Mascara

From Domicella's wikiStyle

Jump to: navigation, search

Mascara is a cosmetic that defines and brings color to the eye lashes, and highlights and dramatizes eyes.[1]

Contents

Picking the Mascara Color

Like most makeup elements, you can start picking a mascara color based on your skin, hair, and eye color. All suggestions in this section come from Jennifer Bailey’s “How to Find the Best Mascara for Your Complexion.”[2]

General Suggestions

  • Light Hair with Light Complexion - Try a transparent mascara that add thickness and make your lashes fuller without adding color at all. A great choice is clear mascara, which adds thickness and gloss without coloring at all.
  • Light Hair with Medium Complexion – Consider brown or brown-black mascara. The lighter your complexion, the more you should avoid pure black mascara. If you are one of those folks with black or very dark brown hair and fair skin, though, you may be able to get by with thick, ebony black lashes. Keep it a bit lighter for daytime wear and go dramatic at night.
  • Light Hair with Medium to Dark Complexion - Try brown-black instead of pure black shades. The added touch of brown keeps the black from looking too harsh for your complexion.
  • Dark Hair with Medium to Dark complexion – Consider a pure black mascara. Depending on the brand you choose, you can also pick black mascara that is available in Noire, a pure sable black.

Dramatic Color Suggestions

  • Blue eyes - Experiment with turquoise and indigo shades. Turquoise can brighten deep blue eyes and deepen paler eyes. Indigo and purple haze gives your blue eyes a dangerous depth.
  • Brown eyes - Blue shades can really bring those brown eyes out of hiding. Choose burgundy colored mascara to deepen brown or amber eyes, and pick purple to give your brown eyes a tinge of unexpected green.
  • Green and Hazel eyes - You can wear any shade and look spectacular, but burgundy and purple are surprisingly effective, especially if you are light-skinned and your hair tends toward auburn or red.

Dual Color Suggestions

If you are looking for something a bit more subtle but still want to add a bit of color to your lashes, several dual coat mascaras give you a base coat in black or brown and then let you add a slick of shimmery color that is barely visible. Each type of mascara may come with a base coat in brown or black, and a highlighting top coat that adds a shimmer of iridescence in silver, gold, copper, mahogany or blue. Which should you choose? Mahogany, copper and gold add warmth to a sallow complexion, while silver and blue can look great with a ruddy complexion.

Picking the Mascara Type

  • Curling – If you have difficulty using eye lash curlers, this is a great option. Also, if you found the mascara brushes awkward in the past the curve shape in this type of brush, may be more feature friendly to your eye shape.

Curling the eyelashes gives a wide-eyed look, creating larger looking, dramatic eyes. The formulation is thicker because of ingredients for hold and shape, like polymers. The wand will have bristles tightly spaced to help in the upward curl motion.[3]

  • Lengthening – This type of mascara is great for those with reasonably thick eyelashes, short or long, because the emphasis is on lengthening and maximizing each lash.

Lengthening mascaras focus on formulations that are less dense, with ingredients for easy glide and smooth even coverage that will reach the very tips (mascara application that effectively builds on the very tips is key to lengthening eyelashes). To assist with this, the wands tend to have bristles that are shorter and in more tightly packed groups, to ensure that every lash gets well coated in mascara, from base to tip. [3]

  • Volumizing (Thickening) – This mascara is great for small, sparse, fine and fair lashes as it is designed to build presence with color, thickness and lengthening.

Volume building mascaras build thickness to the lashes creating a stronger visual presence. With that in mind, the formulations have building ingredients like polymers and waxes that will help build on the lashes, as they are coated. The wands for this task tend to have longer, fine, evenly spaced bristles for maximum quantity and even coats.[3]

  • Waterproof - Consider it for the smudge resistance and longer wear. The formula uses sealants to coat lashes and prevent smearing. Try a hypoallergenic waterproof mascara if you wear contact lenses since it won't flake, irritate eyes or damage the contact lenses. You'll need waterproof makeup remover or another oil-based product to remove it.[4]

Application

  1. You can either curl your lashes before[1] or after[5] you apply mascara.[6]
  1. Remove the wand from the tube in one pull. Pumping the mascara will push air into the tube, potentially drying out the formula and introducing bacteria into it.[1] Try twisting the wand out instead.[7]
  1. Start with the upper eyelashes.
  1. Wedge the wand right against the roots and wiggle it before drawing it out. This makes the bases of the lashes appear fuller and thicker.[5]
  1. To elongate lashes, work from the outer to the inner corners of the eyes. You’ll deposit more on the corners that way. By the time you get to the inner corners, you’ll have just the right amount of mascara left.[5]
  1. Put on another coat only after the first coat is dry.[1] Alternatively, try adding a second coat on the outer corners only. You can also makes lashes mor lush by using two different mascaras. Apply a fat-brush volumizing formula first, then a lengthening formula on top.[5]
  1. To eliminate clumps, sweep a clean spooley brush through clumped lashes while the mascara is still wet.[5] Spoolies are disposable mascara wands. You can also recycle old mascara wands. Clean the wand in a capful of eye makeup remover, then wash with soap and dry. Keep it clean by washing it whenever you wash your makeup tools.[6]
  1. You can optionally put mascara on the bottom lashes. It will make your eyes look wider if you do.[6] However, use less mascara for the lower lashes. Begin where the lashes meet the rim of the lower eyelid, and gently stroke downward.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 http://www.ehow.com/how_158_apply-mascara.html
  2. ↑ http://www.articlesbase.com/cosmetics-articles/how-to-find-the-best-mascara-for-your-complexion-765503.html
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://www.beauty-and-makeup-tips.com/best-mascara.html
  4. ↑ http://www.mahalo.com/How_to_Apply_Mascara
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Allure. “Best Makeup Tips. Ever.” Pg 103. August 2008.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 http://beauty.about.com/od/mascara/a/mascara.htm
  7. ↑ Aucoin, Kevyn. “Making Faces.” Page 39.
Retrieved from "http://www.domicella.com/test/php/domicella/wiki/index.php/Mascara"