Made-up , and Out of the Closet

[Silverlady]

yes

Mine fell out big time when this stuff started. Now they are sparse and kinda
in clumps. I don't use any eye makeup either.

Billye

[Judy]

Hi chapman,

Yes my eyelashes are also very sparse now, however, the amount of lashes I was losing appears to have slowed down a bit... Somewhere within this forum, I read that when your eyelashes are coming in oddly, this may be a sign of a higher percentage of the demodex mites. That certainly caught my attention... My left eye lower lashes have been acting up, so I'm thinking of doing the teatree shampoo thing, but haven't purchased the shampoo yet.

[dianat]

Since this thread is still here and I continue to feel disgusted about my appearance, I thought I'd ask. I'd love to find a really special eyeliner that does not come off easily. It can't flake or smear. It would likely be a liquid I suppose. I blot my weepy eyes so darned often, any regular stuff just disappears. Because of the teariness, constant blotting and lack of makeup I look washed out all the time...even if I'm wearing foundation, lipstick and blush. I'm so sick of all this.

[Judy]

Hi Dianat,

I know what you mean about feeling disgusted. The eyeliner I use is New York Color (N.Y.C.) Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil and they report: "tear-proof, sweat-proof and swim-proof eyeliner pencils that are perfect for an active lifestyle. The waterproof formula provides long lasting coverage, so you don't have to re-apply during the day." The price is $3.99 and they sell these at Wal-Mart, Target, CVS Pharmacy. I used to retouch every two hours of the day (or needed to, anyway), now only do this once under my left eye which is basically a waterfall... The one thing I have to do is sharpen it each time before I use it, but the price is pretty darn reasonable anyway. The other thing is my other eyeliner used to always migrate to the inside corners of my eyes which is gross, blue eye boogers. Yuck!

The other thing I hate is my tears wash off my foundation, powder, and blush with stripes sometimes... This is NOT FUN!

[dianat]

Thanks for the info, Judy. Does the eyeliner endure repeated blotting as well?

[Judy]

Dianat,

That I can't say for sure. I don't usually blot that close to my eyes (perhaps so that I won't ruin what little eye makeup stays on thru the day)..... I sure would love to do the permanent eyeliner. There is not much research done on how it impacts your glands, however, it certainly seems likely that it would... Have a great day!

[Silverlady]

Permanent eye liner not good idea

I have permanent eye liner. Permanent means tattooing. It wasn't difficult to do and healed pretty good but when I developed the dry eye problem, the doctor told me that there is a lot of evidence that the tattooing actually makes the dry eye worse. You get lots of scarring in the lash line. And a permanent tattoo isn't necessarily going to stay where it's put. When they were doing mine, the needle hit a small blood vessel and the ink ran downward under the skin a little. It healed that way and nothing can be done about it. Before the eyes got so bad, I was able to put a little concealer on it, but now with the eye drops it's not possible. And the color actually changes when it ages. I would never never do this again if I knew what I know now.

Billye

[TARYN]

eye liner

I use Laura Mercier waterproof cake eyeliner. It stays until you take it off. I got it at Nordstroms.

[Judy]

Hi SilverLady,

Thank you for your input on tatooed permanent eyeliner... I'm so sorry to hear how badly this affected your eyes. When I surfed the internet, I was unable to find much negative input regarding permanent eyeliner...

Take care,

Judy

[skygoddess]

Judy,
I had my lips tatooed a few years ago, and I was pleased with the results. I would be very careful about WHO you use. But it draws attention away from my eyes, anyway.
I also think maybe I am allergic to nail polish, my eyes seem worse after a manicure. So I am giving it up for a while and seeing if it helps.

[dianat]

TARYN,

I just saw your post about Mercier eyeliner. If I could find something that works, it could really change my outlook. I feel so stupid for concerning myself with my appearance, because all I'd prayed for was the strength to manage my eyes and take care of myself and my family with reasonable happiness and less depression and anxiety. Now that I've got my wish, I'm refocusing on my appearance. What a waste of time.

Could your eyeliner tolerate frequent blotting?

Diana

[TARYN]

eye liner

Hi Diana,

Yes, once this eyeliner is on it stays on until taken off. I take it off with diluted baby shampoo and water or Clinique eye makeup remover and it takes several minutes because I take the eyeliner slowly and gently. Try it. I don't have a tearing problem so I can't speak on that subject.

[Judy]

Hi Skygoddess,

Thanks for the tip on the lip tattooing.... Not sure I will do this although awhile back I was thinking about it... Have a great day!

[skygoddess]

Judy,
I used to use Derma Blend foundation. You can get it a some better department stores, or probably on line. It is waterproof to the extreme.You can go to the beach in this stuff and it won't budge. I dont have tear overflow, but I bet it would stay put. I stopped using it because I suspected I was allergic to something I was wearing or doing, but I was not sure what.

It will cover anything, birthmarks, scars, dark circles. I was covering my red nose, (not realizing I had rosacea, ) so my Dr. had never seen the redness. It was not untill I went to a new Dr, (without makeup) That someone noticed my Rosacea.

I have been on Minocycline for my Blepharitis, and it helped all the redness from the Rosacea. So if nothing else good comes out of all this, at least my skin looks a lot better!

[MJ]

I love this thread!

Before LASIK when I wore makeup all the time (you know ... full warpaint before you'd drive through McDonald's) I never had a problem with blepharitis and my lashline was good to go! You know why? I thoroughly cleaned my eye makeup off each night. I used Estee Lauder Gentle Eye Makeup Remover. Before that I used something that was labeled for contact users (I forget who made it) but they stopped making it and someone recommended Estee Lauder's.

After LASIK when I gave up wearing makeup I had blepharitis and my lashline was always irritated. I tried using the lid scrubs with the soap recipe, I tried buying the premade stuff. I scrubbed and scrubbed and oh man, how I hated lid scrubs. So, ummmmmm I gave them up.

(confession is oh so good for the soul ... if not for the lashline).

So, you know what I ended up doing down the road? I got out my old Estee Lauder Gentle Eye Makeup Remover and a bunch of Q-tips and used those and it was so easy I do it twice a day now. And after waking up in the morning and going through this routine I see so much more clearly that I don't mind doing it at all.

Here's what I do. I put my drops in first thing after I wake up. Then I clean my upper lashline with the Makeup Remover on a Q-tip. Then I pick up my lid and clean that same lashline from the bottom (that's where the goop likes to hide), and then do the bottom lid line. Then I take a washrag that I've run under hot, hot water (be careful) and lay it on my lashline while my eye is closed for a few seconds and melt off anything still there. I do the washrag thing twice per side. No mixing up soapy stuff, no compresses, just quick and easy and it sure works for me.

(Disclaimer.) I am not recommending this, especially if you have blepharitis. I'm just saying this is something that I've been able to stick to and see results with. (End of disclaimer.)

Also regarding makeup ... I gave it up for so long after LASIK that when I had to go to a wedding once and wear it again I can distinctly remember getting out my eyemakeup and looking at all those eye colors and not remembering what went where anymore. <sigh> But once applied it made my eyes cry. I think when we wear makeup on a daily basis we build up a tolerance for the chemicals. So, when you start to wear it again after a prolonged abscence you have to build up that tolerance again. And, seriously, if you've gone a long time without it, you need to buy all new makeup because germs love to lurk in there.

But for me, when I wore it again that first time and it made my eyes water, it just looked like I was crying at the wedding ... Which actually I was, since my feet were killing me ... I hadn't worn heels in all that time either.