When flipping through a magazine, it appears that nearly every celebrity flaunts long, full eyelashes. Mascara ads are full of models with outrageous, surreal lashes.

The truth is that most of the time, mascara ads show models who are using the advertised mascara—in addition to fake lashes. While it’s impossible for natural lashes to compare to fake lashes, here are some tips to take your natural lashes from a seven to a 10.

Countless women swear by Vaseline. If you notice your lashes are brittle and thin, applying Vaseline at night will help them to grow in length and become much stronger. Before bed, apply a small amount of petroleum jelly with either a clean mascara wand or your finger. In the morning, make sure you clear the excess Vaseline off your lashes before applying mascara.

When purchasing mascara, keep your eyelash type in mind. If you naturally have short eyelashes, you should stick with a slender, short-bristled wand with precision. This type of wand will allow you to coat your full lash properly, and helps to get deep into the corners of your eye. When doing your mascara, coat your lashes from root to tip to ensure that your whole lash is coated. Sometimes the tips will be missed, making your lashes look shorter. A good precision mascara is L’Oréal Paris Voluminous False Fiber Lashes.

For those with long eyelashes, using two types of mascara is recommended. Starting off, a precise wand, such as the one mentioned above, is great because it coats the entire lash line. After your lashes are properly coated, switch to a blunt, wide-bristled mascara. Using a blunt wand makes it easier to do your lashes because the wide bristles coat lashes faster. Additionally, it volumizes lashes, making each coat buildable. A popular volumizing mascara is Covergirl Lash Blast Volume.

A common misconception when applying mascara is that it is best to do a few full coats. This is not true. Instead, applying many light coats allows your eyelashes to be full without being clumpy. Regardless of your lash length, start off with a precision wand to maximize your lash length. If you have longer eyelashes, you should change to a blunt wand after doing a few coats. A good number of coats to apply for everyday is two or three. If you have a special occasion or a party, you can apply up to seven for the most volumized lashes possible.

No matter what your natural lashes look like, you can achieve beautifully long and full lashes if you know the right techniques and use the right mascara.

Alisa Smith is a sophomore communication and political science major from Arlington. She can be contacted at 335-1140 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.