Oh! To have a perfect mascara

Dear Betsy, I have small, stumpy eyelashes and want your advice on the best mascara to use. I have tried lots but it just goes into thick bits on my eyes, smudges and looks so false.

Panda Eyes, Riffa.

Dear Panda Eyes,

There will hardly be a woman reading this who doesn't identify with your dilemma!

Just as we girls are constantly looking out for that perfect LBD (little black dress boys) it seems we are also programmed at birth to ceaselessly hunt down that elusive, perfect mascara.

The good news is that this summer mascara has gone hi-tech.

As well as a light but nourishing, non-clogging, non-smudging mascara cream, the brush itself is crucial to achieving no-panda eyes.

In the old days (BHTM) before hi-tech mascara, we girls in the know armed ourselves with eyelash curlers, mascara and a lash comb.

The aim was to curl the lashes, get that mascara on and then rearrange and refine it by using the lash comb.

This meant we were able to remove most of the clogged up bits and avoid looking like two large spiders had attached themselves to our eyelids.

It also meant you needed an extra half hour to complete your face.

The say the simplest ideas are always the best and finally mascara manufacturers have realised that there is no need for the old spiral mascara 'brush' wand and they have replaced them with short, precise mascara combs! Genius!

Not only will it save you time, it will save you money too as you will be more economical with the product itself.

The perfect application technique for mascara is to begin at the roots and gently rock the brush back and forth to ensure a light, even application of the product and to separate the lashes, making them look longer and preventing the clogged up look.

This was the technique that we used with the old mascara comb after applying the mascara from the tube with the brush wand.

Check out the latest mascaras with these new comb applicators from Chanel and Rimmel. I have tried them and they are all easy to use.

As I write this I am sure there are lots of other cosmetic companies who will have jumped on this particular beauty bandwagon by now.

However, I did say that mascara had gone hi-tech and a plastic comb doesn't really fall into that category.

Enter the technological geniuses at Lancome who have produced a mascara masterpiece, the new comb-wand mascara that 'oscillates'!

No need to manually rock that wand back and forth on your lashes, just press a little button on the wand and it will do it for you!

Amazing results can be produced, but it takes a bit of getting used to and those frantic "morning-after-the-night-before" hurriedly applying mascara in the back of a taxi/when stopped at traffic lights can be decidedly dodgy girls.

Personally, being a control freak/perfectionist, I like to be able to control the speed of my oscillations and the wand doesn't provide this option.

So, Lancome if you are listening, 'great idea but please add an oscillation control feature when you upgrade'.

Now, back to basics ... that all important application technique.

Mascara goes on last after your eye shadow, pencil liner etc.

I prefer to use normal, unheated eyelash curlers at this stage (yes, boys you can buy eye lash curlers that heat up).

Make your life easier by withdrawing the wand from the tube and gently wiping off excess mascara.

Begin with your upper lashes, with your eye closed (yes boys, just one eye obviously!) and apply the mascara from the roots to the tip with short sweeping motions then go back to the roots and gently 'rock' the wand back and forth.

Now repeat on the other eye.

Go back to the first eye and with your eye open apply the mascara from the roots to the tip then again use the rocking motion.

This will lift, lengthen and separate your lashes.

Repeat on the other eye.

Lower lashes can be applied in a similar way and also by holding the brush vertically and brushing it back and forth over the roots first then using it horizontally from roots to tips in that rocking motion.

This is the time to use a cotton bud dipped in a liquid, oil free, eye make-up remover to tidy up any little smudges.

This technique does work well with the old mascara brushes too, but you need to remove around two thirds of the mascara from the brush with a tissue, before you begin.

Do not use the eyelash curlers after applying mascara unless you want to lose half of your lashes! This is a common mistake and what girl doesn't know that once you lose those luscious lashes they are loathe to grow back again.

In conclusion, let me just state a few of the obvious "mascara does and don'ts":

Don't share your mascara or use anyone-else's mascara.

If you are having a professional make-up artist do your make-up then take your own mascara with you or buy a new one

Mascara shelf life can be short, maximum of two to three months in our climate ... then bin it.

Throw out those old ones lurking at the back of the drawer.

Clean around the neck of the tube and the wand after each use, using a clean tissue.

This will prevent air entering the tube and drying up your mascara and will also help prevent contamination of your mascara.

If you get any eye irritation then stop using mascara until it is gone and throw your tube away, just in case.

Don't sleep with it on ... remove it with a gentle oil-free remover. If you wear contact lenses or have sensitive eyes then shop around and ask for samples of mascara, some companies do make them.

Applying a dark brown or black mascara, letting it dry then applying a light touch of blue, burgundy or green mascara just to the tips creates a perfect party frame for your peepers.

BETSY SAYS RELAX

Take up a new sporty activity now that the weather is cooling down. We can all benefit from being more active, no matter how many times a week you go to the gym.

Trying new activities make us use our brains as well as muscles we haven't used for a while. Try some martial arts, sailing, golf or join a dance or aerobics class. Stuck at home and can't get out? Then try a fitness DVD such as pilates, yoga or aerobics. No excuses!

IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING THIS WEEK

Help the planet by saving energy ... switch all your light bulbs to those special energy saving ones, switch off the water heaters when you go out to work, switch off all those appliances that are on 'standy by' mode such as the TV DVD stereo, etc. and, of course, now it's cooling down, switch off that energy guzzling air-conditioning unit.