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Sunday, July 4, 2010

Beauty Tips: Choosing the Right Mascara

Mascara is one of those makeup items that I love, so much that I pretty much hoard them, I always buy the latest one, I use a different one everyday, I have different uses for various ones, etc. I count 30 mascaras in the pic above!!! Some of these are expired and I just keep them cause they look pretty in my drawers! I also have more that I forgot to include, mostly from gift with purchase things from Clinique and Lancome.

The mascara brush itself is a very important thing in a mascara because it determines what effect you will get with it, so you need to find a brush that suits your lashes and style best. Mascara is probably one of most essential and most bought makeup item by women, hence why there are new ones brought out all the time, and new promises of what they will deliver.

So what kind of lashes do you have? I think I have average length lashes, they aren't very full. They've gotten better since using the L'oreal Lash Serum, but like every women, I want longer, fuller lashes.


Generally, mascara brushes come in two types: plastic and fibre bristles. Since the last 5 years or so, we've seen a lot more plastic bristles on the market and less of the traditional fibre variety. I find the fibre type tend to give more volume (but can clump too), and the plastic one gives more of a cleaner, spread out, defined appearance. Next, the fibres can be long or short, longer ones will give more length. Bristles closer together will also give more volume.

Brush shape can also change the effect that you get. Mascaras come in straight or curved brushes. Straight brushes are easier to use, and curved ones will allow you to coat more lashes at once, and curl and lift them. I am a fan of curved brushes, but most of my mascaras are the straight variety.

The mascara formula is important. Waterproof mascaras can generally help your lashes hold a curl longer, and will not make your mascara run if you cry, which is good. The mascara forumla is very important, I find that some mascaras tend to dry very quickly and can make your lashes brittle, which others can be layered easily.

voluminous carbon black vs black
L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black vs Black (click to enlarge)

The colour of the mascara is another factor. I know most people buy black mascaras, or even the blackest black that you can get so that lashes stand out as much as possible. While others tend to like the more natural look, and just go for brown. I tend to go for black, although when I find out into mascara I bought brownish black and brown for a more subtle look. You can also get mascaras to compliment your eye colour, Cover Girl did this recently with their Lash Exact line. For a very black mascara, try L'oreal Voluminous in Carbon Black, that stuff is very black.

Some tips for getting the most out of your mascara:
* Make sure you replace your mascara often (ie recommended every 3 months), if it has dried out or the consistency has changed in any way, buy a new one, you don't want to get an eye infection. I am guilty of this myself, I have so many mascaras that I rarely use the same one straight for a week, since it's hardly ever opened, I figure it will take longer to go bad.
* Don't pump your mascara, this can dry it out quicker.
* Curl your lashes before applying mascara.
* Use a primer before you apply mascara to coat your lashes first.
* Start applying at the base of your lashes and wiggle left to right as you move your wand to the tips of your lashes.
* Add 2-3 coats for maximum drama.
* Choose the mascara that best suits your lash type, and get what you want out of it.

My favourite mascaras are ones that give maximum volume to my lashes, length is good, but I am more about volume. I want to look like I have more lashes than I have. Some of my favourites mascara to give me this include Maybeline's Lash Stiletto Voluptuous, Maybelline Colossal and Maybelline Full and Soft. Maybelline makes my favourite mascaras as you can tell.

What is your HG mascara and what do you look for in a mascara?

14 comments:

  1. this was useful ! great post !

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  2. Wowiee girl!! I used to have a lot of mascaras but I NEVER had as many as this. I stopped buying a bunch because I realized I'd always use just the one I loved and never use the others ..which caused them to dry out and it ended up being a waste (for me.) At least you USE a different mascara daily.

    Great tips. I think I do all of those things except for "curling the lashes before." I curl them before and after mascara and I KNOW it's bad but I can't help it! =P

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  3. @kali - a lot of those are garbage and I wouldn't dare put them up to my eyes cause they are totally expired. I just kept them around planning on doing a post like this comparing the brushes on them cause I thought it would be cool. ;)

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  4. Thanks for such a useful post. I envy your mascara collection

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  5. Great post! My HG is Hourglass. After researching drugstore and highend brands this is the ONLY mascara that curls my lashes naturally and does not smudge - yet isn't waterproof so its easy to wash off at the end of the day. Mascara is so subjective because what works on some won't work on others, etc.

    I also just read a Bobbi Brown tip on mascaras: clean the brush with a papertowel once a week to keep it from having old build up and you can run your mascara tube under warm water to re-liquify the mascara and redistribute it throughout the inside of the tube.

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  6. Such a great and useful post! Wow, you have a great collection of mascaras.. :D x

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  7. OMG I love you!!! I love the pic with all the wands together!! You rock!! Great post too!!

    (btw 30 mascaras? :O And I thought I had too many lol!)

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  8. thank you so much for the post. it was really helpful :) and WOW! you have a lot of mascaras ^ ^

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  9. @Lacquer - interesting tip, I have read that some girls clean their mascara wands like that, to get rid of the excess. I hate when you get that excess on the tip of the mascara wand..always happens to me.

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  10. Really useful tips :) Great post!

    http://honi.blogg.se

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  11. Awesome photos with the different mascara wands!
    My fave mascara is Dior Iconic, but since it's so damn expensive, I only pull it out for special occasions. For everyday, I layer Cover Girl lashblast over Clinque's long pretty lashes.

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  12. Thorough and bookmarkworthy! Props. :D

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  13. After literally yeeeeeaaaarrrsss of searching for my HG mascara and always coming close (it was L'Oreal Telescopic for quite a while), I finally found it in e.l.f.'s Mineral Mascara. I haven't had a bad lash day once since I started using it. They always look perfectly separated, long, and dark. No mess-ups. The brush, the formula, everything is perfect. You get a lot in the tube, and it's *3 bucks!!!* With as fast as I go through mascara, I won't fork out much for it, and now I don't have to. I like it better than Telescopic because it separates better and still gives the same blackness and length...and I like it better than CG LashBlast Fusion because the brush is smaller and really gets ALLL my lashes and makes them look longer than CG. Doesn't smudge, fade, or flake either. To me, it really is the perfect mascara. I'm gushing now, but I'm happy every time I put it on!

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  14. Haha this is the best mascara collection ever! Love it!! Great post, I too have a mascara addiction! :)

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