This week Birchbox blogged about the Bare Lash trend of New York Fashion Week 2013. It would seem that many labels, including DKNY, Lacoste and Phillip Lim sent their models down the runway without mascara. You can check out the Birchbox post here
Personally, I don’t get it. Why would you go with out mascara? Admittedly I am not five feet eleven and a size four and it is not my job to promenade up and down a catwalk with a long swan like neck and long elegant limbs. I am short and round and beauty obsessed. I wear make up at least five days a week and I eat too much cake. For me – mascara is a necessity not an option in all of my make up looks. It provides great definition to the eyes and increases the amount of light that hits the iris which means that your eyes appear more open ie bigger. Essential as my eyes, especially the left one is getting more hooded. Why would you forego it – even in a natural look?
For high days and holiday, where previously I would have considered using false lashes, I am currently using J’ouvert’s Drama Lash Mascara. It is a beautifully presented two mascara system that consists of a waterproof mascara and fibres.
The process is the you apply the waterproof mascara as a first coat. This formula is not super lengthening or volumising but it does a great job of separating the lashes
This is then followed by a coating of fibres, which is then followed by a final coat of the water proof mascara. You basically create a sandwich of the fibres. You can create two or three fibre sandwiches and as long as the fibre has been coated by the waterproof mascara I find that there is no flaking.
I love it. You can apply the fibres just to the end of the lashes to create length. To the root of the lashes to create volume or sweep the wand from root to tip to create both. It creates a false lash look but with much more flexibility so you get to create the exact look that you want. I like to apply the fibres just to the outer third of my lashes to emphasise a cat eye. Load up the fibres at the base of the lash for a volumising look with a smoky eye and when I do a statement lip it is all about the length. The benefit of J’ouvert’s Drama Lash Mascara system over false lashes is that you don’t create the thickness at the root of the lashes that you can get with a false lash, so it maximises that eyeshadow that you apply to the mobile lid as you don’t have to do a thick sweep of mascara (although if you do it will still look amazing).
My technique is to hold both tubes in one hand and unscrew the lid of both before application. Apply one eye first and then the other. Waterproof, fibre and waterproof on one eye and then the other. Easy. A tip is not to open your eyes widely as sometimes a few of the fibres can fall into the eye – this will be a bigger issue if you wear contact lenses. You can also use the fibres with your own mascara too which is an added bonus
There are lots of fibre lash extenders on the market but the fibres in the J’ouvert system are black rather than white which to makes more sense since the mascara that I am applying is black. J’ouvert is also generally better value, as you get both mascara and fibres for the price of just the fibres from many other system.
So, the Bare Lash trend is not one that I will be trying. Will you?