I Stopped Wearing Mascara for a Week — Here’s How I Did My Makeup

By Devon Abelman, Allure

 

I'm a woman of very few vices. I haven't had more than a sip of alcohol or coffee for more than a year. Gambling stresses me out, and asthma keeps me smoking anything. My indulgences lie in doughnuts, TV shows driven by love triangles, and mascara — all very PG-rated and relatively harmless. Mascara might not seem like a big deal, but let me explain. Before I leave the house, I have to swipe on at least three more coats of mascara — on top of the several others that I initially put on with the rest of my makeup. Even after frequent returns to the tube, I'm still not satisfied.

[post_ads]What fuels my love for mascara? You know as well as I do. The widening effect it has on my somewhat small, almond-shaped eyes is a major plus. I also like how it makes me look wide awake and ready to take on the day even on days where I stayed up until 2 a.m. watching the aforementioned TV shows. I also generally love the look of lush, curled lashes. To get to the root of my mascara obsession, I vowed to not wear it for a week. Lea Michele didn't wear it to the Grammys this year, and she survived. Models do it all the time on the runway, and makeup artists on Instagram have proved to me that you can wear bold eye makeup, forgo mascara, and still get thousands of likes on Instagram. I could, too, could live to tell the tale.

I started off slow with wearing no makeup at all on a Saturday, then just a bit of shimmery peach eye shadow on a Sunday to brunch with my best friend Celina. She wasn't wearing mascara, either, so the absence of my own went under the radar. For a low-key weekend, the no-mascara life felt easy. The actual work week was another story.

  
Monday
  
The look: Hot Pink Wings

Before I dive into this look, I would like to point out that I am not a makeup artist by any means. Now that I've made that clear, I confess to feeling unnecessarily nervous about going to work on Monday with no mascara on. I weirdly thought people would make a big deal it, but it was — obviously — all in my head. No one noticed except our associate digital beauty editor Sarah Kinonen, whom I've known for five years.
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Actually creating the hot pink wings was also an unnecessary struggle. The time I usually take to put on mascara was spent obsessing over my brows and perfecting the wings. (I drew them on with Marc Jacobs Beauty Highliner Matte Gel Eye Crayon Eyeliner in (Pop)ular.) I realized mascara acts as a blurring filter for eye makeup. If my lashes are curled enough, I can compensate for flaws like stray brow hairs and uneven wings. Without mascara, I felt like I didn't have that safety net. My brows and liner skills were on full display. However, as you could imagine, no one judged me for a second.

When I left the house for work, I felt like I forgot to put something more substantial on, like a bra. (TBH, I wasn't wearing a bra either, but that's another story.) That feeling stuck with me for a good three days. The feeling that I truly reveled in was how easy it was to wash off my makeup. I didn't have any unsightly dark smears all over my face or mascara residue afterward. My face was completely clean in seconds.

Lipstick: Milk Makeup Lip Color in Grrrl ($22)

  
Tuesday

  

The look: Parallel Dots

I don't know about you, but I'm obsessed with this look. I would definitely do it again. Not having voluminous, curled lashes let the simplicity of the dots shine. I decided to wear less highlighter, too, to fulfill the minimalist fantasy. Somewhere in Brooklyn, my best friend Brooke, who is basically an undiscovered spokesperson for Glossier and K-beauty, is very happy I'm saying this.

[post_ads]To create the dots, I wielded the Revlon ColorStay Eye Pen with a ball point tip. I have hooded eyes, so I dotted the brow bone instead of the lid. (I tried doing one right above my upper lash line, but the dot just disappeared when my eyes are open.) This arrangement also helped with crying. I shed a couple tears, and my dots stayed put. Also, I didn't have to worry about my mascara running.

The best part of this look was the reactions I got. People were either gung-ho on it or entirely confused. I went to a bodega around the corner from my house, and the guy at the cashier asked if my dots were tattoos. Hard no, buddy.

Lipstick: Melt Cosmetics Lipstick in Mum ($19)

   
Wednesday
  
The look: Metallic Mint

At this point, the no mascara life started feeling normal. I accepted this as my life and pictured a pleasantly happy future without it. I almost forgot that mascara existed — almost. Let's not get carried away here.

This mint number was inspired by Rihanna and the lighter shade in the Yves Saint Laurent Eye Duo Smoker Eyeshadow in Smoky Green. I smudged it all over my lids and dabbed a little bit of highlighter on the center of my lids. To help define my eyes a bit more, I tight-lined them. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a rundown on it: it involves lining the innermost part of your eyelids by pulling up the upper lid with your ring finger to expose the root of your lashes. Once you etch black liner along that area, your lashes will look thick without any actual mascara.
 
This experiment helped bring new brow products into my life too. I started using the Eyeko Brow Gel, which helped tint my naturally thick brows, fill in gaps, and keep them in place.

Lipstick: NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick in Stone Fox

 
Thursday
  
The look: High Fashion Burgundy

Because I'd been focusing on eye makeup all week, I wanted to give my lips a moment to shine. Also, I wanted to test myself even more. On Thursday, I left my eyes totally bare. That's a rare occurrence for me. Usually, I sweep on some champagne eye shadow at the very least. But not today.

Taking cues from the runway, I swiped on some aubergine lipstick, specifically the Nars Velvet Lip Glide in Toy. The deep hue looked striking against my vampire-like pale skin. I loved the contrast. 10/10, and I would especially recommend this look for other very fair-skinned people, though would-be vampires of any skin tone could look great with it, too. I'll definitely repeat it on a day when my allergies are acting up. (That happens a lot — next week, I'll probably forgo mascara for this look again.)
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To add some light to my face, I dabbed some NYX Away We Glow in Liquid Prism atop my cheekbones and brushed the silvery Too Faced Love Light Highlighter in You Light Up My Life. The combo looked simultaneously natural and blinding, which is the highlighter aesthetic I forever strive for.

  
Friday
   
The look: Glossy Black and Pink

Alas, we come to my last day without my must-have product. I made it through the wilderness. before embarking on this journey, I asked Ash Meredith, a Dallas-based makeup artist and one of the geniuses behind the yellow blush trend, for tips for wearing no mascara. She suggested I try a glossy eye look. "Usually with mascara, gloss becomes kind of a mess for everyday wear," she explains. "But without it, it's much more comfortable." And she was so right. I topped the Doucce Eyeshadow Mono in Jody (a pastel pink), which is in this month's Allure Beauty Box, with Milk Makeup's Face Gloss. The thinnest layer was all I need for max shine. Ash Meredith was right. I actually enjoyed having glossy eye makeup. Usually, the gloss gets all up in my lashes and smudges onto my under eye area, and it's not cute.

This look definitely sealed the deal for me. Honestly, I almost didn't want the week to end. Without waxing poetic to an annoying level, I realized that I'm not mascara, and mascara is not me. I don't have to depend on it to feel like my look is complete. And before you start wondering, no, it didn't suddenly feel amazing to put it on for the first time post-experiment. My lashes didn't look more magical than usual. Instead, putting on mascara again was like visiting an old friend, and I just slipped into my old routine like I had never interrupted it in the first place.
     
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