No More Raccoon Eyes: The Semi-Permanent Alternative to Mascara

Image via Benefit

Benefit swears that it knows brows, and I have no reason to doubt the veracity of that statement, so I've been going to the brand's brow bars for years. Because I over-plucked my eyebrows when I was 12 and they've never grown back, most aestheticians can finish shaping my brows in about 8 seconds.

Somewhere, a Benefit employee holds a Guinness World Record for this feat.

Eventually, I think the staff felt bad about taking my money for less than 15 seconds of work, and they introduced me to brow and eyelash tinting. Brow tinting is a perfectly fine practice, and I support everyone trying it at least once, but I think it's more effective for light-haired, full-browed folks. Thanks to the aforementioned over-plucking, I still need a brow pencil even after tinting.

Eyelash tinting, on the other hand, is a game changer.

I hate mascara. I know that's a controversial statement, but I've tried over 9,000 types of mascara and lash primer and none of them work for me. (That figure, for what it's worth, is almost certainly inflated.) Eyelash tinting gives me jet black lashes for about two weeks, and I can avoid the microscopic flakes of mascara settling in the fine lines under my eyes. Since the color stays, even after I wash off my makeup, I appear more alert when I wake up, I avoid mascara rings under my eyes, and I almost look like I have my shit together when I go to the gym. Almost.

The service comes a la carte at Benefit, or you can get it as part of the Triple Play, (lash tint + brow shaping + brow tint), for $45. (If you want a slightly cheaper option, Lashfully on Union Street offers eyelash tinting for $20. Several other brow salons in town only offer the service as part of a brow-and-lash combo.)

Benefit Brow Bars book up quickly this time of year, so if you want to spare yourself the hassle of wearing mascara for a night (or day) out, you best get to booking.