I Tried This Viral Mascara Trick and It Made a HUGE Difference in My Eyelashes

Right as summer began, I got my very first set of eyelash extensions from New York City's Envious Lashes. Turns out that's a very appropriate name because now that the last glued-on lash has finally fallen from my face, I'm envious of pictures of myself from just a few weeks ago. While I had the lash extensions, I wasn't wearing mascara — I didn't need to — but now that I'm applying it again, I feel like I can't quite achieve the same lush look.

Luckily, Marie Claire digital beauty editor Chloe Metzger (hey girl!) brought to my attention a video posted by Georgie Eisdell — a makeup artist whose clients include Nina Dobrev, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Thandie Newton — in which she applies mascara to a model while her eyes are closed. Sounds ridiculous, right? But in the slightly sped-up footage, it all seems to make sense. You see the artist's thumb gently pulling the model's closed lid taut before she starts with one traditional sweep up the length of the lashes, followed by the the bristles being wiggled into the base of the lashes on up — again, all while the model's eyes were closed.

See for yourself:

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The model's lashes look fantastic when she's through, so of course, I had to try it myself. One problem: I don't have a makeup artist to do this for me, so I'll be applying mascara with only one eye open. This could get messy — hell, even in the video, you see a little bit of mascara get on the model's lid. But if it's going to help me get an intensified look more like my late lash extensions, it's a risk I'm willing to take.

To see if this technique really does turn out differently, I started with a traditional application of mascara. I used It Cosmetics Superhero Mascara, which is no slacker in the length and volume department, regardless of how it's appied. Here's how that looks when I apply it like I usually apply mascara (with both eyes — and my mouth — open).

I then started over on my left eye, closing it before going in for the wiggle-sweep combo under the base of my lashes. Just wiggling the bristles deposits more than enough mascara on nearly the entire length of my lashes, and sweeping while it's closed adds noticeably more length. It also adds a noticeable black splotch to my nose — my first attempt at this technique wasn't exactly graceful. That said, by some miracle, I didn't get the mascara on my eyelid or under my eye despite the proximity of the bristles to my skin.

Here, you can see the difference between the regular technique and the closed-eye technique:

Impressed, and because I didn't want asymmetrical eyelashes, I did the same closed-eye application to my right eye.

Without a doubt, the wiggle-sweep technique on a closed eye really does create a more voluminous, lengthier outcome. Aside from the potential for smudging mascara on your skin while applying, the only other issue I had was the presences of a few more clumps than usual — nothing that wasn't easily solved with a lash separator.

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