Mascara

The choice of mascara is overwhelming.  There are a few things to look out for when you're choosing a mascara; you want one that isn't going to flake or smudge.  Apart from that, it's very much down to personal choice.  What some love, others may not.  

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Types of Mascara

Some mascaras lengthen, others volumise, making lashes look fuller.  Many do both.  How well they do this job depends not only on the formula, but on the brush as well.

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Big brushes such as the one found in Benefit's Badgal make sure that every single lash gets coated.  These are good if you wanna build up the volume of your lashes.

Comb brushes  separate every lash, fanning them out and stopping them clumping.  You should look for a brush like the one found in Clinique's High Lengths Mascara if you want to lengthen your lashes.

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Curved brushes like Rimmel'sVolume Fax The Max Bold Curves's brush, help lift and curl the eyelashes.

Synthetic brushes don't hold as much product as bristle brushes.  This means you can build up the product you use without clumping.  Try Benefit's They're real.

Spherical brushes aren't seen very often, but the brush on Givancy's Phenomen'eyes allows you to get every single lash, including those hard to get ones on the inner and outer corners of your eyes.

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For the most part, it can be hard to tell just how a mascara forumla does what it does.  Consistency plays are part in how it is applied, and how deep the colour is contributes to it's overall effect.  However, there are some mascaras that lengthen and thicken lashes a little differently.  These mascaras use fibers which latch on to the lashes, literally building length and volume. 

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The base coat in L'Oreal's Double Extension Beauty Tubes Mascara wraps around the lash, forming a tube which extends the length of your lashes.

ModelCo's Fibre Lash Brush on False Lashes Mascara coats the lashes with tiny white fibers, building both length and volume before topping it with black mascara.

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To waterproof, or not to waterproof?

Waterproof mascaras are great for times when you might end up in tears (I always use waterproof mascara when I'm doing weddings), or for days at the beach or at the pool.  However, they tend to leave lashes feeling far more stiff, and brittle, and they're a lot harder to take off than regular mascaras, which means more tugging at the delicate eye area.  For this reason, I recommend regular mascara for every day use.  For the most part, these days even normal mascaras will hold up ok in a bit of rain. Save the waterproof stuff for days when you know you're gonna need it.

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Rimmel The Max Volue Flash Waterproof Mascara has held up for me on underwater shoots, so I definitely recommend this one!

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Mascara Colours

The most popular mascara colour is black.  Everyone can pull of black mascara, even blondes.  If you want a less dramatic look you can always opt for brown mascara.  This looks a bit more natural, and is good for the 'no makeup' look.  The next step down from that is clear mascara.  This creates very subtle definition.  I usually just use clear mascara to help  tame unruly brows!

There are two types of coloured mascara; subtly coloured mascaras that are black, which just a slight tinge of colour, meant to enhance your natural eye colour, and bold, brightly coloured mascaras.  The former is easy to wear, but the latter is a bit harder to pull off.  If you're going for brightly coloured lashes, try just a simple bold, black cat eye liner. 

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L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Luminizer comes in three shades, blue for blue eyes, purple for hazel eyes, and green for green eyes.  The colour is so subtle that you can wear it just as you'd wear black mascara.

Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effet Faux Cils Luxurious Mascaracomes in a number of shades, including black, blue and violet.  Unlike some brightly coloured mascaras which can clump, this has a great formula.