secret weapon

Yes Visine is a gem at getting the red out-crucial on bleary 9 am Monday morning lectures- but it's also one of the most dead useful tools in my makeup arsenal.

This little wonder, coupled with a good quality eyeliner brush such as the MAC 266, turns any eyeshadow into a budge-proof eyeliner. Something about the formula gives powder more tenacity, and applying it damp adds gorgeous dimension if the shade has any pearl or shimmer in it. I put a small drop of visine on the back of my hand and dab my brush in it, then blot the excess liquid out onto my hand before running the brush across the surface of the powder. A damp brush will also give you a far more perfect line than a pencil ever will, and it mimics the look of liquid liner fairly well. This technique will also save you money- I invested in a brush, a bottle of visine, and a pan of Stila Espresso eyeshadow two years ago to replace MAC's Teddy eye kohl in my collection and I've barely dented the surface of the eyeshadow, vs. buying two or three eye kohls a year.

Visine will also add dimension to your eyeshadow once it's on your lid. For going out I like to use a light wash of something highly pearly like Stila Kitten eyeshadow all over my lid and then pat over it with my fingers dampened with visine. It makes the shadow look more intensely metallic and dimensional- gorgeous in low lighting. You could use water for both of these tricks, but I find that visine really makes eyeshadow last a bit longer, plus it's more sterile than tap water and nicely portable.

Still not convinced? Visine is a temporary fix for an angry looking blemish, it works on enflamed skin the same way it works on enflamed eyes.