For years I shared this problem with my fellow mascara-wearers: Roughly 30 minutes into wearing it, I would have raccoon eyes. It felt like the mascara was just falling off my eyelashes. For me, the problem was fixed when I switched to tubing mascara, which is one of the world’s greatest inventions. But if you’re not ready, or you just bought a new tube of the conventional stuff, give this handy piece by Katie McPherson a read. It’s worth it.

If you can’t keep up either, we asked teens and tweens around the country what they and their friends want the most for the upcoming school year.