The first installation is mascara. I decided to feature mascara because it is my number one essential makeup item. I was wonderfully blessed with translucent eyelashes and eyebrows. Pair this with fair skin, freckles, and red hair, without mascara I look ill or "off." It's not a particularly good look. That said, I've had plenty of time to try out endless brands of mascaras.
Steal:
Maybelline Great Lash
$6
This should be a surprise to no one. Maybelline has easily one of the single best mascaras on the market. This age old formula is a classic and a staple for any makeup aficionado.
Great Lash doesn't flake, it goes on smoothly and without clumps, and it separates and defines. The pink and green tube a go-to for all of my makeup kits and I never want to be without it.
Swank:
Lancome Defincils
$27
Prior to this mascara I had never used Lancome products before. This is one situation that I can blame solely on advertising. Every Lancome ad I have ever seen in a magazine looks like it was assembled by a 14 year old who just pirated a trial copy of Photoshop online. The ad's are just atrocious. Last year, though, I received a sampler set of mascaras from Sephora (highly recommend this, they come out with one every year). A small bottle of Lancome was included. I held off on using it for a bit, as I was more interested in the tubes of Smashbox, Tarte, and Korres. When I finally broke it open, I was wildly impressed. The brush coats the lashes evenly, but leaves behind the blackest pigment. Lancome Defincils gave me dark, dramatic, and voluminous lashes, with minimal effort and no reapplication needed.
You can purchase these items here and here.
