Three mascara primers, three results
A mascara primer is one of the most searched lash products at Boozyshop, and at the same time one where the choice is confusing. There are three in the shop, they all cost under five euros, and they really do different things. One goes for volume, one holds the curl, and one adds colour up front. Which one you need depends on what your lashes already do on their own.
If you first want to know what a primer is and why it works, that explanation sits with the lash and mascara primer collection. Below is about choosing.
The white primer: for volume and length
This is the classic form. White, with a brush like a mascara wand, aimed at thickness and length. You lay a coat around every lash, so the lash is thicker before any mascara goes on. The result is a fuller lash with the same mascara you already own.
Pick this one if your lashes are fine or short, or if you normally apply two or three coats of mascara to get enough volume. With a primer one coat is enough, and that saves you clumps.
The curl fixing base: for a curl that drops
This one is made for lashes you curl that hang down again within the hour. The base dries in the shape you set the lash in and holds that shape. It is fragrance free, sulphate free and vegan.
Pick this one if your lashes are naturally straight or if your curl never stays. Volume is not the point here, the lift is.
The tinted primer: for light lashes
A primer with colour in it, so your lash is darker straight away and your mascara only has to finish the job. This one is fragrance free and vegan as well.
Pick this one if your lashes are light in colour, or if you want to keep it to a thin coat of mascara and still get definition. On light lashes a white primer mainly reads as white until the mascara goes over it.
Which one suits your lashes
- Fine or short, and you mainly want thickness: the white primer.
- Straight, and your curl drops: the curl fixing base.
- Light in colour, or you want to keep it to one coat: the tinted primer.
- Naturally thick and dark: you do not need a primer, one coat of mascara does the work.
Which mascara goes on top
The combination decides the end result. After volume, take a mascara with a thick brush; for length a thin brush works better. A tubing mascara is a good partner for a primer, because it forms tiny tubes around the lash that slide off with warm water, without any rubbing.
The full range is in mascara.
The order, and the mistake everyone makes
- Curl your lashes first, if you curl them. After the primer it no longer works well, because the lash is stiffer by then. For a curler, look at the eyelash curlers.
- Apply the primer from the lash line to the tip, in one movement per eye.
- Do not wait for it to dry. This is where it goes wrong most often. A primer works on a slightly damp layer, because that is when the two products bond. Let it dry completely and you get clumps and a white haze.
- Put your mascara straight on top, also in one movement per lash.
In short
- White for thickness, curl fixing for lift, tinted for colour.
- Curl first, then the primer, then the mascara straight away.
- Do not let the primer dry before the mascara goes on.
- One coat of mascara is usually enough after a primer.
- Wipe the brush on the rim of the tube, a primer needs very little.