Amplify your eyelashes with the right mascara.
By Tanya Sharma
Licensed Cosmetologist
If you’ve long wished you could maximize your lashes with just a quick flick of your hand, you’d probably be interested to learn that a mascara for short fine eyelashes may be just what you need.
While there is a mascara out there to serve every unique purpose, often the trick is to find the one that actually meets your needs and makes a visible difference. This can certainly be challenging, but once you’ve narrowed downexactlywhat you need, your choices will become clearer.
What to Look For
Before you go out and splurge on a handful of mascarasthat all promise to amplify, lengthen, add volume, curl, strengthen or otherwise perform some sort of miracle, dig a bit into the exact type of product you’re really after. If your lashes are short, sparse, fine or brittle, you require a mascara that adds some muscle, strength and length to them.
Choosing a Mascara for Short Fine Eyelashes
The good news is that short lashes can be transformed quite easily into full, lengthy lashes. While it’s important to select the right formula, it’s also helpful to pay special attention to the brush.
Cosmetic companies are now offering brushes that are much more untraditional in shape than the typical style. These are designed to conform to specific types of lashes and make them look fuller and shapelier. Ideally, individuals with short lashes should opt for a smaller brush that dispenses just the right amount of product to each individual lash and also makes for easier application. (Using a larger brush can easily wreak havoc on short lashes – think smudging and messiness.)
*.Leave it to MACto create one of the most effective mascaras out there. When it comes to building up your lashes and faking looks you’d only see on the red carpet, the False Lashes Waterproofis a must-have. This mascara wears well throughout the day and is clump-proof.
*.Jane Iredale’s Longest Lash Mascarainstantly thickens, lengthens and conditions the lashes. Its small brush is just perfect for reaching the innermost lashes, and it’s available in six colors (including an autumn-appropriate ripe plum and a smoldering slate grey).
*.Your commitment to going green touches every aspect of your life – so why not mascara, too? Eco-friendly brand Tarte Cosmetics has introduced its Best in Faux Lash Mascara, with a natural formula that’s meant to decrease environmental harm thanks to its recycled aluminum packaging. Enriched with rice bran wax and mineral pigments, it instantly volumizes, lengthens and even adds a little curl to the sparsest lashes.
Beyond Mascara
Today, there are more products than ever before designed to amplify the appearance of short lashes. These newcomers promise to treat the lashes with the care they desperately need but rarely receive!
*.Just as you condition your hair to keep it soft and silky, you should treat your lashes to a similar treatment. The Peter Thomas Roth Lashes to Die For Nighttime Eyelash Conditioning Treatmentmight be a mouthful, but it’s worth the few moments it takes each night to apply. Thanks to its vitamin-rich formula, it works over time to enhance the length, fullness and thickness of lashes, in addition to encouraging softness and providing constant nourishment. Even safe for individuals with sensitive eyes, the formula is dermatologist-tested.
*.Short, fine lashes are prone to brittleness and breakage, so it’s important to prevent damage if possible. In addition to removing eye makeup gently, use Revitalash Eyelash Conditionerto thicken hair and condition lashes. Perfect to use either on its own or as a pre-mascara treatment, it promises to strengthen lashes over time.
Mascara Bases
Once you’ve applied your mascara, you’ll revel in how fabulous your lashes look. But you may also cringe in horror when you check your reflection several hours later and spot that dreaded raccoon eye you’d hoped to avoid.
More and more manufacturers are coming to the rescue with mascara bases that work much like foundation primers- their job is to protect the lashes while ensuring that your mascara lasts the day. They also often enhance the effects of the mascara, so it’s certainly an option worth considering if your lashes require special attention. One to try is Lancome’s Cils Booster.
The Bottom Line
Determining which mascara is right may require a bit of trial and error. You’ll also need to determine just how much you’re willing to spend, taking into consideration how long it takes you to get through a tube of mascara. If you use it often and find yourself with an empty tube in a matter of weeks, you may not be as inclined to splurge on a high-end brand. Often, the cheaper brands are as efficient and reliable as their high-end counterparts.