Cat Eye Makeup: Tips For a Dark, Sexy Look

Cosmetic Terminology:
What Makeup Packaging and Ingredient Tells You About the Product

Although women and men have been wearing makeup since earliest history, Max Factor is credited with the invention and mass marketing of pancake foundation makeup in the 1950's. Max Factor, who started out as a wig designer, created the first grease paint makeup for the movies in 1914, and went on to do the makeup of such stars as Lucille Ball, Jean Harlow, Claudette Colbert and Bette Davis. The company was acquired by Proctor & Gamble in 1991, but still does business under the famous name of the master.

And makeup has come a long way since 1914. Very few women these days are willing to rub tinted petroleum products on their faces—unless there's a really brilliant marketing scheme in place to convince them to do so. In fact, consumers have proven again and again that we'll buy practically anything if we thing it will make us look or smell good.

What Does Hypoallergenic Mean When on Makeup Packaging?

But let's start with a real shocker, just discovered by this writer while researching this article. Did you know that "hypoallergenic" means nothing at all? It's true! The FDA has no requirement in place that systematizes allergy testing for makeup, so any brand that wants to claim its product is "hypoallergenic" may freely do so, to the detriment of makeup wearers with sensitive skin or one of the many allergic conditions so common to modern life. Ditto for "allergy tested". If it's a food product, manufacturers must let us know if products may have potential for loosing nut allergies, but you could rub your face, all unknowing, with pure peanut oil if it's sold to you by a makeup company. The FDA does prohibit the use of super-toxic chemicals, but other than that, (and I quote the FDA regulation) "Cosmetic firms are responsible for substantiating the safety of their products and ingredients before marketing." The FDA doesn't require them to do any particular testing first.

Non-Comedogenic Cosmetics - Is there such a thing?

So, when a makeup claims to be non-comedogenic (pore-clogging), they're just whistling Dixie. Have you ever seen a lotion or liquid foundation that doesn't dry up in the bottle, causing an occasional clog? Why wouldn't it clog your pores if you failed to wash it off? Of course it would.

Oil Free Makeup - Check the Makeup Label to Confirm

Now, "oil-free" is something a consumer can check out. Cosmetic companies do list ingredients on the package, and you can read whether there are oils involved, unless they are hidden by chemical names you don't recognize. For example, palm kernel oil is also known by its name of myristic acid, or tetradecanoic acid .

No Animal Testing and Cruelty Free - Depends?

And wait; there's more. Companies that advertise "no animal testing" or "cruelty-free" products may actually test or buy ingredients that have been tested on animals at other manufacturers'. Look for the label that says "No new animal testing". To get truly cruelty-free products, you may want to choose makeup companies who include in their mission statements a clear stand on cruelty-free products. It's not something you can sue over if you find they're lying, but most corporations won't go to the trouble of pretending to be cruelty free to the extent that they'll include it in a mission statement.

Sensitive Skin? Read the Cosmetic Labels Closely for Hidden Ingredients

Especially for those with sensitive skin, fragrance free and talc free makeup may be important. You have to read the labels—"unscented" just means that the product doesn't contain a particular perfume, but it often does mean that fragrance has been added to mask the less-pleasant smell of the unfragranced ingredients. Dye free mouth makeup is rare—lipsticks typically have some sort of dye in them, but mineral makeup is usually dye free. And finally, the claim that a product is "dermatologist tested isn't worth the paper it's written on. There are no legal requirements to fulfill in dermatological testing. Even SPF numbers are not to be relied on, since the FDA hasn't been able to determine effective ways of testing products for protection from UVA and UVB rays.

Steps to Follow When Choosing a Beauty, Makeup or Cosmetics Product

So, what's a gal to do? You can't rely on labeling to tell you what's really going on in your makeup. But there are a few ways you can protect yourself against makeup products that may not be good for you.

• The fewer ingredients, the better. After all, if you're exposed to a multiplicity of chemicals, chance are mathematically greater that you will be sensitive or even allergic to one or a combination of them. If your makeup, however, is made of two or three ingredients, you'll be able to check them out more carefully and you won't be encountering a chemical cocktail every time you put on your makeup.
   
  
• Learn the beauty industry's lingo. Look up the ingredients in your makeup and find out what they're for and what they do. If there are allergies reported against them, you may also find that out in your research. So that's where that rash is coming from!
   
  
• Remember that you and your skin are unique. Come popular anti-acne face creams contain camphor, which feels cool on the skin and has a slightly mentholated fragrance that smells clean and nice. Most people aren't sensitive to it, but some people are. For these people, using this "calming, cooling" cream can actually cause peeling, redness and dryness. Even essential oils and "all-natural" ingredients may cause reactions. You may be sensitive to something no one else minds at all. You may be just fine with a product everyone else hates. If you experience a rash, breakouts or stinging from your makeup, find one with different ingredients.
  

 

Using the Right Makeup Brushes for a Professional Salon Look

Types of Makeup Brushes and How to Use them to Apply Cosmetics.

If you want to own a really good set of makeup brushes, you can acquire them one at a time to suit your cosmetic needs, or you can buy them already assorted in a bag or box. While some cosmetics come with their own brushes, most professional makeup artists and models buy brushes the way artists do: with an eye to quality in manufacture and purpose. In most cases, you want to buy the best brushes you can afford: they are the tools that will create a flawless makeup look.

If you aren't sure how to use makeup brushes, look at the cheap ones that come along with inexpensive drugstore makeup. They're usually made of plastic, and are usually coarser than they should be, with uneven bristle lengths. They may come apart even as you use them, scattering occasional bristles throughout your makeup or on your face. Basically, cheap makeup brushes are like the bolts that come with some assembly kits: the cheapest available products that make it look like you're getting a discount.

--Editors Tip ----------------------------------------------------------------------

The importance of using makeup brushes and/or Saving Money on Professional Cosmetic Brushes.

Great makeup brushes don't have to cost a fortune: but they have to last and make you look terrific. You can find professional cosmetic brushes online for a fraction of the price you would spend on brushes found in a traditional beauty supply store. Don't ever cheat yourself out of a makeup brush: the right brush puts makeup on the right way; no finger smudging or messing around with shedding Q tips or ratty cotton balls. When you use makeup brushes, you take your look to the next level: a high quality professional makeup brush makes a difference in the way your makeup goes on and stays on. It's a difference you can see!

Learn how to save money on Professional Cosmetic Brushes.

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Different makeups need different brushes. Mineral makeup actually has speciality brushes that evenly distribute the natural minerals. Eye liner goes on with small, thinner brushes to accommodate thin liquid eyeliner makeup. Because you're using them at close range and need a steady hand, it helps to buy an eyeliner brush with very thin bristles and a thicker handle, making it easier to grasp and guide the brush. These tiny brushes are often made of sable. Using your finger to apply layers of eye shadow is messy and clumsy: get several medium-small brushes for layering on small amounts of shadow. Remember, life doesn't come with an air brush! Make sure your eye makeup is as perfect as possible by using the right tools to apply it. And if you you’re your makeup brushes to the gym or work with you, get a brush bag that can roll into a small enough travel size to fit easily into your tote while protecting your brushes.

Concealer brushes are about the same size as eye makeup brushes, and may sometimes be made of sponge instead of natural hair. If you use a heavier concealer, a sponge brush may be useful for dragging across the stick and smoothing the concealer before applying it. For liquid concealer such as that by Chanel, use a smaller brush.

Foundation and blush or bronzer brushes are thicker, with longer bristles and flat tops just right for putting color where you want it. They're for applying and blending larger amounts of liquid or powder makeup, and for creating a contour. Powder brushes, also called kabuki brushes, are ideal for brushing on either ordinary face powder or ultrafine mineral makeup, Like Bare Essentials. If you can only have one brush in your makeup bag, make it a fluffy powder brush, because there's nothing better than a brush that blends the perfect finish.

High quality, natural hair brushes are made from animal hair, which is graded by length, evenness of cut and fineness. Some of the best powder brushes are made from badger hair: sable is often used for smaller, finer brushes because of its silky texture. Squirrel hair is quite expensive, and may even be mixed with cheaper but also very fine pony hair. Handmade goat hair brushes are also popular, being nearly as fine as squirrel.

If you're looking for quality, check out designer brushes and kits from Kevyn Aucoin, Bobbi Brown or Giorgio Armani. If the idea of using animal hair for brushes troubles you, feel free to buy synthetic brushes: new synthetics such as Taklon make perfectly fine brushes as well. If you're doing other people's makeup, you may be looking for disposable makeup brushes. You will probably be able to get away with buying less expensive ones, since you'll be throwing them after one use. Get a refillable holder for keeping the brushes while you work, so they won't get mixed up as you use them.

Makeup that Lasts: Waterproof Cosmetics

Waterproof, sweat proof and smudge proof mascara, eye makeup and foundation products that will resist the effects of moisture and humidity.

Waterproof makeup products are the best way to wear mascara, eyeliner and foundation because they stay put until you're ready to remove them. After all, nobody wears makeup only to have to reapply it! But sometimes we forget that water proof cosmetics are such a great option. Swimmers, models, runners and travelers know that sweatproof, smudge proof and water proof makeup products make a lot of sense, but the rest of us need to be reminded to use them. The question isn't so much, 'Why do some people wear waterproof makeup?" It's "Why don't we all?"

New Cosmetics Technologies in Waterproof Makeup Mean No More Clogged Pores

Some people worry that waterproof makeup products will stress the skin or clog the pores, but modern make up technology has created lines of liquid eyeliner, nontoxic cosmetic foundations and even stage makeup designed to go on smoothly, stay on endlessly and disappear without a trace when you take them off. You can find waterproof makeup with sunscreen, and these days, SPF is a non-negotiable, either in your makeup or under it. Scar makeup is a prime example of excellent modern day waterproof makeup: if you really want to conceal, you want it to last, and new scar concealing body makeups do the job.

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Do you have the right makeup remover to remove your waterproof make-up at then end of the day?

Wearing water proof, smudge proof or sweat proof cosmetics means that you'll look great all day or all night. But you still have to remove your makeup to let your skin breathe! Before you go to bed, take the time you need to carefully remove every bit of makeup from your face—foundation, concealer, blush, eyeliner and shadow, lip color. Take it all off with your favorite waterproof makeup remover and follow it up with toner or moisturizer, depending on your skin type. Leaving makeup on overnight can cause clogged pores, breakouts and grubby pillow cases, so stay up three minutes longer and get your face clean before going to bed.

Learn how to gently remove your waterproof make-up.

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Smudge-Proof Lipsticks and Lip Liners are Great Day Wear

Water proof makeup products for lips include tubes of lipstick, boxes of lip color and even lip paints. If you first cover the lips with foundation, you can get a smooth primer coat for lining the lips and then filling them in with color. If you use waterproof foundation as well as lip color, you have an even better chance of keeping your lip color on all day without needing to refresh it. Color, blend, blot and reapply for a perfect mouth. Using waterproof, smudge proof lip color means you won't have to worry about losing your lipstick over an important lunch meeting.

Waterproof Mascara that Doesn't Run on a Hot Day or From a Good Cry

Water proof eye products are especially terrific because our eyes tend to water, to get rubbed and to be generally irritated more than the rest of our faces. People who wear contact lenses have a difficult time not touching their eyes: they need eye makeup that can stand up to a little rub now and then. Ordinary eye cosmetics can cause problems for lens wearers because non water proof products tend to flake, smear or run, getting into sensitive eyes and ruining delicate lenses. Because lens wearers are more susceptible to eye infections, scratches and sensitivities, they should only wear eye makeup designated for them. There are companies that specialize in eye makeup and eye makeup remover for contact lens wearers.

Some makeup can work on more than one area: women have even been known to use a smudged lip liner for a soft pink eye shadow. Eyeliner pencil in a waterproof formula can be made to do double duty as eye shadow in a pinch, but if you buy a bag for your waterproof makeup products, you can carry more with you than a pencil or two to make the change from everyday makeup to something more glamorous for nighttime.

Waterproof Eye Shadows Can Stand a Humid Day without Rubbing Off

Waterproof eye shadow means not having to reapply partway through an evening at a hot, crowded club, and since those places never have decent mirrors, you'd better plan to go home with the same makeup you wore in. Many women prefer cream eyeliner and shadow because it goes on more smoothly, but you can also set it more securely with powder. Waterproof cream to powder eyeliner is a powerful makeup combination: getting your eye makeup in waterproof forms is a great way to beat summer heat, winter rains and raccoon eyes at the end of a long day.

Removing Waterproof Cosmetics Takes More Than Soap and Water

When it comes to removing waterproof makeup, you have a number of choices. If you're the old fashioned type, you can start with baby oil, but it doesn't have the wonderful cosmeceutical properties of more modern approaches. You can find makeup remover with green tea extract, Vitamin E, and moisturizers of all sorts. There are very mild eye makeup removers made with coconut oil and stronger all over makeup removers for stage makeup.

80s Make up Styles and Fashions

1980s Retro Makeup Application and Styles That Will Accentuate Any 80s Party Costume or Fashion Outfit.

Like all trends, '80s Makeup Trends seemed normal at the time, but looking back by twenty years or so, we can see the difference in the apparent natural look of today. In the eighties, women were coming into their own as far as workplace issues were concerned, and the trends were towards ultra-smooth color on the face, bright eye and lip shades and plenty of make up. The combination of workplace politics and cheap fluorescent lighting played absolute hell with women's makeup, turning foundations and eye shadows (blue was popular) into strange colors indeed. And makeup was important if you wanted to be taken seriously. It was quite usual for a woman to apply a full set of makeup—foundation, powder, lipstick and liner, mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow—to go to work. Like most fads, 80s makeup trends looked good: nowadays, women who make up that heavily look like they have something to hide.

 

For the perfect eighties theme party costume . . .

But if you're going to an 80's style retro party, you can easily create the eighties look. Fashions are easy: a matching dress or skirt suit with big shoulder pads, preferably in a bright color is a good start. Heels are imperative, and hair should be big and fluffy but very controlled. Remember, the '80s look is all about minimizing flaws but maximizing power. It was the decade of the woman's power suit, along with power lipsticks in bright reds and power perfumes heavy on the oriental floral scents. Need a model? For a perfect '80s hair style and suits, look at reruns of Designing Women.

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Mica Makeup and Cosmetics Complete the 1980’s Look

Before there was pure mineral makeup, there was mica for eye shadow. Mica is a highly reflective mineral, which makes for strong color and a lasting look. Ground fine, it provides all the glam of glitter without the grit or flakiness, because mica makes a powder so smooth, you can't even feel it once it's on. It's exotic, romantic and lush. In the '70s and '80s, mica was de rigueur for eye shadow, evening contours, dusting on shoulder blades and all sorts of other groovy places. A little pot of mica shadow will last you about fourteen years, unless you decide that it's so cool as a cosmetic that it would look even better swiped onto a wet paintbrush and smeared across a pure white wall in an iridescent rainbow. Then, you might need to buy a second pot. Mica is also great because you can find it all a lot of different colors ranging from black to purple to white, but all iridescent and shiny.

Unless you're planning to cover your entire body with mica, it's easier to apply it damp, either with a sponge or a brush. It's great worked into moisturizer or mixed with lip balm or even put into nail polish. It's inert, so if it gets in your mouth it won't hurt you, but it will still bother your eyes like any dust would, so be careful applying it around the eye area. Because it's so fine, it can be flyaway otherwise, and truly untidy. But it's so much fun to experiment with, you may just decide to buy a big powder puff and go for it.

70s Retro Makeup Styles and Disco Fashions

1970s Style Disco Makeup and Era Fashions that have a Vintage Flair. The Sixties left the coming decade with an taste for the natural, and the Seventies era particularized the “Natural Look” to makeup and hair. Hair was long, smooth, often very straight, but ideally with a flip on the ends. Think the Mary Tyler Moore show, and you've got the early to middle '70s in a nutshell. The longer hairstyles still required the large curlers (which could really damage your hair with daily use) used in the '60s to create big waves, but electric curling irons were added to the mix when Farrah Fawcett Majors became on of the decade's "It" girls. The flicked up hair cuts worn to some extent by all of Charlie's Angels was applied to bangs or wings on the sides of the head. Farrah combined flicks on both sides with a high lofted center and amazing, wavy curls in streaky golden hair. Never mind that the fabulous Angel had stylists galore to keep her look fresh and "natural"; everybody wanted to look like that. And 'that' entailed more than a superb and constantly-renewed layered haircut: it meant hours with the curling iron, plenty of hair spray or mousse and strict avoidance of anything athletic, outdoorsy or the least bit—well, you know—natural.   1970s make-up styles had a natural, surfer appeal Along with the "natural" hair of the '70s came a natural look in skin and cosmetics. Earlier decades had made fashionable the dead white complexion, the flawless matte of a movie star skin, and the rosy blush of innocence through the magic of foundation. In the Seventies, it was cool to resemble to surfers at Venice Beach: an all over tan, a golden glow around the face, and minimal looking make up were the things to strive for. Bronzers made an appearance, fake tanning fluids turned thousands of young women bright orange, and women who today look with alarm at the spots appearing on middle aged skin laid out all summer covered all too lightly in a bikini and a slick coat of baby oil. --Editors Tip ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vintage Accessories Never Go Out of Style Some of today’s hottest looks and fashions can claim influences from several past decades and trends.  The long, flowing hairstyles and natural makeup looks of the 1970s have returned with an updated flair.  You’ll frequently see retro-styled clothing, with either hippie or disco flair, constantly popping up on the biggest celebrities in Hollywood.  Keep in mind that there are, however, certain retro looks that have seen better days and make a better costume than outfit.  So, whether you’re in need of some unique vintage accessories, like hats, glasses, or jewelry, or you’ve got a costume party and need a killer disguise, there are tons of choices from the 60s and 70s to get you the exact look you’re hoping for.  Don’t believe everything you hear:  disco is not dead—you’ll see when you check out the many costume selections and extras available!

60s Makeup and Styles That Show Off the Flower Power

60s Mod Makeup and Flower Power Fashions that were Popular in the Sixties The shift between the '50s and the '60s is usually explained by the fact that, during the Sixties, around 70 million young people became teenagers nearly overnight. In a country whose populations was about 177 million, a significant portion of the population was undergoing that radical, hormone induced, years-long agony called puberty. Post-war economics had made many people comfortable, and teens had more spending power and personal freedom than ever. By sheer numbers, teenagers recreated fashion as a youthful enterprise. The fashions of the Fifties decade were for grown women; Sixties fashion knocked about ten years off the average age of the consumer. When nearly half a nation is adolescent, you can predict rebellion on a grand scale. Add to that the fact that young men were expected to register for the draft and go to war; add to that the tremendous social injustices being perpetrated against blacks and women; add now the passion and power of entitled youth: how could you have anything but an era of revolution? Sixties Fashions and Clothes for Women But, between parental concern and the innate conservatism of the teaching profession, fashion treads slowly at school. School fashions were still modest, with skirt hems below the knee. There wasn't much change between school clothing of the Fifties and early Sixties; administrators simply wouldn't allow it. But trends and party styles changed; jeans and mini-skirts appeared. Hippies wore jeans, granny skirts, combat boots, T-shirts with messages, love beads and sandals. Macramé handbags, ponchos and other ethnic-inspired fashions abounded. Girl Hippies' hair styles were long and straight; girls with wavy or curly hair either combed perm fluid through it or ironed it flat and glossy. Hippies didn't wear makeup, except maybe some fruit-flavored lip gloss; some took to washing at longer intervals, in reaction to the starched cleanliness of the Establishment. The Mini Skirt Was Part of the Mod Sixties Styles Miniskirts were invented and hit it big in 1966, starting in England, and crossing the Atlantic along with short, bobbed hair and the supermodel Twiggy. The fashionable figure was thin as a rake, only with breasts. The new polyester fabrics were marvelous—drip dry, fitted without necessarily being clingy, and available in a thousand outrageous colors. Bright colors were in: orange, lime green and psychedelic patterns made their debut on the super-short skirts worn by schoolgirls and young women. Platform sandals and go-go boots made short skirts seem even shorter. Kids who didn't go hippie were influenced by the English invasion which brought the Beatles. Parents must have been terrified by hippies, but horror-struck when they saw the micro-mini skirts, heavy makeup and tall, wedge shoes affected by Brit-fashion loving teens. Hairstyles were more controlled than the hippies' smooth hair and could be short or long. Long hair was adorned with tightly wound curls whether up or down—think Sean Connery's James Bond movies. Hair was rolled on curlers the size of soda cans, creating styles with long, luxurious waves. Wigs became popular for women. 1960s Makeup Styles and Cosmetics Unlike the too-natural Hippie look, the early Natural Look was anything but. Heavy foundation makeup (called "translucent"), masked the complexion, which might then be brightened by a mod pink blush. Many cosmetics designers decided to forego blush entirely, settling on a matte, slightly tanned look for foundations, and playing up the eyes. Lips were left nude, covered with foundation, or in shimmering, titanium-based lipsticks in shades so pale they made models into anemic aliens. Pale, silvery lips and a broad expanse of colorless face put focus on the eyes. Mascara was vital to the look; preferably so thickly applied that the lashes clumped together in spikes like false eyelashes. False eyelashes were also in vogue, and many women put mascara on top of them. Eye makeup was harsh: eyeliner all the way around the eye; eye shadow up to the browbone, even in daytime. Big, dramatic eyes were the ultimate fashion ploy. A '60s party theme is Flower Power. Vintage costumes, long boots, groovy music and strobe lights make the look.

Get Longer, Thicker Lashes: Mascara Tips

Natural Eyelashes: Lengthening, Thickening & Sculpting With Mascara Products

Are you in need of mascara and eyelash enhancement tips but are not quite ready to apply the fake eyelashes? Don’t worry, you are not alone! Day and day out, women who have in the past been curling their lashes, looking for the ideal lengthening products, and were not adverse to trying the supposedly organic and hypoallergenic mascara products dictated by cosmetic lore, are finally at a point where they are ready to leave behind the products that did little more than cake onto their eyelashes and –since being waterproof – took a long time to safely remove.

Intensifying their search for the best mascara in an effort to maximize the beauty of their eyelashes, these women have found a number of surprising beauty tips that will help you, too, to plump up your eyelashes using mascara with ingredients that will ensure thickening and sculpting without the clumpy mess.

--Editors Tip ----------------------------------------------------------------------

A Little Extra Glam

Try something new for that special night out—false eyelashes.  False eyelashes were once only reserved for the most glamorous women, like movie stars and super models, now you can easily apply some false eyelashes for a fancy night out on the town, or any time that you’d like a more glamorous, sexy look.  This is no longer a secret for makeup artists, today’s false eyelashes are easily applied with a thin strip of adhesive, and the simple, safe removal process leaves your natural lashes unharmed.  While you’re wearing them, you’ll have the flirtiest eyelashes that are fun to bat all might.  You’ll be ready for the red carpet!  Forget about trying to use traditional clumpy mascaras that can smudge and smear after a long night, false eyelashes look as fresh at the end of the night as they did when you first applied them.

Get a little extra bit of glam for your next night out on the town!

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Ideal Mascara Products Won’t Cake or Clump

Begin your eyelash routine by using natural tools for conditioning them. Vaseline and even olive oil applied in moderate amounts are known to increase the health of individual eyelashes and thus prime the canvas for the application of mascaras like Max Factor, Kiss Me, La Femme, Maybelline and of course L’Oreal. Using bargain basement or no-name mascara is discouraged since it often contains fillers that are all but guaranteed to clump on your lashes at the first opportunity.

If your eyelashes have suffered and you might have some bald patches on your lids, dispense with the use of mascara – even double wear products – and instead add an eyelash growth product to your beauty routine. After about six to eight weeks of consistent application, you will be rewarded with natural, longer lashes.

To avoid that ugly cake or clump of mascara, be sure to curl your eyelashes prior to applying the cosmetic. In addition to the foregoing, place a very light dusting of powder on your eyelashes for the mascara to properly adhere to and not slide off, forming odd clumps on the tips of your lashes. Putting on mascara – even the brushless variety – is a bit of an art and you may have to experiment with different techniques to find one that works best for getting that thick, healthy and voluptuous look you are aiming for.

Best Way to Apply Mascara to Eyelashes

The current wisdom suggests applying mascara by holding the brush still but blinking your eyelids over it and allowing the lashes to pick up their own coating. You should apply a second coat of mascara only to the top lashes for a long lasting, voluminous look. Have a mineral oil based eye makeup remover on standby to correct any mistakes without having to take off all the mascara. As a final thought, whenever possible, please purchase cruelty free products that will allow you to use products without the stain of unnecessary animal testing attached.