Monday 23 March 2020

Make-Up Monday #2 Voluminous Lashes


If I was only allowed to wear one makeup product again for the rest of my life, it would be mascara. A day without mascara for me is a day when I have nowhere to go. It's become as everyday a routine as putting on my clothes. Lashes are such a personal preference. Some of us like voluminous, big lashes; others go to the greater extreme of wearing falsies on the regular; some people like a super natural look or no mascara at all. This post is all about how to pump up on the volume in a way that could be worn every day without people double-taking at you in the office (in a bad way!)

EDIT: How things change! I wrote this a few weeks ago now and (as things stand today) there's no 'going to the office' for most people now; also, the phrase 'nowhere to go' made me laugh! But, as posted about yesterday, I fully intend to keep up some kind of makeup routine most of the time, just as I did before. Not to impress anyone, not to hide anything, just to feel 'normal' and 'sane'. So if you do want to hear about frivolous things like really great mascaras...


I'm currently lucky to have fairly long and naturally curved lashes, so I don't want to suggest that everyone will get the same results as me; however I am going to recommend two mascaras that are very different in many ways, but both give great volume to the lashes. If one brush type doesn't work for you, the other might be a better option.

The first is one that I have gone back to time and time again and that is Stila's Huge Extreme Mascara which I would call moderately priced at £15 and comparable to any high end mascara. It has a large-ish, hourglass-shaped bristle brush which packs a lot of product on the lashes without huge amounts of clumping. You can quickly build up volume and fan out the lashes with careful application. It can be a little messy (but so can any mascara), so I keep a cotton bud soaked in micellar water on hand to tidy up the upper eyelid. Two coats of this provides me with the lashes pictured below.



To separate lashes and add buildable volume, I've found a real gem recently! I also like to use this petite, plastic-brushed wonder after the Stila to comb through any slightly clumpy lashes. The mascara I am mentioning is from Beauty Pie, the beauty subscription website that enables you to buy quality products at a discounted price. It is called Flash False Lash Mascara and costs (at time of writing) £3.83 to members! EDIT: Incidentally, Beauty Pie is so worth looking into. The company is a relatively young business which has had big success, but still needs support. The company has a big heart having recently made steps to give subscribers free subscriptions for at least two months-- amazing news for those who will struggle financially at this difficult time.

I didn't have overly high expectations of this mascara, but wanted to try it because I have found two mascaras in the past with tiny, plastic brushes that pack a punch on application. Both of these have been discontinued or are no longer readily available (Mac's Upward Lash and Isadora's Volume Instant Effect), so when I saw Beauty Pie's mascara, I was aware that it had potential.


And my gosh, it really does make an impression! As with any mascara, it takes a few uses for it to come into its own, and then what you have is a medium wetness formula which separates beautifully and can be built up to get real drama. If you have smaller eyes or smaller lashes, this brush type might work better for you as you can get into the roots and side lashes really nicely. The other wonderful thing about this mascara is the price. I was tempted to use two exclamation marks above (but the teacher in me held me back!) This is cheaper than most drug store/ high street brand mascaras, but works better than most (a LOT better). Moving forward, I know I'll have my head turned by other new products, but I think having a back up or two of these is going to be inevitable. At the price, it makes sense to make this my regular everyday mascara.
Beauty Pie (Left); Stila (right)

Tip: if you want to add some mascara to bottom lashes without them looking like insect legs, apply, then get a wet cotton bud and jiggle it along (and under) the bottom lash line to remove excess and tone down the look. I usually don't bother with bottom lashes, but I did this today and it worked out well.





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