Paint Yo' Face: The One Thing You Can Never Leave Your House Without Wearing

Lauren did makeup in Barcelona. Doesn't that sound cooler than what you do? 

Our Paint Yo' Face series features weekly tips from professional makeup artists. This week, makeup maven and Brooklyn bombshell Lauren Stearley dishes on the importance of mascara. 

You’ve read the articles.  You’ve heard all the tips.  “Five-Minute Face!”  “Steps to getting the perfect face!”  “How to make the perfect smoky eye!”

I’m here to tell you that none of that matters unless you get one thing right:  mascara.

We’ve all done it.  You sleep past your alarm and you have five minutes to leave the house.  You throw on some clothes, throw your hair up in a bun, and what do you do next?  You only have time to apply one type of makeup.  What is the one thing that would make the most difference in your appearance?  The answer is not powder, blush or lipstick (although lipstick is a close second).  It’s mascara. 

Ladies, I can’t stress this enough.  I’ve seen tons of people get this wrong.  I’ve seen them wear a full face of makeup with no mascara.  I’ve seen them wear eyeliner with no mascara.  I’ve seen people with very light or blond lashes wear no mascara.  This is all wrong.  And it doesn’t look good.  I’m going to break it down for you real simple: whether you are leaving the house with no makeup or a full face of makeup: YOU MUST ALWAYS WEAR MASCARA.  No exceptions, no excuses.

The reason for this is, makeup is about defining and accentuating the different features of your face.  You always want to start with your eyes when you do this.  Applying mascara is the quickest, easiest way to define your eyes.  And then if you have a little extra time, you can apply a light or bold lipstick color. 

Now I’m going to give you some tips for achieving the best look.  These are tips the pros use and it’s the reason I can make you look like you have way more lashes than you can when you apply your own makeup.

#1 - Use a good mascara.  I have tried every mascara under the sun, and I swear by the original Diorshow in black 090.  It thickens and lengthens better than any formula (particularly Benefit Bad Gal Lash, which has almost the same brush) and the brush is great, so it also separates and you can really work the product into your lashes. 

#2 - As with any new mascara, when you first open a new bottle, the mascara is going to be very wet.  Therefore, it becomes very important to wipe the excess mascara off of the brush onto the inside of the bottle.  That way, you don’t get too much product on your lashes and you avoid the spider look.

#3 - NEVER under any circumstances pump your mascara.  All this does is cause your mascara to dry out faster by pumping air into the bottle.  If you need more product on your brush, insert the brush into the bottle, swoop the wand around the inside once, and remove.

#4 - When applying mascara, always work the mascara into every lash.  At MAC, we used to say “roll, wiggle, pull”:  roll the brush into the base of your lashes and wiggle as you pull from base to tip.  You want to make sure you coat every lash from the inside of your eye to the outside, root to tip.  In other words, don’t just swipe the front of your lashes a few times.

#5 - Start by putting mascara on the bottom lashes before you apply your first coat to the top lashes.  If you put mascara on the top first, you will get it on your upper eyelid when you look up to do the bottom.  Yes, always put mascara on the top AND the bottom lashes.

#6 - SEPARATE in between each coat with a clean mascara wand.  You want something that looks like a makeup brush with a mascara wand at the end. I love MAC brush #204.  Be sure to wash the brush regularly and gently with shampoo.  This will prevent the mascara from clumping.

#7 - The rule of three: I like to do 3 coats of mascara.  This works best if you wait for the mascara to dry down about halfway in between each coat, that way the lashes are still pliable, but not too wet, when applying the next coat.  I do two coats of Diorshow and the last coat on JUST the tips of your lashes for an extra pop of volume.  I sometimes switch to a different mascara that specializes in lengthening for the last coat.  My favorites are They’re Real! by BenefitCosmetics or Diorshow Iconic Overcurl, because I love the U-shape of the brush (the brush should also be in a U-shape when applying it against your lashes, not going along with the curve of your lashes).  Both of these products tend to be extra wet when you first open the bottle, so be sure to wipe off the wand.

If you follow these simple steps, you should be well on your way to long, luscious, beautiful lashes! 

Lauren Stearley has been a professional makeup artist for over 10 years.  She started her career working with MAC Cosmetics for four years and has been a freelance makeup artist ever since, having been hired in Barcelona, Spain, Washington, DC, Chicago and New York City.  She has done makeup for the New York Live television show, SELF Magazine, as well as several fashion photoshoots and weddings.  You can find her on her Facebook page at: facebook.com/laurenstearleymakeup.