Mascara Tips for Beginners | Flawless Makeup 101

(Last Updated On: June 3, 2023)

The makeup world and it’s trends are ever-changing, but one particular product has stood the test of time. Mascara has been around forever, and for good reason. It’s the perfect product for virtually every makeup look, no matter how dramatic or subtle.

But like with most makeup products, sometimes applying mascara can be tough, especially for a beginner. Between determining which type of mascara to use, and how exactly to apply it for a full lash look, things can get a little confusing.

But don’t sweat, here are 7 mascara tips perfect for beginners, or anyone who wants to step up their game for truly flawless lashes.

Mascara Tips for Beginners | Flawless Makeup 101

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Throw out that crusty mascara

Did you know that mascara expires 3 months after the first time you open it? Mascara actually has the shortest life span out of all makeup products. This is because it’s so easy to transfer bacteria from your eyes to the mascara tube, (which is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria), back to your eyes again. Using an old mascara can put you at a risk for eye infections, and that’s no fun.

Other than old mascara being kind of gross, you shouldn’t expect to get long, dramatic, flawless lashes when your mascara is two years old and crusty. Throw the tube away after 3 months and start off fresh!

Pro tip: buy travel size mascaras. That way you’ll either be able to use it all up within 3 months or you won’t feel as bad about tossing it. This works for both those who experiment with tons of different products and those who only wear makeup occassionally, this literally works for everyone and I rarely buy full sized mascara anymore!

Different mascaras do different things

You’ve probably seen mascaras labeled with different claims of what they’ll do for your lashes. Some are meant to make your lashes fuller and more dramatic while others are designed to lengthen and seperate your lashes, and some are made to do all the above. That being said, don’t expect a mascara that only claims to lengthen your lashes to give you that dramatic faux-lash look.

Figure out what you want your lashes to look like and choose accordingly.

I love a full lash look! Two of my all time favorite volumizing mascaras are the Benefit They’re Real Mascara and the L’Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara!

Layer

If you can’t choose just one mascara or if you’re a fan of various formulations that focus on different things, you can actually layer your mascaras! (And some people even swear that by doing this, their lash game becomes next-level).

You can use a lengthening mascara on top of a volumizing one, or the other way around. Play around with different pairings until you get your desired look.

Don’t pump your wand

Pumping your mascara wand is a major, but very common, mascara mistake. When you pump the mascara wand in and out of the tube, air can get in and cause, you guessed it, more bacteria to grow inside. Oh and, it also doesn’t even actually help coat the wand like intended.

For a mascara wand that’s covered in product, instead of pumping, twist and twirl the wand and pull it slowly out of the tube to make sure you’re covering the whole thing. You’ll actually be able to see how much more product you get out of the tube when you do it this way!

Mascara application

When applying mascara to your lashes, you want to start from the base of the lash and bring the wand up and outwards while you wiggle it slowly back and forth. This really helps coat all of the lashes for a full, dramatic look.

Don’t forget the details though! Make sure you run the wand over the top part of your lashes and you’re applying mascara on the area by the inner corner too. You might have to work a little slower, but the final look, aka fully coated, voluminous lashes, is totally worth it.

Fixing mascara mistakes

Mascara can be messy, and if you’ve ever gotten some on your face or eyelids and tried removing it while it’s still wet, you probably ended up with a huge smudge on your face that ruined the rest of your look, or at the very least was a total pain to get off.

This one is probably the most useful of all the mascara tips mentioned, seriously this little trick has saved my life.

If you accidentally get some mascara on your face, wait until it’s dry to remove it. When it’s wet, you’ll just end up smearing it and creating an even bigger mess. When you wait until it’s dry, you can just pick it off, and it’s as if it was never even there in the first place!

Remove it at the end of the day

You know how not removing your makeup at the end of the day is prob one of the worst things you can do to your skin? (In case you haven’t heard what exactly not removing your makeup before bed does, I go over it in my skincare mistakes post.) Not removing your mascara, and eye makeup in general, is no different.

Make sure you’re removing your mascara at the end of the day. But make sure youre removing it correctly. Don’t rub it off harshly. Instead, use a really good eye makeup remover, like the Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover, and take your time taking it off.

What are some of your best mascara tips?!

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