Allergic to something..

Jun 17, 2016

Katherine K.

Hi everybody. So I wear makeup a lot and I'm recently one of my eyes my left eye is always watering. I had eyelash glue and eyelashes on today and all of the sudden my eyes were wet and runny and burning. I also use rimmel scandal eyes eyeliner on my lower eyelids. I also wore makeup from the naked palette and the ud primer today on my eyes and my eyeshadow was wet and creasing a little. I don't know if I'm allergic to latex from the lash glue or something. I don't have insurance right now so I can't go to an eye doctor. My eye is not swollen just runny. It's always my left eye that this happens to. Anybody think it could be my eyeliner with lash glue?

Jun 17, 2016

Katherine K.

UPDATE: Also anybody have an tips on cleaning makeup brushes I'm wondering if this could be a problem too..

Jun 17, 2016

Katherine K.

I think it could be my naked palette.. because I used to use wet n wild and coastal scents. Or the primer I just bought these items like in February!

Jun 17, 2016

Jacqueline H.

It's most likely due to how you apply the lashes, and not the shadow or necessarily the liner you are using. Have you been using UD primer potion and UD shadows before with no such reaction? If you have been using the aforementioned products since February, I highly doubt they are the source of the irritation because when your eyes water up like that, nothing will adhere to a surface that stays wet continuously. For the most part, if your eyes are watery, you'll start to notice the shadow ball up and/or crease off from the outer corner of the eye in about half way.

It's most likely your lash application. If you had a true latex allergy...hives, itching, and an immediate stuffed up nose would be the first symptoms you'd see. In some, a true latex allergy can cause asthma symptoms of wheezing, chest tightness and difficulty breathing. These types of symptoms begin within minutes after the exposure to latex containing products. To be on the safe side, if your adhesive is over 3 months old, toss it. That being said, here are the most common false eyelash application errors that I see:

1. Putting too much or not enough glue on the strip. You want a even thin line of adhesive directly on the strip and not spilling over onto the lashes themselves.

2. Not cutting them to fit your eye shape. Depending on how long your own lash line is a lot of times an eyelash needs to be trimmed shorter to fit. If the lash is too long to fit your eyelash perfectly it is not going to adhere as well and the edges will migrate/lift and agitate the eye; hence watery eye (s).

3. Not allowing enough time for the glue to become "tacky" (so it adheres immediately) and not have the potential to run or move on the skin. When adhesive runs or moves on the skin... watery eye (s). I typically allow the glue to settle on the false eyelash after applied for about 20 seconds. If you apply it after right after you lay the glue down, the strip won't adhere immediately, and you will often have to press the lash down to maintain it's position until it does become tacky and adhere better.

4. Closing your eyes while applying the lashes. I know this sounds odd, but not only does this allow the potential for the glue to to get on the lower lashes or skin around your eye(watery eye (s) ), but the lash will not lay completely smooth. Why? because most peoples skin "scrunches" when they close their eyes. In addition, you can't see well enough to know if you are placing the lashes exactly where they need to be.

I have have a difficult time applying falsies on myself too (mostly because its hard for me to keep my eyes open while doing it). It just takes time and practice, but you'll get it down.

Here's a few more things to consider when wearing falsies in relation to irritation (watery eye), if you wear longer falsies... think Kim Kardashian's spider looking lashes), it increases airflow around your eye and leads to more dust hitting the surface; hence, the eye is left unprotected and are more likely to dry out and irritate the eyes. Longer, more dramatic lashes may look great, but longer lashes makes your eyes more susceptible to dry eye because of how the channel the air flow onto your eyes surface. If you are a regular false eyelash wearer, you want a strip lash that is about 1/3 of the width of your eye in length. This way, a majority of the air that will hit your lashes will be rolled off and away from your eyes; hence keeping your eyes moist for longer which protects your eyes against particle agitation which can also cause watery eyes.  :)

Jun 17, 2016

Essie A.

If your irritation persists or gets worse, a general care physician should be able to help...just putting that out there since you mentioned your insurance and not being able to see a specialist like an eye doctor.

Jun 17, 2016

Tina K.

Thanks for such a detailed response, Jackie. I'm taking notes because some day I'd like to try falsies.

Jun 18, 2016

Jacqueline H.

You're welcome Tina. Glad you found it helpful.  :)