Suddenly, my mascara routine has been shaved down to five minutes from 20.Allow me to explain why anyone needs 20 minutes to slick on product on such a tiny bunch of little hairs.
My lashes tend to collapse from its time with the curler when they are too heavy. This is particularly so with the left eye because it's a single eyelid there. Double lids on the right make that side easier to work with. Also, I have oily lids, which means I get mascara migration and end up with smudged undereyes and flaky bits on my cheeks after some hours.
So no heavy fibres or thickening formulas, not as a first coat anyway. And always water and sebum-resistant.
I've experimented with lots of brands - L'Oreal, Maybelline, ZA, Helena Rubinstein, Lancome, Chanel, Clarins, Kose, Shiseido and MAC all left me with something good and bad to say but generally my trials have led me to the following regime.
Ipsa Optimum Balance as a first coat - it has the finest, tiniest fibres I've ever encountered and maintains a curl like you're born with it. After which I use Deja Vu Fiberwig at the ends to lengthen and finish with Kose Mascara Fantasist to thicken and blacken. Finally I finish with Clarins Fix Mascara, which is clear and acts as excellent resistance against oil and water.
Yesterday, I finally ripped open the Fasio mascara I bought a while back. I've been keeping it sealed because I have 60 - 70 mascaras and opening one more just made me feel a little bad. I bought it after watching Queen (Taiwanese variety programme) when makeup artist/stylist Kevin said it has very light fibres.
It's damn good. All I needed was one coat and suddenly, my lashes were longer and sooty black. The curl stayed put and before I knew it, I was done. I added on two or three more coats for good measure and it's almost like falsies. Throughout my time out from 5pm to 3am, there was absolutely no smudging and the curl never once drooped. Take into account that I did rather a bit of walking and it was horribly humid yester-evening, I was impressed.
Just a couple of issues with it. It tends to look a little clumpy here and there which results in a rather scary looking stiff lash but it might be due to my application - it takes time to get used to a product and deduce the best way to apply it. It might be due to how it hardens so quickly and resolutely, I'm not quite sure yet.
Also, I wish it could thicken, then my mascara routine would truly be down to just one product. But one cannot ask for too much so I think I'll just go get the volumising formula. At around $14, it's hardly expensive.
A grouse that I've heard is that it's difficult to remove and requires the Fasio brand of makeup remover. Well I went at it with my normal Clarins eye makeup remover and it came off fine, although it did take longer than with my usual mascaras. I'll try it with the Fasio one as well to see if it makes it easier but honestly, given its benefits, I think it's worth spending a bit more time on the cleansing. And even if you do have to buy the Fasio remover, it's not going to hurt the wallet.
On the whole, damn good buy!
(I still feel like replenishing my Ipsa Optimum Balance mascara though. But at $49, it's a little... extravagant. Shall just sit on the urge for the moment.)
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