Beauty Rave: L'Oreal Double Extend Mascara

I've always used non-department store mascaras, they just seemed to work best for me. I started using Cover Girl mascara when I was 12 for two reasons: my mom used it, and I thought the pink and green tube was pretty. I kept using it because that stuff really worked! It stayed on for a long time, wasn't clumpy and didn't leave black flakes on your face throughout the day.

Fast forward about 17 years..I was getting bored. I had no reason to change mascaras because it was still working great, but I wanted to try something new. I started wiht the Lash Blast because I thought Drew's lashes (you know, my homegirl Drew Barrymore), looked great in the ad. I used it and really liked it but it was hard to get used to the size of the brush. It must have been four times the size of my Cover Girl brush. I used that kind for about 4 months when Oprah (we're on a first name basis), recommended a new mascara in her magazine by L'Oreal.

This new mascara was a tubing mascara. Huh? It was the first non-department store tubing mascara out there. I guess one other brand had their own tubing mascara - I think it might have been Chanel but not sure. Anyway, what the heck is tubing? Basically, it's a 2 step process. The first step is to apply this white mascara on your lashes, then immediately follow with the colored mascara (black, brown etc.). It claims to lengthen your lashes up to 80%. What got me interested was the process of putting the white mascara on first then the black because I have noticed that if my lashes are still wet from my shower, my mascara works so much better than if my lashes had dried. The white step of the process could get my lashes wet before applying the real stuff.

So I went out to Target and got me a tube of tubing mascara and LOVED it. I loved it for all the reasons I loved Cover Girl: easy to apply, didn't flake or smudge but it also made my lashes really long and its so easy to take off. You don't even need eye make up remover, just warm water and the tubes come straight off. It's kind of scary at first because when you take it off, it looks like your lashes are falling out - because the mascara is still in the shape of each of your lashes.

My gym trainer actually noticed - he said my eyes looked really blue or they were more pronounced than they normally were. Then my manager noticed. She said "Theens! Your lashes are so long!" Side note: yes, my manager calls me Theens. Years ago we joked around about how people couldn't pronounce my name. They would call me Alisha, Alicia, Alison, etc. So she decided to call me Athena, which turned into the nickname Theens and Theener. Ok, back to mascara! So I told her about my mascara and I happened to have it in my purse. My director level, highly professional manager sat in her office with me, applying my mascara. She loved it so much she went out and got a tube herself, and got her friend hooked on it. To this day she often comments on my tubes, "your tubes look nice today, Theens!" she'll say to me.

About a week later, our employment lawyer passed me in the hallway with a tube of mascara and said "I have to try this stuff out!" I don't even need to tell you how smart this lady is: she is a lawyer! All I'm saying is this stuff works, and people notice. Your husband may not notice, even when you ask him but that's ok. Love you Rob!

I will say to refrain from doing Step 1 on your lower lashes. You will just look like a goth freak. Step 2 is totally acceptable, however.

I took a break from Step 1 of tubing during my first trimester. I honestly thought spending the extra 30 seconds putting on the white (crucial) part onto my lashes was just too much effort. Now that I have my energy back, I'm back to my tubing ways!