This Mascara Hack Will Make You Question Everything You Think You Know About Eyeliner

Beauty hacks often got me all like, "Why didn't I think of that?," especially when vloggers repurpose things like bottle caps, household sponges, and dental floss as makeup tools. However, a beauty vlogger substituted mascara for eyeliner and it was everything.

The swap out was so simple and brilliant that it left me annoyed that I haven't tried it yet. This hack reminds us that you don't always need to be super creative or mine an actual tool box or your kitchen cupboard for ingenious ideas. Sometimes, the simplest hack is right there in your makeup stash.

The UK-based Internet MUA who goes by the "charmiejanee" handle did a full and glam eye makeup look — base shades, glitter, false lashes, mascara, everything. She finished it off by lining her lower lashline with a makeup brush dipped in mascara after she had already applied mascara to her lower lashes. It served as liner, adding additional, smoky x smudgy definition to her bottom lashes but it didn't smear.

So, if you've misplaced your black eyeliner and love to define the lower half of your eye, well, you can sub mascara for liner. However, you should exercise caution, since you don't want the creamy mascara to get in your eye.

Yes, mascara is specifically formulated for use near the eye because duh. But it's a totally different consistency than the solid liner you put on or near your waterline because it serves a different purpose and therefore has a different design. You should still proceed carefully so the mascara itself doesn't irritate or end up in your precious, sensitive eyes.

Bustle reached out to charmiejanee to inquire about how she came up with this hack and if it held up through the day. She started with a pinky x purple base and then further built the eye look with sparkly colors.

Glitter factored into her glam. It was a maj and dramatic eye.

She added faux lashes and bottom lash mascara, but something was missing.

She grabbed an angled brush...

... and made use of mascara in a slightly different way than it was intended.

Charmiejanee further darkened and defined her lower lashline and it was just the additional touch she needed to complete the look. It appears that she diffused the mascara, thinning it out to make it more effective as a cream liner.

This is the end result. The sooty, smoky bottom lashline is perfect.

Witness this simple but sassy hack right here.

UPDATE: We heard back from this talented vlogger, who revealed her inspo. Necessity was the mother of this invention.

She tells us via email, "I couldn't find any eyeliner at the time and I was desperate for one to finish off my eye look. I thought, 'Hmm, if my mascara is smudge-proof, then I'm sure I can use it as an eyeliner.' I dipped my angled brush in between the bristles of my mascara wand and it surprisingly did the job amazingly well!"

She offered this further essential tip if you want to try this hack: "Be sure to use a waterproof and smudge-proof mascara to get it to work best."