August Box Eye Items

My Sephora box was really full this time! Normally I receive five items plus a scent. This time one of the items was doubled, as was the scent. This was a neat surprise and really pleased the Capricorn in me.

One of the benefits of having these new (and out of my usual budget) makeup items is that I'm starting to understand why my face can't tolerate certain products. If you asked before, I would say I was allergic to mascara, but I've handled the two from my boxes just fine. I think the issue is that I'm allergic to something normally put into most cheaper versions of the product and not in these.

The mascara that came in this month's box was doubled. One side was CLINIQUE High Impact Mascara (18$) and the other side was CLINIQUE Lash Building Primer (17$). What I received as a sample was a double-sided deal with the mascara on one end and the primer on the other. The primer serves two purposes. The first is that it adds a conditioner to the lashes and helps to keep the mascara on longer. From my perspective, it did this fairly well. I was pleased with it. It coats onto the lash clearish to white. The mascara is designed to do what mascara does. I will say this one is very pigmented and made my lashes look pretty glam. Because these are Clinique products, they're safe for anyone with contacts and allergies. They're also scent free and I LOVED that. Overall, I was pleased with this sample.

Would I buy these? The thing is, I'm figuring out if I plan on wearing mascara, I would need to purchase something at this price point. Scent free and easy on my eyes is the only way I'd be able to function.

I received another lash product as well, the Too Faced Mascara Melt Off Cleansing Oil. This product costs 17$. I have to confess. I have never used mascara cleansing oil. I always just washed my mascara off like I did everything else. I know cleansing oils aren't a new thing because I remember my mom having one when I was little. I remember opening the container and being confused by how the brush looked. I just thought it was some weird other mascara.

She never explained it to me because Mom had a weird relationship with makeup. Every woman in my family did. Makeup was treated as something almost forbidden, almost on the level with dirty magazines. I literally would sit behind the hedges with a friend and experiment with eyeshadows with a friend. We HID this eyeshadow under the leaves like it was our smack gear or something! People! Makeup is PAINT. It is a tool, like a knitting needle or a tube of oil paint. Don't make your kids uncomfortable about art!

Anyway, back to the melting oil, I am very pleased with it. I'm one of those people who always have raccoon eyes after wearing mascara and when I used this, that didn't happen. Some people were saying they didn't like that you wait a full minute before removal and that you still have to wipe it with something else to get the stuff off. To me, the point was that it comes off easier. Now would I buy this? That is a lot of money for a uni-tasking product when you can accomplish it with other things. On the other hand, if I were wearing an intense, hard to get off mascara every day, it might be a worthwhile investment.

As I said above, the mascara (and related eye products) have been interesting for me. I am learning a lot about my eyes and what I need for them, which means I'm accomplishing one of the primary missions of this Sephora experiment. Tomorrow we'll talk about skin and hair.

No More Tears: An Eye Tutorial

Now you'll notice on my first picture, which is the finished result, I have on a false lash. Now some people with sensitive eyes can't do false lashes, but for me, they're kind of a godsend. They solve the issue of me having such stunted natural lashes in the first place, add a nice level of glamour, and make up for the fact that I can't wear mascara and most of the time can't handle eyeliner.

Other tips for sensitive eyes and makeup:

• Put eye drops in about 30 minutes before you apply your makeup. It usually takes them about that long to really be effective.
• Try to use things with as little scent as possible. Sometimes this isn't an option, but it certainly helps.
• If you can, try and experiment with different brands of makeup. There may be some that you can actually use without too many problems. You may need to use ones with certain ingredients or the lack of certain chemicals. 
• Some people say that creams work better for them than powders when it comes to having sensitive eyes. That hasn't been the case for me, but it's worth testing to see if it might work for you.

Seriously though, when it comes to eye makeup, the struggle is real for anyone with watery eyes. It can get really frustrating and sometimes it seems like the best option is to just assume it isn't meant to be for you. But if you love painting like I do, it's worth the time to experiment around and see if something works. I hope you try my method and if it does work for you, please drop me a message. If you have other tips, I'd love to hear those as well.

Fake Tears

Oh look! Third post is about some passive/aggressive thing. Or maybe third post is some long poem!

No, actually, this post is about eye drops.

Most of my life, I've suffered from dry eyes.  It's one of those things that you get so used to that you don't even think about it anymore. It's one of those little pains that never goes away, just strains on you hour after hour until eventually, you shut your stinging, abused eyes for several hours of sleep.

Why it took me to 37 to realize this didn't have to be the case is beyond me.

I would occasionally use eye drops, but not that often. A lot of this had to do with the basic fear of putting things into my eyes. I hate that so much. When something even comes near them my eye starts to blink and protest, well, you know, in its own EYE kind of way. There was also the fact that I never mastered the drop thing. Instead of just squeezing out one or two drops, I would go from nothing nothing NOTHING...to a flood.  It was always horrible.

The thing is, most of that was due to lack of practice and familiarity. My roommate started using them on a regular basis after an eye appointment and they helped him a lot. He suggested I try it and I wasn't sure, mostly for the reasons mentioned above.  I gave it a shot though.  I'm so glad I did.

Really, eye drops can be wonderful for people in my situation. Putting them in causes almost immediate relief from the stingies.  As I said above, the pain is something you get used to, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.  It's so much easier to focus when you don't feel like tiny needles are stabbing into your iris. I found I could stay up longer and got less headaches. I could even see with more clarity for longer periods of time.

I overcame my fear about it by reminding my eyes how much better they would feel.  They began to work with me, in their own EYE kind of way, and were thankful.  As for controlling the drops, that has come with practice. I can safely say there have only been a few mishaps.

I try to do them at night before going to bed, just to take out the last of the evening sting, and in the morning when I wake up.  Sometimes I have to reapply midday, especially if I've been stirring up dust or the cats are shedding.  My roommate put a bottle of drops on the bathroom counter. It's by my toothbrush, which honestly makes it easier for me to remember to do it.

OH! And they have drops for people with allergies. I will warn you, those burn when you first put them in. It's horrible. But it's temporary. After that, you feel so much better.

In conclusion, fake tears can SO be your friend.  If you are tired of the constant nagging ache in your eye sockets, eye drops may help a lot. There really is no reason to suffer.