Makeup. Without it, we are beautiful, natural women free without fears of water, cups and white t-shirts. Yet, there should be no shame in the game of women that take advantage of the power of mascara, eyeliner and concealer. It’s almost better than having a wand at Hogwarts.
Learning how to buy makeup at the lowest price possible is almost as great as learning when to toss the makeup before something as vile as an eye infection can come forth and ruin a perfect week. Never fear! Her Campus is here to explain the basics of make up.
Concealer can be a girl’s best friend. Yes, the girl you’ve known since the third grade is great, but does she cover the under eye circles she’s accumulated from four hours of studying for an exam? Concealer to the rescue!
“I decided to give concealer a go after I tried to pull an all-nighter to finish my philosophy paper,” Maria Cardona, freshman at UIUC, said. “I try not to put a lot on, but just the right amount does the trick, and no one ever knows when I’m in desperate need of a coffee break.”
According to Michelle Phan, a YouTube celebrity famous for demonstrating makeup tutorials, concealer should be kept for 12-18 months. Luckily these bad boys can hang around just long enough to last through all four seasons. This, sadly, can’t be said about good ol’ mascara.
Mascara makes the tiny feather dusters attached to your eyelids reach new heights. They give an extra touch to a wide-eyed, morning look or a smoky lid. Sadly, the tube of magic only has a maximum life span of about three months until it reaches its timely death, according to an article by beauty blogger Sarah Densmore.
The moment your mascara begins to dry up—even if before the 90-day deadline—it should probably hit the trash bin. Dryness can lead to bacteria, causing you to repeatedly transfer a stick of germs back and forth to your eyelashes. An old tip suggests adding saline solution to the tiny tube to give an extra amount of time of usage. While it may clear up dryness and clumps, the idea of an eye infection remains in the mist, leaving the old saying “to each her own” with more truth than ever. Just be sure to add a few drops here and there of sterile solution, never water.
The best thing about powder blush, eyes shadow, lipstick and lip-gloss is that it can survive up to two years in that lucky makeup bag of yours. If one day you’re slowly raising your tube of lipstick to your face and you smell something funky, it’s probably time to give the product a toss. The same goes for all of the two year limit deals. With products that can last long, the best idea would probably be to store it in a cool, dry place without much sunlight to guarantee freshness.
Enough with the sadness about throwing away and losing the good make up. The best thing to aim for when searching for cheap makeup is to stray away from applying the $1 blush you purchased from the dollar store. Instead, focus on what can be used to apply the makeup. The power of a makeup brush makes all the difference.
“I like to make my makeup look nice, and that all leads back to the brushes,” said Bianca Rincon, student at UIUC. “I don’t like paying a lot of money for a stick with bristles at the end, but the magic you can do with a good brush is real.”
Makeup can turn any long night into a refreshing day to the eye of the beholder, but the number one rule should be to always stay safe and resourceful.