IT'S FINALLY HERE!
My latest product has been in the works for almost 6 months now (apologies to those of you who have been following me on Instagram, watching, and waiting for it this whole time...) but I am so excited (and nervous) to finally be sharing it with the world!
I can't believe I made a mascara.
Mascara is like the single most important and essential makeup item ever, am I right? I mean I never wear foundation or lipstick or eye shadow, but I wear mascara every single day.
(OK I guess when I put it that way it kind of makes sense that I had to put my own spin on it...)
It all started when someone told me that they were putting my bronzing balm on their lashes. I started doing it too, but wondered if there was a way to make it better - like more pigmented and less creamy/oily. I bought some black pigment one day on a whim, but kind of got distracted with the million other products I make and forgot about it for quite a few months.
I even looked into ordering some vegan mascara from another brand that everyone was raving about because it was supposed to be the best.
Sadly, it was not.
All the while people were hitting me up for natural, vegan mascara recommendations and I was happily recommending what I was using at the time, which really was the best thing I had found... yet.
Then one day last April, I forgot my makeup. I had an event to attend after work that day but was running late in the morning so I thought I'd just throw in my mascara and eyelash curler in my bag and of course use all of the other products that I stock in the shop! But when I got to the office, I realized the curler and mascara were not in my bag. Uh oh. Now I don't need to wear a lot of makeup, but I feel absolutely naked if I don't at least curl my eyelashes. (My eyelashes are very long but very straight - they actually point downwards.)
So I ran to the nearest drugstore (obviously this was before I lived within walking distance to the shop or carried these,) to pick up an eyelash curler and debated buying some cheapie mascara there for a hot second. (I picked up a couple packages and read the ingredients and was like NOPE. Nevermind!)
Then, during the car ride back to the shop, the eye tint formula suddenly came to me. No joke. (This kind of sudden knowing happens to me often - I think on ideas so long that I end up feeling like I just manifested them out of nowhere I guess.) When I got back to work I went straight into the kitchen and mixed it up. I put it on immediately (with the eyebrow brush that I somehow managed to remember that day) fully expecting it to be a great big mess. But it wasn't a mess at all.
It looked GOOD. More importantly, it felt good. It felt good enough to share with other people.
This was the day I made eye tint. ⬇️
(There's just something so empowering about solving all of your problems - even when it's the seemingly small and unimportant things like finding a good natural deodorant or forgetting your mascara. It's my favorite thing about this job.)
I never went back to my old mascara you guys.
The one that I made was (is) superior, even from the very first experiment. In fact, I didn't even alter the first recipe. I tested several different amounts of pigment but I knew that the oil/wax ratio was perfect from the beginning.
After months of living in it, (during an extremely hot and humid summer, by the way,) testing different batches, and a lot of internal debate, (I almost went with the very first version,) I decided to go with a more pigmented version that could also be worn as an eyeliner because if it doesn't multitask I kind of don't want it in my life.
Oh, and I made a bronze version too because I personally love wearing coppery/gold/brownish eyeliners to bring out the green in my hazel eyes. (I also think this would be perfect for my blonde and ginger friends!)
Also, yes, I will be making more shades eventually, assuming you all love it as much as I do!
Here are my favorite things about eye tint:
1. No flakes! This was my main complaint about my last mascara. It looked great at first but it felt like every time I checked myself in the mirror I realized that it had flaked all over my face. So annoying!
2. It doesn't weigh my lashes down! Even though it's a pretty stiff/thick wax formula, it feels super lightweight. Typical wet mascaras in the tube tend to go pull the curl out of my lashes and I have to re-curl them once it dries. I don't need to do that with eye tint. They stay lifted much longer!
3. No crunchy lashes or spider clumps. It feels soft and smooth. I don't need that pointy metal eyelash brush anymore. My lashes look natural and soft when I wear eye tint.
4. My eyes are so much less red and irritated. So, I didn't realize that my old mascara was what was making my eyes look red until I stopped using it. I didn't think that there were any irritating ingredients in it, but there must have been something that didn't agree with my eyes because constant redness isn't an issue for me anymore since I ditched my old mascara. I can even sleep in eye tint (I do not officially recommend this just for the record) and wake up without red, uncomfortable eyes.
All of that being said, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge that perfection does not actually exist. The beauty industry as a whole has a big problem with promising all kinds of things to get people to buy and not actually delivering results (like whatsoever) and I never want to play that game. (One of my biggest pet peeves is the commercials for crappy drugstore mascaras where the model is obviously wearing false eyelashes. Like, why?) Thanks to some clever marketers we've come to expect so much out of some very simple ingredients, which always leads to disappointment, doesn't it? (It does with me!)
So while I LOVE eye tint and have had great results with it and even think it's better than anything I've used before, it is not perfect. I don't think anything is, despite how other brands try to market their products.
There are a couple of things that I think are going to make eye tint not for everyone.
Here are the issues:
1. It's not for lower lashes. (Unless they're very short.) I personally have never been able to wear any mascara on my lower lashes because they're so long that I end up with mascara all over my face, but I definitely wouldn't wear eye tint on my lower lashes. (Unless I was also wearing it as an eyeliner under my eyes and going for a dramatic, exaggerated smoky look.)
2. It can smudge. I've never had a mascara that wasn't a hot smudgy mess, so eye tint still totally wins, but I still want to warn you that it can smudge a little bit. Especially if you wear a lot of oils and butters on your face (as you know I do.) Wearing translucent powder (or shimmer powder or your favorite eyeshadow) really helps it stay in place, and I don't actually own a concealer but I feel like that might help too. The good news is that it wipes off really easily. If I notice that I've got a little bit under my eyes I just grab a little piece of tissue or use my fingers to wipe it off and I usually just have to do that once.
That being said, it definitely holds up.
Here I am today at 9:10 am and 3:30 pm without cleaning up or retouching anything on my face:
In the second pic I had worked all day and just gotten in from walking my son home from school about 25 minutes in high humidity.
I mean, that's pretty great, right??
3. You may have to "prime" it. When you open up your eye tint for the very first time it's going to look really smooth and shiny and, well... waxy. As the hot melted wax cools some of the pigment tends to sink under the surface and you have to get the tint going a little bit to get through that very top layer of wax. Just rub your clean finger over it (or use a paper towel) until you start to pick up some color. This step isn't really necessary because you'll do it with your brush anyway, but it will ensure that you're getting enough color on your brush from the very first use. That all sounds more confusing than it actually is so here's a video:
4. Sometimes it wants to pop out of it's container. It's not really that big of a deal. Just be careful with it (like you hopefully are with all of your makeup) and don't open it upside down. If it does fall out, just pop it back in!
So what else do you need to know about eye tint?!
1. How long will it last?
A looooong time you guys. It's difficult for me to say since I've been going through test batches, but a little goes a really long way. On casual days, I sometimes just brush on the product that's leftover on my brush instead of rubbing my brush in the tint. (Side note make sure you're washing your brush regularly.)
The shelf life is one year, assuming you keep it dry.
2. What about the brush?
I ordered liner/mascara duo brushes that will be arriving next week, so in the meantime I'll be sending eye tint out with disposable mascara spoolies. There's also a $2 cruelty free brush by e.l.f. available at Target that works great.
I would not recommend using an old mascara wand, because the stick part isn't really stiff enough (that's what she said) to rub the brush in the tint and pick up enough product.
3. Can I wear it as an eye shadow? Brow gel?
Yes and yes. I haven't tried the black as a shadow but the bronze works great. Full disclosure, I feel ridiculous with makeup in my brows and just use wave pomade to tame them (old millennial problems) but I don't see why it wouldn't work. A little eye tint will go a long way as a shadow and in the brows.
BUT, THE LASHES YOU GUYS!
I'm so pleased with how this turned out. I hope you love it too. If you have questions I haven't answered here you know where to find me!
-XO-
