Keep Calm and Up Your Eye Game

For as much as I love makeup, I am no good at anything that requires fussy application skills. This means that fake eyelashes and eyebrow pencil kits scare the living daylights out of me.

Don’t get me wrong—I love seeing people rock their own artificial lashes and perfectly-penciled brows. I just feel like I am doomed to failure if I attempt them on myself. (It’s the same way I feel about fedora hats.)

I have compensated for my fear by finding two products that raise my lash and brow game with minimal application stress. If you, too, have gotten sweaty palms just walking by the Arches and Halos display at your local Target, these products are for you.

L’oreal Voluminous Original Mascara

I’ve tried other mascaras that get hype, but I just keep coming back to this product. Why, you ask? Let me count the ways:

• The Price. At about $10 a tube, this mascara is a savvy buy. And because you can find it at Target, Walmart, Ulta, and most drugstores, you can frequently find deals or coupons that can be applied to lower this price.

• The Application. I love that this mascara can be layered on in multiple strokes until you get just the coverage you want without clumping. After curling my lashes, I typically start in the middle, and then work the wand across from the inner to outer lashes in 6-7 strokes, and each stroke just adds natural looking fullness, rather than dividing my lashes into spidery-looking sections.

• The Coverage. As the name suggests, this mascara helps to not only lengthen but also volumize my lashes. I have tried other higher-end mascaras, including Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions (see my review here), but to be honest, this one “plumps up” my lashes much better.

• The Wear. This mascara is sold in a waterproof formula, but the regular formula has very good staying power for daily sweat and oil. (I only wear the waterproof formula if I’m going to the pool/beach or planning to cry my eyes out, you know, watching Call the Midwife or Thanksgiving commercials for Publix). AND this mascara has passed The Zoo Test without smudging or flaking.

• The Colors. For those who love to spice up their eyelash game, this mascara comes in a variety of colors, with 3 shades of black, a Black Brown, Cobalt Blue, Deep Burgundy, Deep Green, and Deep Violet. I hope to be brave enough to try the Deep Violet one day, but so far, “Blackest Black” is as adventurous as I have gotten. #FedoraHats

Maybelline Brow Fast Sculpt Eyebrow Enhancer

Where has this product been all my life? For those of you who are unfamiliar with brow products, this is a brow gel, which comes in a tube and applies with a spoolie, much like a mascara. I have tried several brow items, but this zero-stress gel is the winner for the same reasons as the mascara:

• The Price. This is another savvy product, at about $9 a tube. Again, it is found EVERYWHERE, so take advantage of those deals and coupons!

• The Application. Fuss-free friends, look no further. To apply this gel, you simply pull the spoolie from the tube and work it in upward strokes from the inner part of your brow to the outer edge. Please note that the spoolie for this product has side with short bristles and a side with slightly longer bristles. You’ll want to use the longer bristles for simple, clump-free application.

• The Coverage. This works by simply plumping up your existing eyebrows. I also like to drag the bristles along the outer edge of my eyebrows, where I have overplucked through the years. The bristles work a bit like a brow pencil, adding just a whisper of color to fill in sparse patches and give my brows a full, even look.

• The Wear. This is another product that offers SERIOUS staying power. Once it dries (which is FAST), it stays all day and doesn’t smudge. I also like that it looks soft and natural, rather than stiff and obvious.

• The Colors. Y’all, my brows are going grey. I feel like this is just an insult, but what are your forties if not full of fun surprises? 😉 This is another reason I love this product—besides the clear gel, it comes in 7 shades, which you can match to your brow color. The medium brown gel I use camouflages my greys nicely.

There you go. Two savvy products that will make your eyes look awesome, lower your stress, and do your meal planning. (Well, two out of three ain’t bad…)

Shine on, lovelies!