How to prevent racoon eyes

Although Marc Jacobs had his models sporting the 'morning after' makeup look (otherwise known as raccoon eyes) on his fashion week runway two days ago, most of us are NOT interested in having our makeup run under our eyes!


I wanted to share a couple of quick tips that you may not have thought of:

1.  Remove your remover!  Wait...what?  You need to make sure that if you are using a makeup remover to polish away yesterday's eyeliner/mascara, that you re-wash the eye area with a gentle cleanser to remove the oily residue that the q-tip or makeup wipe left behind.
The wipes are the WORST residue offender, because the oily residue from the cloth soaks into the eyelashes, which causes the coat of mascara you are about to put on not adhere to the lashes as well.
Think of it like this, the moisture and the oiliness that you feel on your hand after using the wipe is all over your lid and lashes:


My recommendation:  dip only the tip of a q-tip into makeup remover when using in the morning.  Swipe over the makeup and then swipe with the clean end of the q-tip, hopefully removing the oily residue.  To be sure that you're removed all traces of oil, gently cleanse skin


2. When applying eye cream, don't get too close to lower ashes, and do not apply eye cream to the lid (where it can 'slide' down to the lash line, lifting your eyeliner and mascara slowly throughout the day!!!!)

Lightly dab and pat eye cream away from the lash line:


As you can see, the theme of #1 and #2 is to keep oil and residue off the lash line and lashes, so that your makeup can adhere properly. 

3. Don't over-coat lashes or over-apply eyeliner.  The more product you apply, the more that is available to slide down under your eyes during the day.  Also, avoid applying 2 coats of mascara.


When you apply eyeliner (for all types except liquid) its best to trace over the line with an eyeliner brush, this will distribute the liner, and remove the excess.


Instead of lining the bottom lash line with the eyeliner pencil, you can use the excess color on your eyeliner brush to smudge the outer part of the lower lash line, therefore achieving the look you want, without excess product to run down your eyes!

4. Use water-resistant (not necessarily waterproof) products and avoid touching the eye area for any reason (especially with unclean hands!)

Follow these tips to keep your eye makeup in place, and avoid a meltdown!