Easy Mascara Hacks for Amazing Lashes

Want beautiful lashes? Just swipe on some mascara. Simple enough and it works, right? But if you really want to take your lashes to the next level, these nine easy mascara tricks are simple, quick, and guaranteed to score you the longest, thickest, most incredible lashes ever.

Lashes look their thickest when the mascara goes all the way down to the roots. Trouble is, it’s hard to get it there without getting black gunk all over your lids. To combat this, take a business card and hold it at the base of your lashes, then swipe on mascara. The excess will end up on the card, not your lids.

Sometimes we forget just how delicate our little lashes are. Just like the hair on your head, your lashes need to be conditioned.

To do this, take the time to swipe on a special lash gel every night, or multi-task by using a mascara with conditioning agents already built in.

Thicker lash line

Create the illusion of a thicker lash line by tracing the inner rim of the upper lids with black eyeliner. Our pick: Avon True Color Glimmersticks Eye Liner in Blackest Black.

Remember to always apply two coats of mascara, waiting for the first coat to dry before applying a second coat. If you’re in a hurry, use your blow-dryer on the cold setting to dry your lashes gently and quickly in-between coats. This will go a long way in avoiding lash-clump and that row of little dots that happen when wet lash tips touch just beneath the brow bone.

Avoid infections

To avoid eye infections, we highly recommend replacing your tube every three months. If your mascara gets gunky before that time though, blast the outside of the tube with a blow-dryer for 10 seconds to temporarily thin it out and make it easier to apply.

If you're struggling to get that last bit out your mascara tube and it hasn’t yet reached its three-month expiration date, pop the tightly closed tube into hot water to loosen the last of the product from the sides.

Taking care of your mascara

To keep your product in the best condition, try these mascara hacks:

Clean the wand for best results.

Cover the mascara tube and soak the wand in hot water for five minutes to loosen gunk and clean the bristles. Make sure it’s completely dry before placing it back in the tube.

Swivel the wand. Never pump your mascara wand into the tube! All you’ll do is force air into the wand and suck moisture out, which means it will dry out quicker. The professional technique for getting more lash-lengthening formula onto your brush is to open the tube just a little, then swivel the wand around inside the tube to coat the wand without letting air inside.

Go vertical

After swiping on your mascara as you’d usually do, try holding your wand vertically and touching the tip of the brush to each individual lash. This is a mascara trick used by most makeup artists. It takes just seconds, but adds tons of extra length.

Curl without a curler

If you don’t have an eyelash curler handy, try pressing a spoon against your eyes for a few seconds before applying mascara. The curvature of the spoon will cause lashes to bend gently.

For instant length, try a mascara with heart-shaped, lash-hugging fibers that locks onto lashes like Avon True Color Multi-Finish Eyeshadow Quad.

If you just can’t do without your lash curler, here’s a helpful makeup artist mascara trick:

Heat your eyelash curler with your blow-dryer (this has a similar effect to curling your hair around a brush and applying heat for extra curl). Once heated, try the warmth on the back of your hand first so you don’t burn yourself, then curl your lashes as usual.

And for another mascara trick: instead of clamping down a few times on your lashes then swiping on your mascara, first start with your lash curler at a 30 degree angle and clamp at the roots for 15 seconds. Do this at the middle of your lashes and again at the ends for a more dramatic curl.

Stop clumps before they start

After pulling your wand from the tube, take a makeup remover and clear away any big globs of product. Removing the excess before you start swiping means it won’t end up on your lashes! If your mascara has thickened, use a blow-dryer or glass of warm water as mentioned earlier, to thin out and de-clump your mascara.

Another great way to de-clump lashes is to comb through them with a clean toothbrush.

If it’s already too late and you’ve ended up with smeared mascara, make sure you don’t attempt to remove it while it’s still wet – you’ll only smear it even more. Once smudges have dried, you can do one of two things: take a stiff synthetic makeup brush and flick the mascara off or carefully roll a Q-tip over the dried mascara mistake to remove the smudge without taking off your eyeshadow.

If you regularly end up with clumped lashes and smeared mascara by the middle of day, it might be oil that’s the culprit and not your mascara. Some eye creams and emollient concealers have a high oil content and may break down the mascara when you blink over a period of hours. If your eye cream and concealer have been matched to your skin type, there’s no need to stop using them. Just use a fine-milled powder under the eyes and make sure the area is dry to touch before applying mascara.

Tried everything and you’re still smearing? Here’s a professional anti-smudge mascara trick:

Swipe on your regular mascara then follow with a coat of waterproof mascara. A waterproof mascara is good at holding curl and keeps your mascara from smudging throughout the day. And there’s another bonus to this method – your waterproof mascara will be much easier to remove at the end of the day!

Powder your way to bolder lashes

Apply one coat of mascara, then brush translucent face powder (yes, really!) on the top and bottom lashes with a fluffy eyeshadow brush. Finish with another coat of mascara to lock it in. The powder adds heft and length - it’s an old makeup artist trick for gorgeous mascara—and it totally works!

For bolder lashes, even if yours tend to be naturally thin, start applying your mascara at the root of your lash, moving the wand back and forth lightly whilst moving carefully outward. This way your lashes are less likely to droop because most of the product will be at the root of the lashes and not the tip.

You can also thicken thin lashes by coating both sides of your lashes with mascara. Begin by carefully swiping the top of the lashes downward, then the bottom of the lashes upward as you’d usually do.

Another mascara hack that works to plump up lashes is to use liquid concealer on the lashes before applying your mascara. You can use a small brush to comb the product through, then wait for it to dry before topping with mascara.

What do you think? Will you be trying any of these hacks?

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