Is It Safe To Line Your Inner Lashline?

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Tonight I'm participating in Swissper's #SleepNaked Twitter Party! If you were on Twitter, you saw me answer a few beauty questions sent in by my readers. I thought 140 Characters wasn't enough to really answer these questions, I decided to write more complete answers for the blog!

@15minbeauty Beauty question! Is it safe to line your inner eye lid? #sleepnaked

— Dana Morin (@danamorin1971) May 14, 2015

This is a really great question! I've often wondered it for myself, but since I'm an not an ophthalmologist, I asked one of my favorites, a med school classmate who practices in Nashville. She said that she cautions patients against using eyeliner on the inner eyelash line because of 2 main reasons: first, there is a risk of harming your cornea or conjunctiva with the pencil if you slip. A corneal abrasion will heal, but it is very painful! Second, the Meibomian Gland orifices are there, and they're important for tear film health.


What little glands is she talking about? You can see the openings in this image from Gray's Anatomy (the classic medical textbook, not the ABC show). There are about 50 of those little holes on your upper lash line, and 25 on your lower lash line. They secrete something called Meibum, which is an oily substance that helps your tears from drying up basically. You want these glands to be open and to secrete normally. If they get backed up, you'll have dry eyes. The glands can get inflamed, this is blepharitis (not fun).



How do you minimize the effect of eyeliner, if you do chose to wear it?

1. Use a softer eyeliner
My friend mentioned the risk of injuring your eye with the pencil, and that is a real concern! It stands to reason that using a very hard pencil is going to injure your eye quite a bit more than a softer pencil would if you happen to slip and hit your eye. My favorites include Elizabeth Arden, Urban Decay, Too Faced, CoverGirl, and L'Oreal.


2. Apply below the lash line, not directly to the waterline.
In the picture above, I applied my eyeliner to the lashline, and immediately below it. This is definitely better than right in my waterline as far as effects to the Meibomian Glands, but if you look closely, you'll notice that there's still liner on that waterline, it's moved.

A recent article in Eye Contact Lens (yes, it's a journal) found that eyeliner applied outside of the lashline (not on the waterline) takes longer to migrate into the eye and less of it gets into the eyes. However, even liner outside of the lash line gets into the eyes. If you have dry or sensitive eyes, this might be a good reason to avoid eye liner completely.


3. Remove your eyeliner and eye makeup completely every night
It's definitely best to fully remove your eyeliner every night. I recommend using one of my favorite eye makeup removers and a quality eye cotton round (which won't leave fibers all over your eye!). Tonight's Twitter party was sponsored by Swisspers, but I fully admit that I agreed to work with them because I will only buy their exfoliating cotton rounds. They're a bit textured, so they grab onto eyeliner and mascara a bit better.


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Images: iStockPhoto and WikiMedia

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What Kind of Foundation For Aging Skin?

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Hi Christine,
I'm sure you get a million questions, I thought I'd just try to see if this one might catch your eye. I love your blog, read it everyday and trust your opinion above all other blogs.

I have NOT been able to get an answer to this question, everyone I ask or every place I read says, "whatever." I am 56 years old and have been using pressed powder foundation for many years. My skin is combination. Since I am on the mature side, do you think a pressed powder or liquid foundation would be best for me?

Thank you SO much!
- J.

This is a question I've gotten quite a bit lately, which means it was definitely time to address this issue in a post! (AKA, ramble incoherently about foundation and my thoughts on it, in a not very organized fashion.) Keep in mind that I'm not a makeup artist (though, I do have access to this great book on makeup as you get older), though I read about beauty obsessively (obviously) and I have my own experience of aging to draw from.

I really don't think that there's a correct answer for this question. Instead, it depends a lot on how your skin has been aging and how dry/oily your combination skin is. It just takes experimentation with different products to see what works best for you. If the powder foundation is currently working, I'd stick with it. If you're having some issues with the foundation settling into fine lines or wrinkles, it might be time to consider a liquid product. And if you're having issues with your liquid, it might be time to reach for a lighter coverage formulation or consider trying out one of the new blur creams.

Typically as we age, our skin will get drier, we'll lose radiance and fine lines and wrinkles will develop. Pores also become a little more prominent. All of it is enough to make anyone want to up their foundation coverage! My goals for foundation as I've aged have been to still be able to get a natural finish, cover up issues and avoid having everything settle into pores, lines and wrinkles (which, let's face it, means you look a lot older at mid-day than you did pre-coffee in the am). And I'm trying to avoid that last bit, the settling into pores and lines. I do not want to look any older at the end of my day!

What will settle into your skin? Usually a powder is more likely to do it than a liquid. It can still happen with liquids, fuller coverage is more likely to do it than lighter coverage. If your skin has any dry areas, there are also settling issues with any dry patches, really highlighting them.

What about the whole combination skin thing? It depends on which end of the oily/dry spectrum your skin falls. In general, skin gets drier as we get older, and you'll probably be more oily in the summer and drier in the winter. That's definitely going to affect which foundation will work best for your skin as well. I've found that I can't use a powder foundation in the winter simply because I seem to have dryness around my nose and it gets highlighted by the foundation. Otherwise it isn't noticeable.


Pictured Foundations: CoverFX Pressed Mineral Foundation, IT Cosmetics Celebration Foundation Illumination, Too Faced Cocoa Powder Foundation, CoverGirl Ready, Set Gorgeous Fresh Complexion Powder Foundation

So, kind of a recap, for powder foundation: In general, if you have a lot of wrinkles, a powder foundation would sink into them throughout the day and make them more obvious. It does the same thing for dry skin, kind of emphasizing the dryness, especially if there are any dried flaky or cracked areas. I do think that powder foundations are a good choice for oily skin, so if your face is more on the oily side with just a few dry areas it should help soak up excess oil.


Pictured Foundations: Make Up For Ever Invisible Cover HD Foundation, Yves Saint Laurent Illuminating Foundation, L'Oreal Paris True Match Super-Blendable Makeup
Pictured BB&CC Creams: Dior Diorskin Nude BB Creme, Kiehl's BB Cream, Ponds Luminous Finish BB+ Cream

For liquid products: While fuller coverage products can have some of the same drawbacks as powder, most women tend to veer this way as they get older just because the lighter coverage liquid products tend to not settle into fine lines/wrinkles. As well, since skin tends to get drier as we age (something I'm looking forward to!), this helps avoid some of those same settling into dry spot issues that I mentioned.

I'm also combination, and at 37 I don't really have a lot of signs of aging (I'm a good girl with my sunscreen!) But, I am prone to dryness around my nose, so there are days that powder foundation looks terrible on me. So, I usually use liquid products. Over the last 18 months or so I've been using lighter coverage products to avoid caking and settling into my skin as well. Usually for me this is a BB cream or tinted moisturizer, and I'll sometimes mix in a little full coverage concealer to up the coverage if needed.


Pictured Blur Creams: Lancôme Visionnaire 1-Minute Blur, Kiehl's Micro-Blur Skin Perfector, L'Oreal Miracle Blur

Finally, there's new player in town that we haven't even mentioned, blurring creams! Strangely enough, while it might seem like these creams are taking over the world, pretty much all of the "good" ones that I feel I can recommend are from brands owned by L'Oreal. They seem to know how to formulate these products the best, in my opinion.

These creams are meant to be worn alone, under makeup or even over makeup. The idea is that they help smooth out makeup, blur the light so your skin looks a bit more perfect... you get the idea. I think the results are pretty user dependent, but celeb makeup artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis did share her great tips for working with a blur cream in this post. I think they work best alone or under a liquid foundation, I've tried them with powders and they just seem to have too much "grab" resulting in uneven application.


I hope all of this helps! If anyone has more input, add it in the comments!

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The Best BB and CC Creams: The Differences Between Them, How to Use Them and My Favorites

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I'm clueless about what "BB" cream is, and what "CC" cream is... and how you use them, and when you use them. I'm a makeup fanatic- which is why I like your website. I, too, could easily spend hours on makeup everyday, even when I'm just sitting at home on a random Saturday and no one else is around. But, I have 7 kids (my oldest turns 11 on Tuesday) and I work full-time from home, so I usually have to reserve my makeup binging for weekends.

I'd like to know if you're supposed to use a "BB" or a "CC" everyday? Under or over foundation? Dry or oily skin? Certain time of year only? Is this something you can scrimp on? I'm a cosmetic freak and I could fill my home with products from Sephora, but love the idea of saving where I can (e.g., E.L.F) Or, is this something you should really spend good money on?
Thanks much, awesome site.
-Lindsey

I agree with Lindsey, the whole BB/CC/DD Cream thing can get confusing enough, and yes... EE creams are coming too! I explained the difference between all of them a bit in my Multi-Tasking Products post over on Babble, but here's the nitty gritty.


BB Creams
Everything started with BB Creams (Beauty Balms) when they made their way from Asia to the US a few years ago. Basically, they are souped up tinted moisturizers. They should have some coverage, typically more than a traditional tinted moisturizer, but less than a foundation. There should be some anti-aging ingredients, often brightening ingredients to fight hyperpigmentation and usually they have sunscreen.

Because they came from Asia, initially there was a pretty limited shade selection and you'll still find that to be the case for products that haven't been updated recently. Usually those initial shades were a bit... grey? I believe this was meant to be a bit of a color correction for under foundations, but newer formulations are more skin toned.

So, a more pigmented version of a tinted moisturizer, but with added benefits.


CC Creams
CC Creams (Color Correcting) are largely the same as BB Creams, but with ingredients to help treat any causes of discoloration such as redness or sallow skin. The coverage is usually a bit lighter than with a BB Cream.


DD Creams
There are a few ways to translate DD Creams, but really... DD was next. These are meant to pack a bit more of an antiaging punch, though there are any of them on the market currently.


How to Use BB/CC/DD Creams
I think they're mostly meant to be used in the place of a daily moisturizer. I use mine immediately after washing my face, and depending on the day I may or may not put a little foundation on over it. Honestly, it depends on what I'm doing and how I think my rosacea looks at that time. About 90% of the time my daily BB Cream has enough coverage for me with just a bit of added concealer.





1. Kiehl's BB Cream $37

I'm such a huge Kiehl's fan that it should shock no one that I'm a big fan of the Kiehl's BB Cream (check out my Kiehl's BB Cream review). What I really like about this BB Cream is the super high level of UV protection, that's SPF 50+ people! But... yes, alas, it doesn't cover the full UV spectrum. It is still much more protection that other lotions and BB Creams.

The product offers light to medium coverage, blends easily and does help fight aging with a pretty stable form of Vitamin C (learn more about how Vitamin C works in skin care). The formula also includes Adenosine. (I have a post around here somewhere on how that helps, and it does, it's just hiding from me. I'll link to it when I find it!)

Note that due to the presence of ethylhexyl salicylate I think this BB Cream is one to avoid if you're pregnant.












2. Pond's Luminous Finish BB+ Cream $10-12 depending upon the store, available at drugstores and big box stores.

This is the BB Cream that I reach for most of the time. It offers a bit more coverage and the light shade is a good match for me. I somehow still haven't written about it in it's own post, but if you've been reading my blog for a while you've probably noticed me mentioning it over and over!

The formula does contain some things that are great for your skin: Full UV spectrum coverage with SPF 15, Niacinamide (info on how Niacinamide works in skin care is included in my StriVectin post), Allantoin, and Vitamin E. This one is fine for use during pregnancy.









3. Too Faced BB Cream $39

While I liked this BB cream back when I reviewed it (see my Too Faced BB Cream review), I've since learned a few extra tricks that make it easier to use (and yes, it now lasts about 12-14 hours!). I probably should update my post...

Anyways, I do think that the solid form of this BB Cream makes it more suite for use over a regular lotion. I use this like a light foundation. I use a round brush (my Urban Decay Optical Blur) to pick up the product in the jar and apply to areas. I buff in little circles and then stipple with a Beauty Blender sponge which gives a flawless finish. I swear just making those small changes to my application have helped the staying power, I wonder if I'm just less likely to wipe it off of my face?

This product has SPF 20, though I don't think I apply enough of it to really get the full effect. Consider this SPF a "bonus" and rely on whatever you're wearing underneath to protect you from the sun. Otherwise this formula contains Vitamin E and is pregnancy safe.









4. Dr. Jart Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 $39

This was one of the first BB Creams that I tried, and it is one of those ones with the "greyish" tint to it. It currently comes in only 1 shade, which works for me, so it is pretty light. You can see my Dr. Jart Premium Beauty Balm review. This one feels lightweight and offers more medium coverage.

The product contains Vitamin E, Adenosine, and Peptides to help fight aging. You'll find broad spectrum UV coverage at SPF 45 as well. It is pregnancy safe.









5. L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream

This one is a bit different, and it took me a while to decide if I like it or not. It has less coverage than other BB Creams, and this is one with that "grey" cast to it (which actually helps my skin quite a bit when my rosacea is acting up). I use it instead of a daily moisturizer, and while it isn't exactly color correcting for the red in my skin, it seems to smooth things out and then I can add a light foundation over it. This BB Cream is really meant to act as more of a primer than as a combination lotion/light foundation (hence, it does have a lot of silicones in the formulation).

The formula contains vitamins C and E and is pregnancy safe.






6. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB $8.99

This is my other drugstore pick, and it is even more coverage than the Pond's BB Cream. There aren't really any active ingredients other than the sunscreen, so I think of it as a more pigmented tinted moisturizer. SPF 30









7. Cargo Picture Perfect HD CC Cream $39

The Cargo CC Cream isn't exactly what I expected when it arrived on my doorstep (see my Cargo Picture Perfect HD CC Cream review). This is one of those products that comes out looking like vanilla bean ice cream and changes color to match my skin tone. It works great for me in the summer, but isn't quite light enough for me in the winter, so I don't recommend this if you're super pale.

It contains Vitamins C and E in addition to offering SPF 20. It is pregnancy friendly.










8. Stila Stay All Day 10 in 1 HD Beauty Balm $38

This is the Beauty Balm with absolutely no coverage. It offers quite a few benefits such as hydration, sunscreen if you want it (there are 2 versions, 1 with SPF 30 and 1 without), it works as a primer and has a lot of anti-aging ingredients. But no coverage, so it works for me and for celeb makeup artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis, who mentioned it among her favorite products.

This product is somewhat hydrating, is a great primer (there are a lot of silicones to help makeup glide on to your skin), peptides and algae extract (which has anti-oxidants) to help fight aging and you can opt for SPF 30. Overall, pretty good! It is pregnancy friendly.









9. Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm $34

This BB cream from Too Faced is the one I reach for when I'm feeling a bit under the weather. It has light-medium coverage, and more light diffusion than the Pond's Luminous, so it helps make me glow when I'm not looking so great! It is a bit too moisturizing for use as my every day BB cream (I have combination skin), but on days that I feel lack luster and dry, this is perfect.

The formulation does contain silicones to help it spread nicely on the skin, and it works great as a primer if you decide you need a bit more coverage and put foundation over it (though it is enough for me for casual days). You find Vitamins A and C (that Vitamin A makes it not pregnancy safe, FYI), in addition to some minerals like Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium and Zinc. There's even Chamomile to help soothe your skin! It is SPF 20.










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