longer lashes tips & tricks

Today I thought I would share some of the simple/easy techniques you can use to ensure your natural lashes are as long and lush as possible. When you aren’t wearing falsies, these are some of the ‘next best’ techniques that are easy, budget-friendly (you probably already have everything you will need) and won’t harm your natural lashes. And, btw, I usually like to start with curling my lashes plus I always use a BLACK mascara.

Four little tricks for longer lashes:

1.) Use a spare clean spoolie to coat lashes with foundation or concealer before applying mascara.

For this technique, preferably use a new or freshly cleaned spoolie to apply a thin coat of concealer or foundation to your lashes. You can either use your finger tip, a small brush, or a cotton bud to dab a tiny amount of foundation evenly to the spoolie end. Then brush it through your lashes to get a thin layer on each lash.

As with any makeup near your eyes, make sure to be careful not to get any actually in your eyes. And, I definitely would NOT recommend dipping the spoolie directly into the foundation or concealer (which probably goes without saying but there you have it).

After you have applied a thin coat, apply your mascara as usual. The foundation or concealer with give the chosen mascara a tad more surface area and grip to make your lashes appear fuller and enable them to gain additional length.

2.) I often use this particular trick! Layer two different mascaras on lashes.

Here are a few of my favorites:

I have so many great mascaras, I didn’t get them all in this pic. Lately I’ve been constantly using collab’s Love Your Curves Extreme Curl & Sculpt Extreme Black mascara (which you can find at Sally Beauty Supply) and an all time favorite is MAC’s Extended Play Gigablack Lash.

For this trick I try to start with a lengthening mascara and then follow that first coat up with a plumping or thickening mascara. If you are on the way to a wedding or a sporting event, you might use a waterproof mascara as your second coat in case of any tears and/or sweat (at either event). Really, though, I think this will work with any combination of any two mascaras. When I apply the second mascara I mainly focus on the lash ends (maybe the last third of the lash tips) to get them as long as possible.

3.) Similar to the foundation trick, my third solution for longer lashes is to powder bare lashes before applying mascara.

I use a small fluffy eye brush to lightly coat lashes with a loose, translucent face powder. And, again, be careful so as to not get the powder in your eyes.

I particularly like this way of adding length because any misplaced loose powder is very easy to brush away and you may be intending to follow-up with a loose powder under your eyes anyway. However, be aware, you may want to apply the powder to your lashes before applying any liquid eyeliner so that you don’t dull the impact or shine of your winged black liner (which I didn’t do here unfortunately).

The results:

and lastly. . …

4. Use a lash primer or conditioner. And, be mindful that you are following-up with a coat of mascara that starts at the base of the lashes.

This method may entail purchasing a new product. But, luckily, there are so many primers out there these days that finding one that fits your budget should be fairly easy. My favorite lash conditioner is currently is Grande Cosmetics Grande Repair.

Be careful not to get any mascara in your eye, as usual, but try to start pulling the mascara through your lashes starting as close to the base as is comfortable. As you pull the wand through your lashes add a rolling motion to make sure you are getting the best coat of mascara. Conditioner gives lashes a base to build color on top of and it also helps strengthen eyelashes. All good! Plus, starting your mascara as close to the base of the lashes as is possible will give lashes a thicker/lusher appearance.

Of course, if you are looking for drama (and who isn’t, right? lol) for a date night or night on the town with the girls, then false lashes are the way to go:

I hope this gave you some new ideas for getting the most out of your mascara. Let me know if you have any other tips for longer lashes. A lot of evenings I give my lashes a coat of Castor Oil before bed to help nurture them, but I’m not sure it’s having any effect.

I’d love to hear what you’ve found that really works!

Love,

Jen