July 4th came and went but the mascara mess is still there. I think I speak for many when I say one of the worst things about summer is keeping your makeup from crawling down your face. The sweat situation alone is a killer. Raise your hand if you've been personally victimized by your mascara. I know you've all, at one point or another, looking in the mirror only to see faint black streaks on your upper lids from blinking, or had to wipe away black residue from beneath your eyes. Don't go around blaming the shape of your or the bad, aged mascara you decided to use this morning. Fix it, once and for all. Stop walking around looking sloppy or deeply psychotic.
No, we don't mean your whole face, obviously we still want you to moisturize but try to avoid your eyelids. The more oil and creams you apply to your eye area, the more likely your mascara will have fun and move around. Change your eye cream routine to be nightly instead of daily. If you do feel that you need your morning eye cream, apply it early enough so you can give it 20 minutes to set and absorb before applying your mascara. If you tend to have oily eyelids, grab your favorite blotting sheet and after you cleanse and moisturize your face, gently pat your eyelids and under your eye to mattify your base. Oil inherently melts and dissolves the bonds of makeup -- especially mascara -- and this way you will be soaking up the excess oils BEFORE you start your makeup routine.
Buy this: Palladio Rice Paper Blotting Tissues (Shop Now)
Buy this: Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Blotting Sheets (Shop Now)
Fine, so you've gone through life without primer despite every single one of my attempts to get you to use it. You don't even own eye primer, you didn't even know it existed but it does and it serves a great purpose. Eye primer is extra but in a good way - it's here to mattify your eyelids making sure to keep everything in place. Not only will it keep your eyeshadow and liner from creasing and sliding but it will also prevent your mascara from leaving any marks and isn't that the whole reason you're reading this article anyway? Eye primer is the added barrier to the no cream, no oil movement. It will lock out everything you just did by blotting the excess oil and preventing it from shining through all day long.
Buy this: Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eyeshadow Primer (Shop Now)
Buy this: Urban Decay Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion (Shop Now)
Buy this: Too Faced Shadow Insurance 24+ Hour Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer (Shop Now)
Best trick in the book. Most people don't know or do this but one of the best ways to prevent accidental raccoon eye is with clear brow gel. Yes, the same stuff you're used to using to keep your brows in place also keep your mascara in place -- shocker! Clear brow gel is one of most underrated beauty products. If you don't have one yet, get one now. After you apply a few coats of your favorite mascara, go in with the clear brow gel over top. This will seal the mascara underneath and ensure it doesn't smudge, budge or leak all over your face. Make sure to give the brow gel some time to dry or else you will end up with black dots on your brow-bone. The best part is that brow gel doesn't add goop or bulk to your lashes and unlike waterproof mascara, it won't dry out and ruin your lashes.
Buy this: Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Brows (Shop Now)
Buy this: Glossier Boy Brow (Shop Now)
Buy this: Marc Jacobs Beauty Brow Tamer Grooming Gel (Shop Now)