1. Curl first. Apply 1 coat of a mascara primer of your choosing. Curl again if desired;
2. Wait 1 minute. Apply the 1st coat of Lashfull Thinking mascara.
3. Let dry for 1 minute. Apply the 2nd coat of Lashfull Thinking mascara.
4. Separate lashes with the tool of your choosing.
5. Enjoy your beautiful lashes!
   
   

THE THEORY BEHIND MY FORMULATION.

I wanted to create a solution for my dry eye / meibomian gland dysfunction patients that have struggled from these inflammatory eye problems for many years. With chronic inflammation comes dry, brittle lashes. This group of patients are also contraindicated for prostaglandin type lash serums such as Latisse® / LashBoost®, lash extensions, lash lifts, and for some - also false lashes because of the glue. Here I will outline the ingredients in the mascara so you can see if it's right for you or your patients.

So, what the heck is a pressed serum anyways?

Traditionally, a pressed serum is a thicker formulation like a balm that carries a concentration of benefits such as vitamins, antioxidants, nutrients, fatty acids, etc. With formulations like balms, there is considerably less water and many times no water at all. This allows ingredients such as oils, waxes, fatty acids, esters, and oil based compounds to penetrate more deeply into skin and hair. Why not apply this to the concept of mascara and lash serum at the same time? Long story short – that's what I did. 

Where is the actual lash serum?

The lash serum comes in 2 parts. 1st the Widelash™ which is a trademarked active to help eyelashes appear longer, fuller and stronger by promoting hair bulb keratinocyte proliferation and ensuring optimal hair anchorage. What does that mean? Basically, the active peptide helps to make the lash look and feel less dry, less brittle and more dense. You will not get the long, spider-like lashes like you do with a prostaglandin analog like Latisse® or LashBoost®.

2nd the castor oil. I combed suppliers to find the exact carrier oil that you would find in the Restates prescription eye drop. My goal was to find a castor oil that already had a proven safety track record with dry eye patients. Castor oils are not created equal. Even with cold pressed castor oils, you can get trace amounts of ricin which is a toxin. Here, this castor oil is cleaned and purified in a way to remove 100% of the bad stuff but leaving 100% of the good stuff. The difference is very obvious when you compare this castor oil to common castor oils you'll find on Amazon, for example.

Our castor oil is less sticky, it's very pale yellow in color, and when comparing wholesale cost . . . Let's put it this way. 1kg of an organic, cold pressed castor oil is about $10 USD; while our pharmaceutical grade, super-purified castor oil is $1150 USD for the same 1kg. Even though the INCI reads the same "Ricinis Communis (Castor) Seed Oil" – it's definitely not the same. Not all diamonds are created of equal clarity, right? Right.

P.S. If you want this special castor oil straight up, please check out our Lashfull Thinking™ Follicle Oil where you can get a 10mL sized bottle of this castor oil with 0% dilution. But I digress . . . 

Korean beauty inspired

Lashfull Thinking™ mascara contains very little water. And instead of straight up water – I wanted to infuse the methodologies of K beauty. Drinking barley tea and applying barley stem water onto the skin has been a K beauty staple for centuries. Barley Stem Water is the base of our mascara. It's rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Barley also contains selenium that doubles as a powerful antioxidant. It is also anti-inflammatory which is more ideal for maintaining a healthy eyelid skin barrier which is integral when you're trying to maximize lash appearance for dry eye and MGD patients. 

 THE LASH EXTENSION EFFECT

When you're stuck with unhappy lashes from dry eyes / MGD but also are contraindicated for lash extensions and false lashes . . . what do you do? There are 2 types of esters and waxes in Lashfull Thinking™ mascara; soft versus hard.

The soft esters & waxes. Here, the purpose of these ingredients is to provide volume. This will require application with a volume type mascara wand that will pick up as much mascara as possible. It's like a wheel barrow instead of a shovel. For some users, soft esters and waxes will smudge. In cases like this, apply a mascara primer or base mascara and let dry for 1 minute before using Lashfull Thinking™ mascara. 

After the 1st coat of Lashfull Thinking™ mascara, allow the soft esters and waxes to dry completely for 1 minute. If this step is skipped, it's like applying 2 coats of nail polish without allowing the 1st coat to properly dry. It's a mess. You follow me . . .  Once the 1st coat of Lashfull Thinking™ mascara has dried properly, you know have applied the VOLUME. But wait, we are not done yet.

The hard esters & waxes. Now apply the 2nd coat of Lashfull Thinking™ mascara. The second coat has a lot going on because now, we are relying on the soft esters and waxes to provide anchorage for the hard esters and waxes. Here, hard esters and waxes will extend the mascara length. The idea is to provide length like tubing mascara without the nylon or fibers but also provide a more glam look like lash extensions.  

THE COMB OUT

Remember we just seriously dumped a ton of formula on your lashes. Here, some clumping is very normal. The finishing touch will be to comb out your lashes with a tool of your choice to complete the final look. The final look will have each lash volumized and lengthened in formula. 

You will also notice that commonly, 2 lashes will stick together to create the volume. The 2 lashes are working together so that length can be added. First the volume. Then the length. Do not comb out until the very end. If you comb out after the 1st coat, you’ll just be breaking up the volume. Without the volume, length cannot be added properly. With practice and repeated application sessions, you will find that sweet spot. 
 

Lashfull Thinking™ mascara can be used with or without a lash primer or base. This will greatly depend on the ability of your lashes to hold on to the initial coat of the soft esters and waxes and allowing them to completely dry. The more healthy and the more oily the eyelash, the more likely the soft esters and waxes will slip off and not dry properly. 

In cases like this, using a mascara primer or an existing mascara as the base will allow the soft esters and waxes to stick and dry firmly to the eyelash. You will not know if you will need to use a lash primer until you experiment with Lashfull Thinking™ mascara a few times. The most common finding will be excessive smudging even after waiting 1 minute between the first and second coats. Once you tweak the application to suit your eyelash type, you’ll love love love Lashfull Thinking™ mascara.

The Tea on my Preservative System

Lashfull Thinking™ mascara has my signature style preservative system because I formulate for the sole purpose of eye care. When it comes to mascara, the preservatives are usually at maximum concentrations to ensure safety. This is super important because you're applying formula directly to the eyelashes – and repeatedly. The risk of contamination with bacteria and or mold/yeast are higher than say something like an eye cream

Here, I've designed a botanical based preservative system using Magnolia and Honokiol derived from Magnolia bark. Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Benzoate, and Potassium Sorbate complete the preservative system. Here, 5 ingredients for the preservative system. Initially one would read this as too many preservatives, right? Lemme ask you. Keeping the efficacy of preventing microbial growth the same, what would be better? 1 preservative at a concentration of 2%, or 5 ingredients that work as a preservative system with a concentration of 0.4% each? My answer is the latter because the lower concentrations are less likely to cause irritation and allergy over time. Formulating is so much fun:)

The Full Ingredients List

Here's the full ingredients list in case you wondered.

Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Stem Water, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), Synthetic Beeswax, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Pentylene Glycol, Hydrogenated Olive Oil Stearyl Esters, Copernicia Cerifera Cera (Carnauba) Wax, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Acacia Senegal Gum, Oryza Sativa Cera (Rice Bran) Wax, Aqua/Water/Eau, Oleic/Linoleic/Linolenic Polyglycerides, Ricinis Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Glyceryl Behenate, Panthenol, Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Magnolol, Honokiol, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid

Please note that my Lashfull Thinking™ mascara is formulated without certain ingredients because it's the DNA of the We Love Eyes brand. Just because they are not the ingredients of my choosing, doesn't mean they are unsafe. It just means, I don't like them. My choice.

Lashfull Thinking™ mascara is formulated without: 

• Beeswax;
• Fragrance, Parabens, Phthalates, Sulfates;
• Gluten;
• Phenoxyethanol - Ethylhexylglycerin preservative system;
• Polysorbate 20, 40, 60, 80 emulsifiers;
• Nylon-66 fibers or Rayon fibers used as a bulking agent;
• Tetrasodium EDTA chelating agent;

 Other Pretty Pearls about Lashfull Thinking™ Mascara

• Vegan, Cruelty Free, Leaping Bunny Certified;
• 3rd party safety tested: non-irritating, allergy tested, dermatology tested, gluten detection;
• Widelash™ starts working in 28 days when 2 coats are applied to upper & lower lashes daily;
• Our castor oil starts working in about 1 full lash cycle, about 45 days;
• Available only in black;
• Non-waterproof formula;
• Made in Italy;
• 9mL;
• 6 month PAO (Product After Opening) date.