Mascara Buying and Wearing Tips

Nothing opens up the eyes like a good, lengthening, volumising, curling or darkening mascara, depending on what effect/ effects your eyes need. I've always been a huge mascara advocate because a perfect mascara goes a long way in making me feel good about establising eye contact with people. So I never leave home without a healthy coat of mascara.

Personally when I buy or sample a mascara, I make sure it is a non-waterproof product. For those who do not have sensitive, thus teary eyes, I recomend the washable types because A) it's easy to remove B) it does not dry the lashes C) so it's gentle and good for daily use.

If you are one who is sporty and active, especially at water sports (swimming, etc)and still want gorgeous lashes to charm-wink the hunk at the next swimming lane, a good waterproof mascara with long-staying power is crucial. You don't want something that claims staying-power but slowly grains out after an hour of pool chlorine! It's embarrasing, really.

Some people are generally allergic to certain products, so when your eye never stops tearing while sampling a product, skip it and move on. With waterproof stuff, you have to carefully remove all traces of colour and residue with an eye-make remover that works well for you too.

Correct application of mascara can really lengthen or curl up the lashes. Just hold the brush horizontally along the centre of upper lash line and start application from the base, gradually working your way to the outer and inner lash lines. The idea is to give a strong coat to the base. Then coat the full length of lashes. For an extra mm, you can apply some bit just at the lash tips but be careful not to over do it. Otherwise you'll end up with a 'crimped' effect, which can be quite freaky even on the prettiest of faces.

It is often recomended to curl your lashes before application but I find that with the above technique and the right mascara that does what it claims, I can still obtain fairly luscious and curled-up lashes!