Unsung Heroes

MAC has megatons of mascara. There must be millions of them! You know this. They aren’t one of those brands that only does, like, one mascara and calls it quit. No.

I think quite a few of MAC’s mascaras are good, too, like Extended Play. I’ve gone through a number of tubes of that one, among others, but there’s one MAC mascara I’ve been using more than the others for months, and I think it’s leagues above the rest. It’s In Extra Dimension Waterproof Mascara, the one in the curvy black tube with the teal MAC logos all over it.

Now, Karen is someone who finds fault with pretty much every mascara she tries. (Karen is also apparently someone who refers to herself in the third person!). But this one’s The. Best. in the entire MAC mascara family IMO. And, girl, I’ve tried them all!

You get so much bang for your buck with it, and the look is almost as dramatic as falsies, and that’s with just one or two coats.

I mean, it’s a mascara…so it’s not gonna make you look like you’ve grown Snuffalufagus fringe overnight, but if you want it all — thickness, length, curl separation and, most importantly, THE DRAMA — In Extra Dimension Waterproof brings it.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

There is one other thing I feel you need to know up front before you fall in love with it, and here it is: this mascara is truly waterproof. You’ll need an oil-based eye makeup remover and/or an eye-friendly cleansing balm to thoroughly take it off; otherwise, you’ll be stuck rubbing at your lashes for days and could even accidentally break them off (NOOOO!), which happened to me a couple times before I “wised up.”

Now when I wear this and go to remove my makeup at the end of the day, I soak a Shiseido Facial Cotton with a few drops of Klorane Waterproof Eye Make-Up Remover with Soothing Cornflower (you can get it at Sephora), then gently press the pad on top of my lashes. When I hold it there for a few seconds, this mascara slides right off.

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Before I get into why I love MAC Minted Eye Kohl so much, first, a fun fact for my fellow cat ladies. ?

Next time you’re feeling extra feline, have a cup of catnip tea (ideally, in your favorite teacup, which, obvs, is decorated with cats!), and share some of the leaves with your kitty BFF, because catnip is in the mint family.

Hmm… That may or may not have been one of the most cat lady things I’ve ever said, haha!

So, MAC Minted Eye Kohl. This vibrant, luscious leafy green has playful pearly shimmer, and it’s one of the those liners you only have to run across your lash or water lines once or twice because of how potent and pigmented it is.

OK…green liner might sound nuts if you don’t venture out of the neutral zone often (trust me, I know, because there was a time when I would’ve been freaked out about wearing an eyeliner that wasn’t black or brown), but it’s one of those things that you just have to try, and once you do, you might not want to go back.

The thing is, Minted isn’t just any ol’ green liner. It’s got a special sauce. It’s like a Jedi mind trick! It captivates and captures attention (“You will notice me…”), and once it gets you, you’re got.

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

This is the time of year I start wearing it more, because this is when blue, green and/or gold eye looks are my BFFS4EVA, and Minted goes well with those shades.

It’s a liner…but it’s also a good eyeshadow base.

Yeah, man! You can sweep the creamy kohl formula around with your brush when it’s on your lids and play with it. I really like to use it as a base for green and blue powder eyeshadows.

Just the other day, I layered it underneath the green/blue palette from MAC Fruity Juicy. Then I tried it with the bright palette from the UD Jean-Michel Basquiat.

It worked so well with both of them and kicked everything up a notch. If you’re thinking about either of those palettes, Minted would be a great extra something to add to the mix.

Ah, and it isn’t only good for gals and guys who love the cray-cray colors. Even if you mostly stick to neutrals, Minted is great for looks like that, too. Seriously!

Wear it with any warm browns or golden browns on your lids, like MAC Soft Brown, Saddle or Soba. I love it with all of them.

Here’s what you can do: sweep the neutral shade on your lids, then line your lower lash and water lines with Minted.

You can smudge it out with a pencil brush, or load your brush with the neutral shade you used on your lids (it’ll mellow out the edges of the green a tad). Or, if you want to go full-on ham, layer a shimmery green shadow right on top (I like MAC Steamy for this). Then, when you’re done with your eyes, add a few coats of mascara, and you’ve just had a makeup adventure with something more than basic brown! 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I’m sitting here at my ask wearing a tank top and shorts (no, not booty shorts…although I kinda wish they were) for the first time in… I can’t remember, and, of course, to go with my springtime ensemble, I’m also wearing blue and green eyeshadow. Because it’s spring (the sunny part). And fun times shall be had by all. 🙂

What’s an unsung makeup hero? For me, it’s an oftentimes underrated makeup morsel, a permanent collection product that scoots under the radar screen of many makeup lovers but regularly rocks my world. The long-running Unsung Heroes series features some of my favorites.

So, on account of the blue/green action on my lids today, I’m also wearing MAC Technakohl Liner in Take the Plunge.

Intensely pigmented teal Take the Plunge is a knockout on water lines, and if you wear blue, green or, heck, gold or neutral eyeshadows, and you pop Take the Plunge along your water line, your eyes will strike down strangers in their tracks. BOOM! Especially if you have brown eyes.

No, seriously! Take the Plunge would stop somebody dead in their tracks, and they’d be like, “GURL! What’s happening on your water line?!”

OK…so maybe most people wouldn’t do that, but I totally would (and I may have in the past, haha #makeupweirdo).

Take the Plunge is part of the MAC Technakohl Liner fam, which is MAC’s line of twist-up eyeliners. They have a super skinny tip, so you don’t have to use a pencil sharpener to sharpen them.

I mostly wear it along my water line, because I love what it does for my brown eyes. I think they look much more chocolatey. 🙂 But I also think it looks amazing along lash lines, too. Plus, you can really get between your lashes with that tip.

The creamy formula also smudges well, so it’s easy to buff out with a brush, which means that it ALSO works great as a base for powder shadows.

Sometimes I’ll use it as a cream shadow by layering it on top of powder shadows in the outer corner. No matter what I do with it, it lasts all day, too!

And, most importantly, on my eyes, which are prone to freak out, Take the Plunge never makes my water lines water, or feel itchy, dry or otherwise funky.

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