makeup essentials.

Eyeliner and mascara are essential to my makeup routine, but strangely enough, I was in a rush this morning and forgot to curl my eyelashes and apply mascara, leaving my eyes feeling a little naked.

Cursed with oily eyelids, it's always been difficult for me to find eye makeup that doesn't smudge and make me look like a racoon after a few hours.  Thanks to a friend's recommendation, Bobbi Brown's long-wear gel eyeliner has been a blessing.  Easy to apply (I use the extra fine eyeliner brush) and stays on all day long.

Gel eyeliner gives the eyes a very precise, clean look, so if I'm in the mood for something softer, I usually line my top lids with Chanel's stylo yeux waterproof long-lasting eyeliner in ebene and set it with Bobbi Brown's long-wear eye paint in Onyx (when applied dry, acts like heavy eye shadow).

  

Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Palette; long-wear eye paint on the far right


As for mascara, during the daytime I use Shu Uemura's precise volume waterproof mascara, which doesn't clump or smudge and gives the lashes just enough volume and length to make them pop.  For more dramatic lashes, I use Helena Rubinstein's lash queen waterproof mascara.  I had never heard of Helena Rubinstein until my mom received a tube of this mascara for free a year ago.  This mascara has one of the best volumizing and lengthening formulas I've tried.  It's easy to build on and gives a false-lash effect.  It also features a dual-sided brush, allowing you to control how much separation you want between your lashes.

Images courtesy of bobbibrown.com, chanel.com, shuuemura.com, helenarubinstein.com