We've gabbed before about eyelash primers, and the collective expert wisdom of a Beaut.ie brunch pretty much unanimously decided that they work best in conjunction with cheaper mascaras. So when my sister presented me with a slim white tube of Clinique Lash Builder Primer (about €14-€15), insisting that it was amazing stuff and that I'd love it, I felt really bad that she'd spent her hard-earned on a product that I wasn't really interested in.
The enthusiastic "oh, you'll love it!" prediction was well wide of the mark initially, and there were terrible pangs of guilt to be endured when I caught the primer glaring balefully at me from the corner of the bathroom cabinet.
However.
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I've discovered that it actually works really, really well under my beloved Lancome Virtuose mascara. Now, I still love Virtuose on its own for daytime or a more subtle nighttime look: it curls, separates, and lengthens beautifully all on its tod.
Using the Clinique primer first, though, means I can get an additional boost of drama: it makes lashes look thicker. Much thicker. There's a bit of a knack in knowing how long to leave between primer and mascara. Be too quick and the wet primer just gets shunted along the lashes by the mascara; leave it too long and the primer dries and hardens. Get it right, though.
Ok, I've yet to find a mascara that truly does it all, but truthfully I now don't feel that I need to.
