Eyelash Mojo

Hello, faccia bellas!  It was a long, trying summer quarter in grad school, but now I'm back and blogging with vengeance.

I have been all about mascara lately. I've been testing some different ones and my eyelashes have got some major mojo going on. I'm batting them all over South Jersey.

"Deanna," you say. "Please tell us the secret!"

Here's my arm. Twist it. Alright I'll tell you! (said in Danny Zuko fashion).

In my quest for getting the longest lashes possible, I found the absolute BEST mascara in the whole wide world. I didn't find it at Walgreens. I didn't find it at CVS. I didn't find it a Target, either. My discovery came at Sephora (big surprise). It was recommended to me by a sales girl (sorry, I don't have an entertaining story about it), and it is worth every penny of the $23.00 I spent.

"TWENTY-THREE DOLLARS FOR MASCARA!" some of you may be crying.

My response, "IT'S WORTH EVERY PENNY!"

It's called They're Real! Mascara by benefit, and the first time I put it on, I actually saw my eyelashes lengthen before my very own eyes. It got the name because people will not believe that you aren't wearing falsies.

Click here to read reviews on Sephora.com. I found out yesterday that Ulta carries it also.

Now, if you do not want to spend $23.00 on mascara, that is understandable. My drug store suggestion?
L'Oreal Telescopic Carbon Black, as recommended by one of my favorite beauty gurus, Carli Bybel. Walgreens sells it for $9.99 and L'Oreal makes a couple different versions of it, but I found that it lengthens the lashes very well.

If you'd like to see for yourself how it works, click here to see Carli Bybel's tutorial. I do not put on as many coats as she does, but it gives you a good idea of how the product works.

I use both of these products and can attest to their lengthening abilities. Both also claim to add volume to your lashes, and I guess they do, but not enough for me. So I discovered a trick. Another one of my favorite beauty blogs is Makeup Geek.com and Marlena loves to use L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black. Based on her recommendation, I purchased it at Target for $5.89.

Does it add volume? Absolutely. However it does not lengthen at all. When I put it on, it was a big let-down in the length department. But because I'm a grad student, I decided to combine the use of the They're Real!/Telescopic and Voluminous and now my lashes are long, full and pretty, the way I like them.

Finally, I owe my eyelash mojo to another great product -  Maybelline Great Lash limited edition colored mascaras.

If you reading this and thinking "that's for 15-year-olds", hear me out. I picked one up at Walgreens for $5.99 the other day just to see how this would look. I was afraid it would be too bright, too Halloween-looking. I was afraid I'd look like a woman trying to look 15, but I chose Vision in Violet to make my brown eyes pop. The Verdict?  LOVE IT!!!!  Here's why: this is perfect for brightening your eyes without having to wear any eyeliner. If you are a low maintenance kind of girl and don't have time in the morning to do up your eyes, this is a great option.  It doesn't come out super-bright, which pleased me. In fact, I put a bunch of coats on to get the look I wanted. I also like the brush because its small enough to get the lower lashes without smudging all over your lower lid. And you can't beat the price.

So there you have it. If you want your eyelashes to have mojo, I recommend all of the above. If you try one or any of these, please let me know your thoughts. If you have your own eyelash mojo, please share your recommendations in the comment section below.