Do You Put Mascara On Before Fake Eyelashes

Ah, the age-old question. The one that keeps some of us up at night, staring at our makeup bags with a furrowed brow. It’s a beauty mystery. A true enigma wrapped in a lash.

We’re talking about the great debate, the ultimate showdown. Does the mascara go on before the fake eyelashes? Or is it the other way around? Honestly, it feels like a secret handshake for the truly initiated. A club with no visible membership card.

Let's be real. For years, I just…winged it. See what I did there? Winged it. Like applying winged eyeliner. Which, incidentally, is another whole can of worms we won't open today. We're sticking to the lashes. The fabulous, fluttery, fake lashes.

I remember my first foray into the world of falsies. It was for a friend’s wedding. I wanted to look extra. You know, the kind of extra that says, “I’m here, and I might just steal the bouquet.” So, I grabbed a pair of lashes. They looked dramatic. They looked promising. Then came the sticky stuff. And the tweezers. And a whole lot of praying to the makeup gods.

The instructions on the box were…vague. Or maybe I just wasn’t reading them properly. It’s possible. My excitement levels were probably off the charts. My focus, therefore, was probably somewhere in the stratosphere.

So, what did I do? I think I put on some mascara first. Just a little. To give my natural lashes a bit of a boost, you know? A bit of a…foundation. For the real stars of the show. The glamorous, glamorous fakes. Then I wrestled with the glue. And the lashes. They kept sticking to my fingers. Or to each other. It was a whole production.

When it was all said and done, the lashes looked…okay. A little wonky, maybe. But okay. And then I looked at the mascara. Was it enough? Was it too much? Was it even necessary anymore?

This is where the real confusion sets in. Because if you put mascara on after the fake lashes, what are you even doing? Are you trying to blend them? Are you trying to…paint them a new color? It seems like a recipe for disaster. A sticky, clumpy disaster.

Imagine this: you’ve successfully applied your glorious fake lashes. They’re sitting perfectly. They’re aligned. They’re everything you dreamed of. And then you pick up the mascara wand. You get a bit too enthusiastic. And suddenly, your beautiful, delicate falsies are…cemented. Stuck together. Like tiny, furry caterpillars having a very bad hair day.

No, no, no. That’s not the vibe. The vibe is effortless glamour. The vibe is “Oh, these old things? I just woke up like this.” The vibe is not “Help me, my fake lashes are stuck together with mascara and I think I’m going to cry.”

So, naturally, I gravitated towards putting mascara on before. It felt…logical. Like preparing the canvas before you paint the masterpiece. You wouldn't paint a Van Gogh on a dirty canvas, would you? Well, maybe Van Gogh would have. He was a bit of an outlier. But we’re not Van Gogh. We’re just trying to achieve a decent lash look for Tuesday.

My theory, my unpopular opinion, is that mascara before is the way to go. It gives your natural lashes a little something. A little volume. A little length. It creates a nice, even base. And then, the fake lashes just…layer on top. They become the queens. The undisputed rulers of the eye area. And your natural lashes are their loyal subjects. Working in perfect harmony.

Some people, though. Oh, some people are very particular. I’ve heard whispers. I’ve seen furtive glances at makeup tutorials where they swear by mascara after. They say it helps them blend. They say it makes the transition seamless. They say it’s the secret. The magic trick.

And I respect that. I really do. But my hands? They’re just not that steady. My precision levels? They’re…aspirational. I’m more of a “close enough is good enough” kind of gal when it comes to the final coat of mascara on falsies.

The thought of trying to carefully coat individual fake lashes with mascara gives me hives. It sounds like a job for a brain surgeon. Or someone with the patience of a saint. And frankly, I’m neither. I’m more of a “get the job done and go get coffee” kind of person.

So, I stick to my guns. Mascara on the real lashes. A little coat. Nothing too heavy. Just enough to give them a bit of presence. Then, the glue. The fiddly, sticky glue. And then, the moment of truth. The placement of the fake lashes. It's like performing delicate surgery with a pair of tweezers and a prayer.

Once they’re on, and they haven't flown off my face or glued my eyelids shut, I consider it a victory. A small, but significant, victory in the ongoing battle against sparse lashes. And at that point, the idea of adding more mascara? It just seems…redundant. And risky.

I mean, what if I miss? What if I get a big glob of mascara on the delicate hairs? Then I’m stuck. I can’t take it off without ruining the whole lash. And then I’m back to square one. With a pair of very sad, clumpy fake lashes.

So, my friends, my fellow beauty adventurers, I stand by my method. Mascara first. Then the fakes. It’s my personal gospel. My lash manifesto. It’s how I achieve my everyday (or every-special-occasion) flutter. It’s how I feel like a million bucks, even if I only spent five bucks on the lashes.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there’s a secret society of lash artists out there who are shaking their heads at me right now. But until someone can definitively prove to me that mascara after is the superior, less-likely-to-end-in-a-mess method, I’m going to keep doing it my way. With a smile. And a prayer that the glue holds.

It’s all about what works for you, right? What makes you feel fabulous. What makes you look in the mirror and think, “Yes. I am ready to conquer the day. Or at least, ready to take a good selfie.” And for me, that means mascara first. Always.

It’s a delicate dance. A performance art. And sometimes, a complete comedy of errors. But ultimately, it’s about feeling your best. And my best involves a little bit of mascara before the drama begins.

So, if you’re ever at a makeup counter, or in a crowded bathroom, and you see someone meticulously applying mascara to their natural lashes before even touching the fake ones, know this: they might be on to something. Or they might just be me. Either way, we’re in this together. The glorious, sometimes messy, world of fake lashes.

And if you try my method? Let me know. Does it work for you? Or are you team mascara-after? The debate rages on. But for today, I’m just going to enjoy my perfectly imperfect lashes. My layered, luscious lashes. My mascara-first, fake-lash-friendly lashes.

It’s a simple philosophy. A straightforward approach. And it saves me from a whole lot of potential lash-related stress. And isn’t that what beauty is all about? Making life a little bit easier? A little bit more glamorous? And a whole lot more fluttery?