Ooh La La, Lashes — The Best Mascaras and Extensions

If the eyes are the windows to your soul, then you better make sure your window dressings —or rather your eyelashes — look amazing.  If there’s one makeup product that can instantly make me feel prettier it’s mascara. What’s not to love about fluttery eyelashes? However, there are an endless array of different brands to choose from and then a zillion choices within each brand. Here are the Pixies’ faves. 

Despite having 27 different types of mascara in my drawer I always find myself picking up Maybelline’s Colossal Mascara. The packaging says it gives you 9 times the volume and they’re not playing around. For only $6.99 a tube, it always makes my eyelashes longer and fuller and it can be found at any local drugstore.

Katie and Kelly’s make-up artist sister-in-law — yes she enhances Mariska Hargitay’s beauty on a daily basis — swears by the drug store brand Loreal’s Voluminous, and Katie most definitely agrees. She used to be a Shu Uemura fan but the last time she bought it it dried out way too soon and she has switched forever to Voluminous. It separates, lengthens and adds just the right amount of drapery to her hazel eyes.  

If you’re more patient than I am, the next step after mascara is the instant flare of false lashes. These days they don’t have to make you look as if you’re ready for Halloween. The key is to buy individual lashes and place them wherever you need a little extra coverage, usually on the outer edges. Both Katie and Kelly had these done for their weddings by make-up artists — which is always an option for special events. But when I try to do it alone by myself? This is where I become overwhelmed, hot and usually start to give up. But now when I get to this point I have the Internet to turn to. I found a bunch of great tutorials on YouTube. The best one I found was by Lisa Eldridge—a professional makeup artist with a delightful English accent.  

I’m all about extensions this week and when it comes to your lashes, you can actually get semi-permanent ones. This option can be expensive but it will leave your eyelashes looking flawless, possibly worth it for a weekend long event. This is a service done at salons and is $250 dollars for a full application and $70 dollars for a partial at salons like Spa Belle. Touch ups are needed every couple of weeks because these extensions are semi-permanent.

So again while everyone loves a bargain, it’s kind of hard to pass up the drugstore deals. Smarts will go to professionals for false lashes, and while the tutorials might help Funs and Classics do it themselves, we think Organics will need to go to a professional unless they’re actually make-up artists!