As a longtime member of the straight lashes community, I’ve tried at least 20 mascaras in an attempt to get mine to have some sort of volume or curl. Over the years, I’ve had success with some, and others have, well, fallen as short as my lashes appear. Though getting them to appear voluminous and fluffy could easily be solved by just getting a pair of falsies, I was not blessed with the skill to apply them correctly, and I’m too paranoid about my eyes getting damaged to try lash extensions.
But I know I’m not alone in the “barely there” lash category and because of this, I figured it was time to ask the professionals which mascaras I — and people like me — should be using to get actually positive results. So, I reached out to Verónica Gaona, a New York City-based makeup artist, and Kierra Lanice Wray, a Michigan-based makeup artist, for application tips and advice about the best ones to buy.
One of the key gems of advice Wray told me was to not sleep on the priming process — it’s not just for foundation and eye shadow! “Don’t be afraid to layer by conditioning and priming the lashes prior to the mascara application,” Wray said.
Adding a mascara primer to your makeup routine can give you a fresh base to work off of and enhance the health of your lashes so they respond better to the mascara. (Psst — we also included Wray’s primer recommendation below.)
