'I swapped mascara for the viral Vaseline hack for a week.'

Mamamia's Tried and Tested series is your review of the latest to hit our desks in beauty, health and wellbeing. You won't find any #sponsored content here, just honest, relatable and independent advice.This week, Mamamia's lifestyle writer Em Vernem trials Vaseline instead of mascara.

I have a confession... I hate my eyelashes. 

Before you dig in about how I should be grateful for my naturally long, thick and many eyelashes, firstly, thank you so much and secondly, as someone who has a phobia of getting things in their eyes — these little pupil protectors are like straight up daggers when I don't prep them. 

Watch: 8 things you can do with Vaseline. Post continues below.

If they're too curled, they get stuck in my eyebrows (if you couldn't tell I'm a very hairy person). If they're not curled enough, they drop so low it impacts my vision. See the picture below for an accurate representation of what I look like without curled eyelashes. 

A recent selfie of mine. Source: Canva

The main issue I have with my lashes is that it's hard to get them into that perfect happy-medium curl. Because of my phobia, lash lifts and eyelash extensions are out of the equation. Recently, tubular mascara has become my best friend as it doesn't leave me with raccoon eyes at the end of the day. 

But a few weeks ago, I came across an article (okay, it was a TikTok) talking about the benefits of using Vaseline on eyelashes. The video now has over 12 million views and has the entire beauty community trialing the hack with some saying that they've stopped using mascara altogether.

Although I was pretty happy with my trusty tubular mascara method, I thought I would be doing my eyelash journey a disservice by not giving it a go. And the results were... interesting. 

Why Vaseline?

My mother would speak to me sternly if I didn't acknowledge how Vaseline was a thing "back in her day". Yes, it's true, just because it's now trending on TikTok doesn't mean it's a new idea. Vaseline eyelashes have been around for a very long time, but it's now just Gen Z's turn. 

The method most people online are adopting is using an eyelash curler to hold their lashes in place, then taking a spoolie brush that's covered in Vaseline and brushing their eyelashes up against the pressed curler. 

@chantelleef This is REVOLUTIONARY. #lashes #hacks #beautyhack #vaseline c@jacquelinekilikita ♬ original sound - Chantelle FenThe process.

There has been some controversy around using Vaseline around the eye area with people online claiming to get conjunctivitis, styes and irritation. 

But according to Healthline: "Vaseline is safe to use around the skin of your eyes and on your eyelashes."

The process.

To keep my eyes safe, I made sure that when I applied the Vaseline I didn't put any of the product too close to my lash lines and tear ducts. 

I first used my eyelash curler to get my lashes into that perfect happy-medium curl. I then took a spoolie brush with a tiny bit of Vaseline (a little goes a long way) and brushed both my top and bottom lashes making sure I didn't get too close to the lash lines. That's it — that's all I did to my lashes. 

Using Vaseline takes a bit longer than mascara mainly because you're trying to get the right amount of product on the wand. If you use too much, it gets clumpy and too little makes my lashes look too bare. But once I got used to it, this process has become faster. 

The verdict.

The one issue (which is kinda a big one) with using Vaseline is that because it doesn't dry, it moves my other eye makeup around quite a bit. If I'm wearing eyeshadow? It'll end up creasing at the top of my eyelids. If I'm wearing eyeliner? I'm not after a few hours. If I've accidentally put too much product on? It sometimes travels down into my eyes and I think I'm getting sleepy at 2pm (I'm also usually tired by 2pm anyway). 

From left to right: Immediately after applying Vaseline, lashes 3 hours after (eyeliner holding on for dear life), lashes 11 hours after (eyeliner has completely given up... she tried her best)

With all that being said, for a more natural eye look it is PERFECT. 

I've been using Vaseline instead of mascara for most days. I don't wear a lot of eye makeup — having prepped eyelashes is usually all I need. The best thing about Vaseline is that it holds up all day. My happy-medium curl doesn't drop and the best part? I don't need to scrub my eyes and could probably get away with falling asleep with my makeup on (I definitely can't do that and you can find out why here). 

I've been recommending Vaseline to all my friends since trialing, not only because I've been getting a lot of compliments on my lashes but also because it's such a low-touch, budget-friendly, easy way to achieve the curly long eyelash look while helping your lashes stay soft and strong. 

If you want more lifestyle and culture opinions from Em Vernem, you can follow her on Instagram @emilyvernem.

Feature Image: Supplied.