Indian women have a love-hate relationship with Kajal. We love to wear it and love to discuss it but hate that it smudges and is a pain to take off. Like most, I too am forever on the lookout for the perfect Kajal. It is like chasing the holy grail and I truly believe that you don’t find the perfect Kajal; the perfect Kajal finds you!
Now finding the holy grail is an adventure and we all learn a few tips and tricks along the way. Right? So here are my tips and tricks for sporting Kajal like a boss
- Find your style – There are various ways of wearing Kajal. You can line both upper and bottom lash lines, tightline, line just the eye lid, smudge the waterline for a smoky effect or wear a thick line along the bottom lash. My personal favourite is the slightly smudged, lived in look. You should try all and find a look you like. Each one has its merits and pitfalls. For example, the smudged can look messy, the thick bottom line can drag your eyes down and lining both top and bottom can make small eyes look smaller. So try them all and find the style you love on you.
- Smudge it, before it smudges itself – Kajals always smudge on me. I have tried the ones my friends swore by; the ones they said do not budge and found them pooled around my outer corner within hours. I have applied concealer, powder and creme shadows to prep my eyes and even added black eye shadow on top of Kajal to prevent smudging. None of these worked truly. My Kajal always smudges. I think it really is a function of how watery your eyes are and I have come to accept that mine are more so than the average girl. So what works for me is that I apply Kajal and smudge. I then apply one more layer and smudge that too. I then wipe out the product that has gotten to my under eye circles giving me the nice lived in effect that I love.
- Try out different brands – The good think about the great Indian Kajal obsession is that there is always a new Kajal to try out. Brands are constantly launching new products and formulas. When I have time, I browse through Kajal options and shortlist the ones on my to-try list. Why do I do this? I have a Kajal obsession too! Remember I called it a Holy Grail. Jokes apart, having this little to try list is very handy when I go makeup shopping either online or inshore. Before I started doing this, I used to keep wandering aisles of Sephora for hours or spend so much time looking at product reviews online that deals would be over or items went out of stock.
- Take it all off – I can not stress this enough. Yes, Kajal is a pain to take off but regularly leaving residue is unhygienic. Not to mention the ugly raccoon eyes you will have the next morning. I find olive oil melts Kajal away in a jiffy and is also gentle on the under eyes. I prefer it to makeup removers.
So those are my tips and tricks about Kajal. What are yours?