How to Apply Mascara

One question I get a lot from people is what mascara I use. I have somewhat small eyes and refuse to leave the house without mascara because the moment mascara is applied my eyes suddenly appear to be of normal size (I was blessed with long lashes, perhaps that helps). I even wore mascara in the 100 degree heat on a trip to Vietnam and my friend was blown away by the staying power of my Lancome Hypose mascara. (See my list of the best mascaras on the market)

Here I share my 15 best mascara tricks and tips, plus how to properly apply mascara.

How to Properly Apply Mascara
Ace your mascara application with a 3-step process:

    Step 1: Wiggle the wand left to right at the base of lashes. It's the mascara placed near the roots -- not the tips -- that gives the illusion of length.
    Step 2: Pull the wand up and through lashes, wiggling as you go. The wiggling part is key because it separates lashes.
    Step 3: In this final step (which I always skip), close the eye and place the mascara wand on top of lashes at the base and pull through to remove any clumps.

Pick the Best Mascara for You
When picking a mascara, you should consider the formula you want (lengthening, thickening, waterproof or non-clumping). Learn more about your options in How to Pick the Right Mascara Formula.

You should also consider price. You can get a good basic drugstore mascara or spend more money on a luxurious mascara. I find the fancier mascaras go on with less clumping and last longer, but it's likely no one would be able to tell if you were wearing a drugstore brand or a department store brand. See Should you splurge on mascara, or save?.

I prefer Lancome mascaras and I always use waterproof mascara in summer time or when skiing. Check out my list of the best mascaras on the market for your perfect fit.

Most drugstores and department stores have excellent return policies so if you try a mascara and hate it you can return it. Never try mascara on at a department store, there's too much risk for infection. Instead, check out the store's return policy and take a few home to try. Also, don't get suckered into a full-makeover at the cosmetics counter (see How They Trick You at the Cosmetics Counter).

How to Keep Lashes From Clumping
For some, lash combs are simply too fussy. But for some makeup artists, they're a great invention and keep lashes glob-free and perfectly separated. To use a lash comb, first apply mascara at the lash base, then wiggle the lash comb through to the tips of your lashes.

Not into the lash comb? Get rid of clumbs without them by removing excess mascara from the wand. Wipe wand on tissue, this eliminates blobs BEFORE you start.
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How To Use Shadow as Liner for Metallic Makeup

A lot of people are intimidated with make-up and just rely on someone else’s services to take care of heavy make up. Some also think that it is expensive to maintain make up sets but these two misconceptions are, well, misconceptions. Doing your own make up does not only save you money but also time since you do not have to set an appointment for a make up artist. If you have an evening occasion wherein you want to have that metallic, smoky eye effect, then this article is for you. After reading this article, you should have an idea how to line your eyes using your regular dark eye shadow when putting on metallic make up.

    * Materials that you will need:
          o some q-tips to help you cleanly erase mistakes
          o metallic eye shadow
          o dark colored eye shadow such as charcoal gray, navy blue and the like
          o blush brush to sweep away excess eye shadow under the eyes

    * Putting on the base color. When you have put foundation or base on your entire face including your eyelids, put some pressed powder on your eyelids, too. After which, choose a color that you want to be the base color of your eyes. Typically you should select a color that is midway between your darkest color and the highlight.
    * Selecting a liner color. Depending on the color scheme that you want, choose the darkest color you have in your palette to serve as your eye liner. If you have the type that can be moistened with water, then moisten the tip of your eye shadow brush and sweep that across your selected liner color. With one eye closed, line the bottom of your lids from the inner corner going to the outer corner. While doing this, one of your hands should be pulling your eyelid taught so that you won’t skip any area as you line your lids.
    * Checking for consistency. The beauty of using a powder eye liner, especially if you are using the moistened version, is that you can easily correct or adjust the thickness of your lining as compared to using a liquid liner. The accurate analogy is that powder eyeliners are like charcoal pencils that you can smudge up for a smoky effect while liquid eyeliners are like felt tipped markers that are more solid and permanent in effect. Check if you have the same width of lining throughout your eyes.
    * Using a stand out color as a liner. While most people use a darker shade close to black as a liner, others use a very bold color such as bright blue as a liner, to draw attention to your eyes.
    * Smudging the lining. If you prefer, rub the brush across the bottom of the lid to smudge the color a bit. You can also lightly draw a line on your bottom lid if you want your bottom lid to be the same color as your top lid. Finish the look by putting some highlighting color at the center of your lid and near the inside corners of your eyes. Top with two coats of mascara and you should have that metallic, sultry look perfect for night outs.

Once you are comfortable with playing with different colors and widths of the eye shadow, you can start experimenting with different color combinations, too. As a rule of thumb, the color blue always reduces the redness of the eyes.
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