I said I never would, but I finally succumb to the false eye lash trend. I realise I’m seriously late to the party… a party I never thought I’d be going to! The thing is, I always thought I had quite good lashes. They’re long, could be thicker, but with mascara usually look pretty good. BUT now that everyone’s running around with giant Jessica Rabbit esq falsies, suddenly mine are looking a little deficient. The tipping point came a few weeks ago at a wedding when I realised that, other than the vicar, I was the only female without va va voom lashes!
False lashes have improved a lot in recent years, they don’t really look that false anymore, unless you apply them Katie Price style. Friends had warned me off the strip lashes and recommended individual ones; they take a little longer to apply but tend to look more natural.
I was stunned how many eye lash options there was out there – long, short, black, brown, sparkly, CURLY… it was like a sweet shop! I settled on Eyelure’s Individual Lashes. I wasn’t looking for a semi-permanent option, but I figured, if I’m gonna do it, I might as well get a few weeks out of them. This pack has a selection of long, medium and short lashes. You can get all one size but for a first timer I decided to experiment with all 3.
Back home, a few hours before a night out, I started the application process. As well as the eyelashes, the pack contains a veil of glue, some removal lotion and the all important instructions. You’ll also need some tin foil and tweezers. In short, the instructions tell you to;
- Place a dollop of glue on the foil
- Use tweezers to remove a cluster of lashes
- Dip the “bulb” end in the glue
- Starting with the left eye, hold the fakie on to the root of your lashes, as close to the lash line (without touching it) and hold for a couple of seconds until attached.
- Repeat, from the outside in, until you’ve finished the eye, then move to the next one.
I found it a tricky to start with, but I am a beginner. Applying to the right eye was actually easier for me, being right handed. I actually wish I’d started with that one; I might have been a bit more confident by the time I got to the left. The instructions advise applying 7-14 eye lashes per eye, I went for around 9 per eye – you’ll see from the pics I could have added more, but I didn’t want to overdo it! I put small ones in the inner eye, one larger to the very outer eye and medium in between. It was fiddly, one of those things that hopefully gets better with practice, but after I struggled through the left, I flew through the right.
A couple of tips, don’t apply too much glue to the foil, it dries quickly, and if you can, use old, less sharp tweezers. They get covered in glue and my Tweezerman’s are so sharp they snagged a few lashes. It took around 30 minutes to apply both eyes, with practice I reckon I could get it down to 15.
The results…
One eye (excuse the lack of make up and eye brow grooming – I’m growing them out, more about that later)
Both Eyes
I have to admit to being quite surprised by the results. They looked more natural than I expected – very feathery and quite long, BUT I wanted volume NOT length. I left them for a few hours before having a shower. The instructions tell you to wash your face gently with cold water. I half expected to see dozens of spiders legs in the shower afterwards, but they appear to have survived the wash… that was UNTIL I dried my face. I lost a few lashes to the towel. Great, 4 weeks, more like 4 hours!
I re-applied the ones I lost and got ready as normal. I found it quite tricky to apply eye liner, I couldn’t get close enough to the lash line – partly because of the clumps of dried glue and partly because I was frightened that I’d drag them off. Mascara was pretty tricky too. I didn’t apply as much as normal, but found I really didn’t need to.
The results WITH mascara… pretty impactive!
I had spent most of the day faffing around with them, but was finally pleased with the results.
They were surprising comfortable to wear – I wasn’t aware of them at all… that was, of course, until I came home and washed my face. I really didn’t think the lashes could stand up to a post night out scrub, so I gently washed around them.
Day 4
By now I’ve lost a few and not replaced them. You can see some gaps but they look ok. I’m feeling a bit frustrated because I can’t properly clean and cleanse my eyes, but I want to leave them alone and see how long they’ll last.
Day 5
Lost a couple more! The glue is starting to show and a few have slipped down the lash shaft – still hanging on, but looking a bit messy. My frustration has got the better of me. I need them out!!!! I wash my face and use them removal lotion to get rid of the last stragglers. CAUTION, the lotion STINGS!
Finally they’re off – it’s such a relief to be able to clean my eyes properly and touch them without worrying I’ll pull out a few clumps. So, was it worth it? The first night, with mascara, the lashes looked fab! But afterwards they were too difficult to maintain and certainly don’t last as long as advertised. I’m not put off, I think I’d try them again, perhaps for a holiday or weekend away. Other than that, I think I’ll stay au naturale.
Caked in Make Up 
