My longest NYC relationship is with my lash extensions guru and friend, the lovely Courtney Akai. It’s the ultimate in “I woke up like this” beauty, which I’m always about, but one thing that’s difficult is mascara. Specifically, using it to correct rogue shadow that falls onto my lashes. In my un-extensioned incarnation, this was no problem, as I’d coat a little mascara onto my lashes from every possible angle so it’d be camouflaged. But removing mascara in a 360-degree application can be, in a word, a bitch. Which brings me to this macara MENSA tip I picked up from makeup artist Stacy Doolan: “Use a fan brush to apply mascara just to the root of extensions/lashes.” She suggests buying an extra-small one at a craft store, which I’m going to do, but in the meantime, I’m using my trusty “The Flager” brush from Benefit, which lives with their Powderflage product. She used Physicians Formula Organic Wear Fake Out Mascara in black ($10), which deepened my lashes to carbon-black realness and coated shadow fall-out.

Genius, no? Have you worn lash extensions? What are your mascara solutions?