I know I know. False eyelashes? They are too intimidating. They are hard to put on. They look too fake. They will fall off! Everyone will think I'm a stripper. Who wants to fuss with false eyelashes when I can barely get a shower in and my hair combed.
Trust me. I know how you feel - I used to feel the same way, and I am not suggesting that you wear falsies every day. But sometimes, the occasion calls for a little more glam than your regular yoga pant, pony tail, and makeup less face. So for those times that you need to call up your inner pin up girl - here's how to do it with the least amount of fuss and frustration. With a little practice, it is a quick as a couple of coats of mascara and gives you 10x the effect.
They have come a long way from the caterpiller crawling on your face styles of the past and there are tons of brands that have very natural looking options that just enhance your existing lashes or can give you a KAPOW glam girl effect.
 |
| Just a bit of glam for date night |
You start out with the selection of your lashes. Some are attached to a black lash band, others to an invisible lash band, and they come in different lengths and lash styles. For newbies, the EcoTools Naturally Beautiful Lash system (available at Ulta) is a great introduction into false lashes. They arent over the top and just make your lashes look a bit fuller and defined than just mascara alone. My personal favorites are the Ardell 110 lashes which are the perfect balance of glam and natural when you put them on.
Here you can see the two different style lash bands. The Eylure has an invisible band which makes them much more natural looking on the eye. The E.L.F lashes have a thicker less flexible band which I find harder to work with.
Most lashes come with glue, check the box. That being said - the glue they come with is usually CRAP. My current favorite glue is the one that comes with the Ecotools lashes (exception to the rule), and I have been using that one with all my other lash brands. I've also read that the Revlon lash glue is also good although I have yet to try that one myself.
So now you have your lashes and your glue, the next step is to measure the lashes to your eye. Gently peel them from the packaging (keep the package to store your lashes in!) and hold the lashes either with tweezers or with your fingers up against your eyelid along your lash line. Trim the lashes if necessary (I use cuticle scissors). I find that you get the most natural look if the false eyelashes are trimmed to 3/4 the length of your lash line. The lashes at your inner corner are very sparse already so if you place your falsies too close to that - it looks pretty weird.
Before you apply your lashes you need to line your eye so that you have somewhere to hide the lash band. If you skip this step, the lash band would be easily distinguishable from your natural lashes and will give it away pretty easily. I usually will do a winged cat eye which suits my eye shape, but this will also work with tight lining if you use lashes with an invisible band. Any lashes with a black band need to be hidden in a thick black liner. I'll be posting a tutorial on the perfect winged cat eye next. Once you've lined your eyes, curl your lashes and put a light coat of waterproof mascara to set your curl. This will give the lashes a platform to sit on top of. I also will do my eyeshadow before I put my lashes on, otherwise they just get in the way of things.
Apply a thin line of glue to the lashes along the band only, try not to get the glue onto the lashes themselves. The white glue will dry clear. Wait about 30-45 seconds for the glue to get tacky. If you apply them right away, the glue has too much slip and will slide around a lot. Align the lashes so they start just a bit in from your inner corner and press the lash band up along your lash line without actually touching your lashes. Hold each end against your lid for 5 seconds to secure the edges.
Don't panic if you dont get the placement right on the first go. You have a minute to adjust the lashes as needed while the glue is still white. Don't freak out and take your time, pull them off and reapply glue and start over if you need to.
Once you've got the lashes where you want them, take your black liner and go over your eyeliner again to clean up any patchy sections that may have been created as you moved your false lashes around. Bring your lash glue with you in your purse just in case start to come off. (never had this happen, just make sure you press each end down to let the glue set securely.
Go on out and be fabulous!
Once you are done being fabulous and it's time to take your lashes off, soak a cotton pad in oil free eye makeup remover and press and hold it to your eye for a few seconds to loosen up the glue. Gently peel the lashes off and lay them on the cotton pad, and use a Qtip soaked in the same remover to wipe off any excess mascara or glue from your lashes. Put them back into the box they came in and press them into shape.
You can usually get 5-10 uses out of a single pair of lashes if you take good care of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment