Mascara tips og tricks

Happy friday, lovely readers. I'm home again from my quick trip to Germany, and I didn't came empty handed. As always. My mom drove me home this time, so I bought a lot of things. Clothes, bags, shoes, makeup, beauty essentials, things for my home and a lot of liquor from the border between Germany and Denmark. I couldn't carry it all by myself, if I had to take the train as I normally do. But it was a nice trip, but it's always good to be back home again.

On to the blog! I thought I would start a series of posts, with my tips and tricks on different beauty products. For example nail polish, foundation, eyeshadow, hair and today mascara.
All of the tips, is just what works for me. Maybe not for you, but maybe it's worth the try. 

• Store your mascara the right way. I store my mascaras in an old candle holder, with the brush tip down. If you store it, with the brush tip up, all the liquid will drop to the bottom, and you will not get any mascara on the brush. The same thing, if you keep your mascaras laying flat, then only one side of the brush, will have mascara on it.
• Keep it in a dark place. Like a lot of other beauty products, the mascara does not like the sun either. I keep all of my makeup in a closes drawer. Avoid to much heat and sun light.
• Remember to throw them out. On most mascaras, there is a little icon with how many month the mascara can last. Normally it says 12 months. However a mascara will get dry after 2-4 month, depending on how much you use it. Then you feel like your mascara is a little dry, it properly is. And then you need to throw it away and buy a new one. A dry mascara will crumble and look bad on your eyelashes.
• Don't "pump" your mascara. Many girls tempt to pump the mascara before using it. This will let a lot of air into the container, and make the mascara dry out a lot faster. You have enough mascara on the brush, when you take it out of the container - if you don't, it's a sign you need a new one.
• If you don't have a new mascara and the one you have on hand is dry, you can add a drop of water. This is not the best solution, but it will work for one or two times.

• Don't sleep with your mascara on. Actually this goes for all of your makeup. If you sleep with your mascara on, it will dry out, and in worst case, cause them to break off. 
• Only use waterproof mascara when you really need it. It's harder to remove waterproof mascara from your lashes, and it's therefor more damaging for your lashes to wear a waterproof mascara.
• Build up your mascara. I always start by curling my lashes, with a eyelash curler. After that, I use a lengthening mascara and finish it off with a mascara with a volume formular. I still haven't found a mascara that can give me the same effect, as two mascaras can. And I always use minimum two layers. But let the layers dry, so they won't get lumpy.
• Avoid lumps. Apply your mascara with a "zig zag" motion. This will avoid most of the lumps, that you get by applying the mascara the normal way. If you still get lumps, try to wipe the brush on a paper towel, to remove the excess mascara from the brush. 

• Find the right brush. For me, it only works with a "real" brush, like the one in this picture. If I use a mascara with a silicone brush (or whatever you will call them) my eyelashes will clump together. But you need to find out what works the best for you. So try out different brushes. 
• Use blue mascara agains tired eyes. If I had a late night or trouble with my sleep, I use a blue mascara the day after. The blue mascara will make the white in your eyes pop, and defocus on your dark circles (and of course a good concealer)
• If you get any mascara on your skin while applying the mascara, you can easily remove it with a cotton swab dipped in a little bit of water. No need to use force to get it off.
• Use mascara as an eyeliner. If you run out if eyeliner, you can easily use your mascara and a eyeliner brush. Just run the eyeliner brush over the brush for the mascara, until it has enough mascara on, and apply it as you would normally apply your eyeliner.
• When you finish a bottle of mascara, clean the brush and use it as a brush for your eyebrows.

I hope you could use one or two of my tips. Do you guys have any mascara tips to share?