This Woman Made DIY Mascara Out of Vaseline and the Results Are Controversial
So you just completely ran out of mascara. Your tube is no longer at the point where it's at its dry peak. There's just nothing left to it. Of course, you can go mascara-less until you are able to pick up a new one. Or you can make your own in the meantime. (Finger crossed you have everything you need.) Beauty blogger Madina Shrienzada recently posted a video of her go-to DIY Vaseline mascara hack, and it's taking over Instagram.
In the quick clip, Shrienzada is seen squirting a hefty amount of primer into a little bowl. Next, she adds a dollop of petroleum jelly to it and sprinkles in some crushed-up black eye shadow. Then, she mixes it all together with the end of a toothbrush. Finally, she dips the bristled end into her concoction and brushes it onto her lashes. Your gut reaction may be saying this hack is incredibly extra. However, a beauty blogger once made concealer made out of crayons, so Shrienzada's hack is actually not that weird as far as DIY makeup goes.
And let's be real, using a toothbrush to swipe on mascara is the least suspect part of this situation. Makeup artists often use them to help separate lashes when the actual mascara wand gets too clumpy. Singer Dua Lipa also wields a toothbrush for the opposite reason. "If I want a really thick, textured look with mascara, I put one on my lashes," she once told Allure. What has me truly skeptical is the combination of beauty products Shrienzada whipped together to make the mascara. I, along with several people in Instagram comments, worried about the eye safety of Vaseline. Turns out, it completely is.
"Petroleum jelly is safe," cosmetic chemist Jim Hammer tells Allure. "In fact, it is often used as the vehicle to deliver medications for treating conjunctivitis and related eye ailments." I also asked him about the other ingredients for this DIY mascara. He says black eye shadow isn't a concern either because it's obviously intended to be applied around the eyes. "However, the primer is questionable," Hammer adds. "Most are not designed for use in the eye area and could be a source of irritation." Noted.
With safety not being a huge concern for the DIY mascara, some people in the comments were more concerned about it being too much work to make while others praised Shrienzada's creativity. Someone who goes by @tabitha__rose wrote, "I'll give this a try. I'm allergic to every mascara I've ever tried. They always flake and crumble and irritate my eyes. If I want to look like I have lashes, I have to wear falsies." This hack definitely acts as an alternative to actual mascara in this case.
If you need an affordable mascara option, though, plenty exist. You can shop the $2 E.l.f. Volumizing & Defining Mascara or Essence's $4 Get Big Lashes Volume Boost Waterproof Mascara. Miss A also offers a wide selection of $1 mascaras. You really don't have to waste your precious primer and shadow, unless you want to try something new.
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