This story has been updated since it was originally posted on 04/22/2022
Whether you’re aiming for sky-high lashes or just a subtle oomph to brighten your eyes instantly, mascara serves many purposes in any great makeup look. Along with eye-opening liner, under-eye concealer and glowing contour, mascara is an essential tool in anti-aging beauty.
We checked in with professional makeup artists for a quick, easy, timeless and helpful hack to help you master mascara application to capture that youthful, radiant and wide-awake look you’re aiming for. Read on for tips and suggestions from experts Vivi Mintara, professional make-up artist and the founder of Eye Makeup Lab and Natasha Moor, professional makeup artist and founder of Natasha Moor Cosmetics.
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How To Lift Your Eyes With Mascara
As it turns out, creating the illusion of an eye lift using just your mascara is as simple as nailing Moor’s go-to technique. She explains that after you’ve curled your lashes, you should “look down and apply mascara as close to your waterline as possible” for your top and bottom lashes. “Wiggle the wand and lift. Repeat,” she adds.
It’s important to note that you should also ensure you’re choosing a mascara with the right kind of wand; Moor suggests a slightly tapered one. Using this wand, she says you should “lift the lashes on the inner and outer corners of your eyes to give the illusion of a lifted face,” as this “helps your face to look more chiseled as it lifts the eye.” Voila!
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Use Waterproof Mascara & Heat Your Eyelash Curler Beforehand To Avoid Smudging
Moor’s eye-lifting mascara hack can only do so much to make you look younger—if your mascara runs or smudges, that’s going to negate the anti-aging look! To avoid smudged mascara (which can certainly age anyone and highlight one’s under-eyes), Mintara stresses the importance of using waterproof mascara. “The worst thing that contributes to an aging effect when it comes to mascara is when it starts running onto your eyelids and into wrinkles,” she says. “To avoid this, you should make an effort to use waterproof mascara, and you should always heat your eyelash curlers before using them.”
This, she says, will hold the curl in place for much longer, and it will reduce the risk of transference from your lashes to your skin. “However, you should wait for the eyelashes to cool a bit before applying the mascara, or you will heat up the product and cause it to have a runnier consistency,” she advises. Using a blow dryer is a quick way to add heat to your metal curler, and this can have a ‘curling iron’-like effect on your eyelashes, which will then be emphasized by the waterproof mascara for a voluminous, youthful look. Noted!
