I don't wear mascara [1] too often (in fact, I prefer the hair hack [2] or a new beauty product [3], my late-night doom scrolling typically yields some pretty good results. Now — back to the hack. In a video created by makeup artist Alissia Christidis [4], Christidis showcases the one product she uses to get her mascara looking flawless: an eyelash shield.

@makeupbyalissiac [5]

Applying my mascara using the viral eyelid shield! Using one of my current fav mascaras from @L’Oréal Paris the new Panorama mascara! #LOrealParisPartner [6] #mascarahacks [7]

♬ original sound - Alissia [8]

Prior to watching Christidis's video, I had never even heard of an eyelid shield, let alone seen one, but a quick search on TikTok showed me they were not only popular, but useful AF. "I've been seeing people say that this is a staple in their makeup collection," Christidis says in her video. "It's supposed to make the process mess-free and make your lashes look really long." After trying it, Christidis praised the contraption. "You know what I like about this?" she says. "You can just go in, you know what I mean? I feel like this really helped to separate every single lash."

Although I watched the results with my own two eyes, I was still a little skeptical about whether or not it would work for me. I have hooded, downturned eyes, and most eye products, like eyelash curlers and falsies, don't work for me the way they work for other people. It usually takes a lot of trial and error before I'm able to get the results I'm seeking. To try it, I had to first purchase my very own eyelid shield, which I got on Amazon. I grabbed the Abeillo Eyelid Shield [9] ($4), which came with three shields as well as four spoolies.

When it came time to test it out, although I could have gone with a wild eyeshadow look, I decided to keep things simple and just put a nice nude base color on my lid, just in case things went awry. Then, I curled my eyelashes as normal using the Kevyn Aucoin Eyelash Curler [10] ($25), which works great for my lash type and my eye shape. From there, I held the eyelid shield over my eye so that my eyelashes rested on the outside of it, all while holding the skinny base in one of my hands. Then, with the other hand, I went in with my all-time favorite mascara, the Kylie Cosmetics Kylash Volume Mascara [11] ($24). I applied as I normally would, from the base of my lashes to the tips.

I quickly learned that with the help of the eyelash shield, I was able to apply more pressure and get a lot of product onto the roots of my lashes, which gave them a bold effect, making them look a lot thicker than they normally do. In fact, I decided to "go in" just as Christidis suggested, and I found that in the end, my eyelashes looked more dramatic than ever. The best part? When I removed the eyelid shield, I didn't have a single spot of mascara around my eye, which meant I didn't need to enlist the help of a Q-tip or wait for the mascara to dry so I could scrape it off with my fingernails.

I 100 percent plan on integrating an eyelash shield into my dialy makeup routine because the results were well worth it. Honestly, I can't believe it took me this long to learn about the innovative tool.