Mascara Hacks That Will Up Your Eye Makeup Game

No matter the makeup look you prefer, mascara is a common staple in everyone's makeup bag. Whether you're after the clean-girl natural look or dolled-up glam, mascara is essential. We all have favorite facial features to highlight but mascara is the one product most people say they cannot live without, as the formula can truly change your look. It enhances the eyes by darkening, lengthening, and volumizing your lashes. This leaves an overall appearance of brighter, larger eyes that will have you looking years younger, according to the president and creative director of Anastasia Beverly Hills Claudia Soare (via Today).

The general application of mascara is simple, as the directions on most packages say to run a spoolie covered in mascara through your top and bottom lashes. Though the application of mascara is seemingly easy, just like with all makeup products, there are so many hacks that can make the process easier and more effective. Running the spoolie once through your lashes with no prep or other details may not even make a dent in your appearance. Luckily, we have curated six mascara hacks to help you step up your eye makeup game.

Lash curlers are essential before using mascara. Without curling your lashes, the volumizing and lengthening effect of mascara has no room to shine. Heating your lash curler will take this essential step to the next level. Simply heat your lash curler by blow drying the top of it for around 10 to 15 seconds. "When you're heating up your lash curler, have the curler open so you're getting most of the warmth on the metal part at the top of the curler," New York makeup artist Sophia Vallejo tells Byrdie. Then use the curler as you normally would, getting as close to the lash line as possible without clipping your lid.

If you are a little messy when it comes to applying your mascara, you're not alone! Shaky hands and unexpected interruptions when applying mascara can cause big messes. Makeup guru Jovita George posted a video to YouTube showing the credit card hack, which is a great option to avoid messes. Using a credit card or any thick piece of paper, you can create a boundary between your skin and lashes when applying your mascara. This will prevent all that mascara on your face that leaves you frustrated, running late, and cleaning up black dots from where they clearly do not belong.

Perhaps the most common way to get long, clump-free lashes is with the wiggle trick. The hack blew up on social media back in 2018 when celebrity makeup artist Georgie Eisdell shared a video of it on Instagram. To try the hack yourself, simply start at the base of your freshly-curled eyelashes and push up while wiggling the wand slightly back and forth. This will lift the lashes and cause a fan effect at the top, for the longest, most-separated lashes possible.

Did you know that makeup can expire? Most people don't realize that makeup has an expiration date the same way food does. If they do realize it, many choose to ignore it, but this can lead to the makeup being ineffective or even dangerous. Using expired makeup will downgrade your eye game, as it most likely will be too dry and clumpy to work, and can possibly even cause an infection. The FDA recommends mascara be thrown out three months after purchase.

Changing your brush angle may sound odd, but it can add to the overall effect you are trying to achieve with your mascara look. Whether you are looking for length, volume, or thickness, this hack will do the trick. "Holding the brush horizontally and wiggling it back and forth will give you voluminous lashes while holding it vertically and running the tip of the brush along the length of your lashes will leave you with a longer, more natural look," beauty expert Brooke Shunatona tells Cosmopolitan.

Model Twiggy inspired us all with her iconic spider lashes in the 1960s. If you are looking to get this look in 2022, we have the perfect hack for you! Begin by using the tip of the spoolie to lightly coat your bottom lashes. Speaking to Byrdie, Vallejos warns not to "overcoat them with too much product" at first, as you will eventually add more. Then, apply mascara to the tips of your tweezers. Use the tweezers to clump sections of your lashes together from corner to corner. You can repeat with your top lashes or do them as normal.