Demystifying Mascara (Tips for Choosing Your Perfect One)

Mascara is one of the most relied upon beauty items in anyone's makeup arsenal. Our eyes are the most expressive and the strongest focal point of our faces, and applying a flick of mascara is the easiest way to accentuate them. Answering to our demand for luscious lashes,beauty brands launch more mascaras per year than any other type of cosmetic, and each and every tube is plastered with labels telling how the formula is "mega volume, endlessly lengthening, voluptuously curving", and so on. But what do all these labels actually tell us about how what the mascara will be like and how it will perform?

Lengthening: Lengthening formulas tend to be relatively lightweight and are, as the name implies, concerned with making the eyelashes look longer and more fanned out. Brushes on these can be either soft bristles, rubberized, or plastic, but natural bristles tend to be more common. Whether the bristles are of softer materials, rubber, or plastic, the individual spikes tend to be numerous and relatively long and thin (usually, the longer the length of the spike, the longer lash effect the mascara will give) and narrowly spaced, Often, brushes on lengthening mascaras taper into a cone shape on their tips, which help to reach the small lashes near the inner corners of the eyes and brush them out and stretch them upward Overall, the look is usually fairly soft and understated but extra sweepy, and fluttery.

Volumizing: Volumizing mascaras are aimed to create the appearance of thicker lashes as opposed to fanning or stretching them out. These mascaras are comprised of thicker polymers and waxes, which not only coat the lashes with bulk up the lashes by putting a thicker deposit of both color and formula upon them, but they can work by drawing the lashes closer together for a fuller effect. The look of a volumizing mascara is bold and is often much more noticeable than a lengthening mascara, especially from far away. They are an excellent choice for both glamorous looks and for photography to make the lashes really stand out. A downside to these formulas is that they are the likeliest to clump of any type of mascara, and as they get older and start to dry out, they can become more prone to flaking because of their denser pigment deposits. But for true drama, these are the best. Brushes on volumizing mascaras are usually natural fiber bristles, and as you probably would expect the individual spikes are larger and denser and are usually more broadly-spaced than with a lengthening mascara.

Lengthening and Volumizing All-in-One: Some mascaras do claim to both lengthen and volumize at once. Essentially, these seem like the perfect one-stop shop, but in many cases, I've found that volumizing and lengthening, sadly, never quite happen together with the same impact. In order to get a wispy, feathery lengthened look, the formula is often much thinner and won’t build the thickness (or volume) to the lashes. On the other hand, formulas that coat the lashes to really make them look super thick will probably weigh down the lashes to an extent, making them look fuller but not longer. When a formula claims to be both lengthening and volumizing, most often the volume wins out. That said, more and more mascaras with more refined and complex formulas are being introduced that give moderate amounts of both length and volume.

Defining: Despite its name, a defining mascara is the hardest to define. Technically, all mascaras define the lashes, but mascaras labeled as "defining" tend to only do just that. Their main purpose is covering and coloring each lashes and also are very good at separating them. Brushes on a defining mascara can be of any material, but rubberized bristles are often particularly good at separating the lashes and, therefore, are a great thing to look for in a defining mascara . The individual bristles on the brush of any defining mascara are usually medium length and density and are often very widely spread. This helps in getting each lash and also spreading them out, creating definition by simply giving you the look of more lashes. Defining mascaras are by far give the most natural look, but often, you’ll see lengthening and defining mascaras, which focus on adding moderate length but also capturing each lash and helping it to stand out.

Curling and Curving: This category of mascara may not be quite as common as the others, but these are definitely great option for those who like a curved lash effect but who, like myself, are not good with eyelash curlers or don't want to take the time to do the extra step. Still, the amount of curl any one curling or curving mascara will give can vary from person to person. Like the hair on our heads, how well our lashes will hold that shape (even if you do choose to use an eyelash curler before applying the mascara to amplify the effect) depends on biology and hair type more than the mascara itself, even if it has the bent or spoon-shaped brush usually found with these formulas. What curling mascaras are really effective at doing for nearly everyone, though, is lifting the entire base of the lashes to create a much more wide-open eye as a result. Because they sweep the lashes up curving formulas also often help the lashes appear longer. Volumizing and curling benefits are not usually found together because any formula that is dense enough to volumize will generally be too heavy to give the lashes good lift and curve.

Lengthening, volumizing, defining, curving, or some combination of any-- when it comes to mascara, great ones exist in every type and design. It all just comes down to whichever look you are going for in the moment and knowing, in turn, what to expect from each formula. But armed with this information, you'll be well on your way to finding your perfect mascara match!