"Stamping" mascara as eyeliner (a trick for those of us with limited eyelid real estate)

The Beauty Department is a great resource for makeup tricks. They make everything look so fucking pretty, though I've had some mixed results trying out their techniques myself. I'd say they work most of the time, but every once in a while there's a fail. Like this two-toned lip tutorial - I couldn't find any combination that didn't just look like the 90s dark lip liner thing. Even when the liner wasn't really darker than the gloss. Maybe that's why there's no full face image? And even though I do layer my skin care products like this, this post is rife with misinformation (the comments point out many of the problems).

One of the treasures I've discovered, however, is this technique of "stamping" mascara at the base of the lashes to basically do the job of eyeliner. I really don't have much eyelid to work with, so sometimes I have to choose between eyeliner and eyeshadow. With this trick, I can get the thickness and darkness of an eyeliner without taking up any extra space on my lid. Since it works so well, I thought I'd share my results.

Before and after stamping at the base of the eyelash roots with mascara.

It's not dramatic, but it definitely does make a difference. Another way to do this is to dot in between the lashes with eyeliner, but this is much faster and easier. All the instructions are at the link above, but you're not actually applying any product to your eyelid. You're just making the base of your lashes darker. You might end up with a little mascara transferring to the lower rim of your eye immediately after you do it, but that's pretty easy to just wipe away.

Here I used CoverGirl LashBlast Volume in Black-Brown for the first two coats and then Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara (reviewed here) to stamp at the base. There's no real reason why you couldn't use the same mascara for both steps. I just like the separation I get from the CG one and the thickness of the Jordana one. And then I'm left my whole eyelid (what little there is) to play with eyeshadows.

White rice powder as a cheap dry shampoo (from The Beauty Department)

Has anyone tried this? The advantage over other dry shampoos is supposed to be that rice flour turns transparent when it absorbs oil from your scalp.

One good DIY and one bad DIY (from The Beauty Department)

Good: Make your own beach wave texture spray.

Bad: Make your own lash/brow serum. Maybe not so much bad as misleading. Castor oil does not stimulate hair growth. It can condition and, as a result, strengthen your hair so that it doesn't break as easily. If fewer lashes fall off, then they will be (or appear) thicker. But it won't make new ones grow where there weren't any before.

Create a smoky eye look using eyeliner instead of eyeshadow (from The Beauty Department)

This is good for cheapos who want to try a new technique without buying new products, or for traveling when you forget something or want to limit how much you pack. I like!

Eye brightening tip from The Beauty Department plus the $3 product you need to do it

Have you seen this trick for making your eyes look subtly brighter and more awake using lilac eyeliner? It does work, and the best part is that one of the liners they suggest is on sale from Sephora for $3. I have a feeling it's on clearance, though, so it might not be available for long. The Sephora one appears to be sheerer than the Eyeko version in the tutorial. At least on my pasty skin, it mostly shows up as a cool-ish shimmer, but it does the trick anyway.

Sephora Collection Smoky Kohl Eyeliner in Lilac
(natural light)

Do you know of any other affordable lilac eyeliners? It seems to be a rare shade.

Fix Your Face: The Winged Shadow Wipe Trick

This is a good trick for lifting your eyeshadow at the corners, creating a nice edge, and figuring out where to put your winged eyeliner. I usually just use my finger to wipe off the excess, because I don't want to waste a whole wipe for this, but it works.