The Mascara Trick That's So Obvious... and Easy To Forget!

By BR Kellie

Regular readers of Beauty Review will know how obsessed I am with the gorgeous, glamorous, dulcet-toned YouTuber, Tati. The moment 7am rolls around I abandon everything I'm doing to watch her latest upload. I love the way she does makeup, I love that she reviews both affordable and out-of-this-world expensive products. And I appreciate that she's not afraid to tell the truth. Case in point? This morning I watched her review Wet n Wild's fancy new brushes, which I'd been pondering purchasing, and even though they'd been sent to her for free and a lot of influencers would probably be nicer about the products, she flat out passed on half of them - and you better believe the ones she did like are being swiped up by myself on my next trip to Farmers.

I have hashtagged #TatiMadeMeBuyIt on Twitter and Instagram. I owe some of my favourite products to her. So when she raved about one particular product and top-shelved it, and it was less than a tenner, I knew I had to procure it. The product? The Essence Volume Stylish 18hr Lash Extension Mascara. 

So I bought it. Skipped home. Got in front of my mirror the next morning and applied this holy grail, better-than-the-fancy-stuff, all that and a bag a chips, mascara.

My giddy aunt. It was a hot mess. The clumps. The cluuuuuumps! My lashes banded together to look like giant wet fibrous tarantula legs. Not even my trusty Manicare mascara wands that I keep on hand for tidy ups could fix this hot mess.

My faith in Tati in tatters (not really, I was more miffed), I removed the mascara and moped about the house. For all of ten seconds until I realised this fail could make an excellent article! 

'When Beauty Gurus Get It Wrong!'

'Tati Cost Me My Daily Coffee!'

'The Mascara Fail That Had Me In Tears!

But the thing was, I hated that mascara soooooooo much, I couldn't bring myself to apply it again. On a number of occasions I pulled it out, opened it, stared gloomily at the brush, then put it away. I just didn't want to go through the rigmarole of doing my face for photos, applying that clumpy hot mess, then having to remove half my makeup to get it off and start again. So I put it off. And put it off. And put it off some more.

Until today (which may not be the actual 'today' when you're reading this). Today I thought 'eh, I'm going to have a shower, let's just whack this on first and remind myself how bad it is. Get that outrage flowing again so you're revved up and ready to write this article.'

So I did. I unscrewed the cap with a sneer on my face. Wiggled the mascara though my lashes. And, holy moly, they looked amazing. There were no clumps. My lower and upper eye area was not spotted with wet mascara. There was no need for a fix-up. My lashes looked bold, black, big and defined. Just how I like 'em.

And then it hit me. I'm an idiot. (Yeah, biiiiiiiig surprise.) 

My irritable opening and closing of the mascara had given it a chance to dry out a little.

Now, dry mascara is usually touted as a bad thing, but sometimes a mascara can be wet as a mid-summer storm and it actually needs a little time to dry out in order for it to be at its best.

So if, like me, you buy a mascara and it's a gloppy wet debacle - give it time to breathe. Wave that wand around a bit before applying it so the product dries a little. Or every day for a week or so pull out the wand, then put the wand back in until it's calmed its moisture farm.

Finally, Tati. I apologise. You were right. I was wrong. The Essence Volume Stylist is every bit as fabulous as you said. 

So, my beauties... do tell, will you be trying this tip the next time you come across a mascara that seems way too wet to be useful? Have you ever bought a product based on a YouTuber's suggestion only to have it be a big ol' money-waster? And, because we love to hear how you remedy uh-oh moments - what are your favourite tips for using and applying mascara that's been a pain in the derriere? Chat away!