you’re in the process of applying it!
giselle says
July 6th, 2009 at 8:12 amsome of these comments are so funny! my biggest issue is holding the curl since my lashes naturally point down. i’ve been doing great with maybelline full ‘n soft though. but the mismatched eyelashes is a problem for me too! one is nice and separated and the other is spikey and stuck together…what the heck?
Karen says
July 6th, 2009 at 8:40 amHi Giselle,
I’m glad to hear that your Maybelline Full ‘n Soft is working for you. Do you use a lash curler beforehand?
Marina says
July 6th, 2009 at 11:41 amKaren,
I haven’t tried Exceptionnel yet cause its brush looks a bit scary 🙂 but will do, thanks for the advice!
Meghan says
July 6th, 2009 at 6:10 pmMy two gripes:
1. My lashes never match, one looks really good, and the other will look okay but sort of wonky.
2. I’ve had 2 occasions recently where my hand twitches while I’m curling and I rip out a bunch of lashes. Talk about painful!!
I use the sephora lash curler, sonia kashuk eyelash comb (THE best!) and a variety of mascaras, my standbys are MUFE Smoky Lash by itself or BadGal layered with other mascaras.
.-= Meghan’s last blog post… Nail Polish, blues and greens =-.
Erika says
July 6th, 2009 at 7:19 pmI somehow have managed to get my eyelashes to curl with any mascara, with any wand type.
I have no fear of getting really really really close to my eye so I just get straight down to the lash line, and sweep straight up while wiggiling the brush.
Somehow this makes my lashes super thick, well seperated, and curled.
A.C. says
July 8th, 2009 at 12:01 pmMy biggest mascara gripe as i search for my perfect mascara is all these ads that it is clearly evident the models have false eyelashes on and give the impression that is what your lashes will look like if you use it. Kinda like the hair product commercials from pantene, those models hair does not look that good using Pantene products! Great Lash doesn’t work for me, I finally purchased MAC zoom and I like it as a lengthener but I used l’oreal Voluminous before to actually make my lashes look thicker. Several have recommended Dior Show for the false eyelash look I’m looking for. Any feedback?
Karen says
July 8th, 2009 at 1:07 pmHi A.C.
Have you tried Chanel Exceptionnel? It’s pricey and the brush is a little tricky but hands down it’s the best for the false lash look.