BACK TO BASICS | Mascara

Mascara is often touted as a 'desert island' product and no wonder. It makes the eyes look bigger, brighter and more defined. The ancient Egyptians were the pioneers of eye makeup, with both sexes using Kohl to deepen and thicken the lashes and to define the eyes. They believed darkening the eyes would ward off evil spirits and protect the soul. Today, eye makeup is used for quite a different purpose.

Women all over the globe covet long, thick, dark lashes. Along with a small nose and full lips, big eyes are recognised as a highly attractive trait. Current beauty standards tell us that these features are desirable and that we must try to achieve them, but we all have to work with what we've got and learn to appreciate own facial features. Avoid comparing yourself to models in (photoshopped) advertisements - all eye shapes are beautiful and can be gently enhanced with the clever use of cosmetics. 

MASCARA 101

1. Your mascara must be replaced every three months for hygiene reasons. Generally it will dry out around this mark and won't perform as well.

2. Avoid pumping your mascara wand in and out - this will push air into the tube and cause your mascara to dry out faster.

3. When your mascara is new, it will be very wet, and there can often be excess product on the brush. Blot the brush with a tissue before application to avoid clumpy lashes.

4. Wiggle and zig-zag the brush through the lashes slowly, from the base to the tips. This gives better coverage, separation and length than lightly brushing the mascara on repeatedly.

5. Angle your brush out through the three different sections of the eye (pictured above). This will direct the lashes in each section up and out in the right direction and give you more control. 

6. Mascara brushes are as important as the formula. Curved brushes help with curling, fat brushes are great for volume, and small straight brushes are excellent for definition and separation. 

7. If you get mascara on your skin, always wait for it to dry completely before buffing it off with a cotton bud. This will prevent it smudging into your makeup.

8. For blue eyes, try a brown or bronze mascara.

9. A deep purple mascara will make green eyes pop.

10. Brown eyes look deeper and enhance with a navy or blue mascara.

11. Apply mascara to your lower lashes first. This will prevent dots on your eyeshadow from looking up with wet upper lashes.

12. If you are enhancing your look with false lashes, apply these after mascara. This will help to support the false lashes. Apply a little extra mascara to the tips of the falsies afterwards if you desire.