I Learned New Tricks! (Cue Old Dog Jokes)
My late, beloved English Bulldog Winston Churchill would have been loath to learn anything new. He was famously unaware if a person offered him sausage right in front of his face. He was sweet and adoring, but as many old dogs are, a bit dull in the IQ department, and most certainly not willing to take on any new skills.
Clench your toes (YES!) to get a better cateye.
I've been feeling a little old lately. Also, regarding my own skills, I tend to think that although I have yet to discover every product in the marketplace, I would know a lot about how to apply them all. Like, expert level knowledge... or so I thought.
This week I learned THREE new, valuable tricks.
Three!
There is lifeblood in this old dog yet.
First, I saw a video tutorial about how to apply one of my favorite mascaras, Too Faced's Better Than Sex Mascara. (The above photo is Too Faced's promotional image of a chick laying on a bed of Better Than Sex Mascara tubes.)
I learned that rolling - rolling! - the brush from the lash base to the lash tips (not tugging or wedging) binds the 3D polymers to the lash and builds massive volume. If you think this makes zero-squared-minus-infinity sense, take a peekeroo:
The key is to roll (not tug) the wand from the base to the tip. Don't get it? Watch.
If you made it through the video and are wondering if I knew about the fabulosity that is Step 3, the answer is yes, I coat the top sides of my lashes all the time. Because I'm a biiig expert right...?
On another note, I spent a decade working in digital media, so I rarely fall prey to clickbait. So when I came across an ad saying "Click here for this one weird trick to mastering eyeliner!" I knew it might seem like an endless trail of clicks before I could actually see this legendary wizardry. I landed on an article from PureWow entitled "The Brilliant Eyeliner Trick You Haven't Heard Before." There were a bunch of tricks actually, which made all the clicking worthwhile.
I was reminded of one classic directive that I somehow forgot. Apply eyeliner while looking down at a mirror, as opposed to facing one, so you can best see any gap between your eyeliner and your lash. I knew this glorious tip at one point in my youth, but it had faded from the frontburner. So voila, new trick number two!
The third trick is a little strange and a little wonderful: clench your toes (yes) while you apply your eyeliner as you otherwise normally would. PureWow says clenching our toes triggers a steadiness in the rest of our body, and a fantastic confidence in the hand. It certainly helped me create symmetry and a well-shaped line.
Go on now, try it. It's weird and awesome. You can do it. Say it with me: "WOOF!"
Xx, Mom in Mascara
