BeYOUy 411

An Eye-Opening Experience

Estée Lauder's vibrating mascara shakes things up

-Paige Herman-Axel

Mascara has a long history, with versions of the lash enhancer dating back as early as ancient Egypt. Cake mascara hit the scene in the early 1900s when a chemist named T.L. Williams created a blend of coal dust and Vaseline for his sister Mabel, which he started selling under the now-household name Maybelline. The next big mascara advance came in the 1950s when Helena Rubenstein introduced the first tube mascara with a wand applicator.

Today, mascara has gone high-tech with different brands promising "the most advanced wand to date," and formulations designed to lengthen, strengthen, thicken and stay put. But wand innovations have been limited to shape, size and material for the past half-century. Now, Estée Lauder has taken mascara to a whole new level with the introduction of TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara.

Meet the world's first vibrating wand, called the LashSonic Brush. It took me a few seconds to figure out how to turn it on - then I realized it automatically powers up when you untwist the cap (how genius!). You use it like any other mascara, but the 125 pulses-per-second allow the brush to get closer to the lash line and comb through the lashes quickly and effectively for more separation and less clumps. I'll admit I was skeptical before I tried it, but when I saw the results I was hooked. One coat is perfect for day, and two coats adds more drama and definition for evening - and the vibrating brush lets you apply multiple coats without the fear of clumping. I didn't notice any flaking or smudging, even after getting caught in a rainstorm and 90-degree heat. And being that I have an aversion to eye-makeup remover, it washed away easily with a little soap and water at the end of the day. $30, saks.com