Winter layers: Get perfect lashes by mixing two mascaras

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There are plenty of mascaras that claim to do it all: thicken, lengthen, de-clump and darken. But us product-loving gals know the truth: Most mascaras only cover roughly two out of the four bases.

And lately, it seems that every time I ask some lush-lashed lady what her secret is, she claims to use two different mascaras -- typically one that lengthens and thickens and one that defines and shines (in that order). It’s a trick makeup artists have used for years that seems to finally have gone mainstream.

I’m a daily mascara-wearer, but I’ve always stuck to one tube at a time. In my quest for longer, more spidery lashes (that are clump-free, of course), I decided to test-drive the two-step process.

I started with two coats of DiorShow by Dior mascara ($24, sephora.com) -- a cult-favorite mascara famed for its lash-protracting capabilities (naturally long-lashed ladies beware: your lashes will bat the lenses of your sunglasses if you apply too hearty an application).

The length I achieved with DiorShow was fantastic, but there were a few minor clumps to be sorted out. So next, I went to my go-to: Maybelline Great Lash mascara ($4.89, drugstore.com) -- a basic, shine-enhancing product that very rarely clumps. Slowly, I traced the arc of my newly long lashes, gently combing out (with a little wiggling of the brush) the few snags within.

Then I stepped back. Wow. My naturally puny lashes had adopted an entirely new look -- one that encompassed all four of the great lash virtues. I could hardly stop batting my eyes all day. Apparently it does take two to make a dream come true.

-- Emili Vesilind