I’m sure I am not alone when I say that I am a lover of a good lash, natural or fake, just a nice full, separated lash!
It defines, can widen and open as well as lift ones eye, creating a feminine touch to any make-up look you decide to focus on – why wouldn’t you want to dress them up?
If your mascara just isn’t cutting it, perhaps you have an event or a special occasion, or maybe you just feel like being Michelle Obama or Oprah and wear them everyday, it’s about adding volume or length this party season with some fake lashes.
Just like mascaras have different wand sizes and formulas to determine whether you have a natural separated lash or a double layer looking volume lash, fake lashes come in all different shapes and sizes also – there is something for everyone!
We see a lot of the costume, drag-like fantasy style lashes, as they are the most eye catching, with feather style lashes, to diamante dipped ends, some using lace and even leaf inspired creations – amazing, great for a dress up party but maybe not for your wedding day!
Fake lashes can be as natural as you want them to be and living in today’s world they are available everywhere, from your local chemist to large department stores.
There are definitely differences in quality, some are synthetic and can look very fake, some hand crafted, to real hair being used for that natural look. Like everything in life, you get what you pay for! Think about the occasion or reason you are wearing them and that should determine the cost you need to spend, the higher the quality the more times you can re-use also.
MB Pro Tip – If you know you will only wear fake lashes the once as it is for a dress up party perhaps, spend less. But, for a fashion look that can be repeated or a wedding day with photography involved, spend more.
The most common type of fake lashes that most would think of first are the strip lashes. These can be designed for top, or bottom lashes, can be single or double layered and come in many lengths and angles to create a round eyed look or a winged cat eye for example.
Strip lashes will generally have shorter lengths at one end and longer at the other, following the natural shape and flow of real eyelashes, slightly lifting the outer edge and depending how thick the outer lash is, this can create a defined outer flick – some are very angled for a more defined winged cat-eyed look.
The other shape you can buy are to create a rounder looking eye, great for a puffy lid, Asian or mature eye, or someone that does not wear as much eye shadow as this shape has shorter length on inner and outer sides of the lashes, with longer in the middle. This means the middle part of the eye is covered more by the lashes, lifting the area, opening the eye centrally for lift, rather than elongating the eye for an angled, outer lift like the cat-eye lashes.
If your eye shadow is generally quite detailed, then go for the outer-wing, cat-eye lash style as the rounded effect lash may cover all your handy work, great for a non-eye shadow kind of girl.
Just like with eye shadow, the darker an area, it recedes away unwanted concerns and with lashes being darker in colour, thickening your own lashes, they are a great natural lift to recede away any unwanted ‘heavy lid’ look.
MB Pro Tip – TRIM! 90% of all strip lashes may have to be sized down to fit your eye shape. Nothing worse than seeing a strip lash applied, making the woman loo all droopy-eyed as the lash width is too long.
Before applying, place fake lashes to your own lashes and if ends are longer than your lash, trim excess off so you do not become droopy-eyed – much easier to apply when they are your size!
Shu uemura is one of my fave lash brands! Visit the Tokyo Lash bar at any shu uemura counter within David Jones to view a large range of strip lashes like the ones below:
Image: Shu Uemura Luxe Black Lashes $42, Stockist 1300 651 991
A great alternative for strip lashes, ones that I personally use a lot of for make-up jobs I work on are the individual flare lashes. I like them for their naturalness and ease with time. They are like little clusters of lashes that a few on the ends of your lashes can be all you need to create an outer lift, or sometimes, like a wedding, I use them all the way across as a strip lash would be, but they don’t look as placed.
Women applying these themselves say they find them harder than a strip, I find them easier as you don’t have to get that base line perfect from inner to outer, you just place in amongst your own lashes at any desired space or layering effect. Like everything though, practice is perfect and because these are quite tiny, they are known to twist if not placed to lash with a steady hand.
My fave flare lashes are the 1000Hour brand. These come in short, medium or long, so you can choose the right length for you. I like using short in the inner and then growing length with either medium or long as I go along.
Image: 1000hour flare lashes are $8.95 from Priceline
With application, glue is normally supplied when you buy lashes, especially if not sold at a large cosmetic house, but the quality is not the best. Nothing worse than your strip lashes flicking up, normally in the inner corner through the night.
I would invest in good glue!
Cosmetic brands that sell lashes normally have their own formulas, which I would trust way more than that of the ‘included in packet’ glue.
I personally always use DUO adhesive. It is known for its staying power and being waterproof, it is great through the heat or perspiration and will not come off during the night. It now also coms in a dark tone, so you do not have to worry about the white glue not drying clear.
Image: Duo Eyelash Adhesive Glue
When it comes to applying lashes, I have always been ok to just use my fingers as I have a steady hand and feel comfortable using them. But, a lot of make-up artists use tweezers, just to get extra grip on sometimes the tiny ends of these lashes, also great for the flare style as can be fiddly, being so small.
Some brands also have created lash applicators, like shu uemura, pictured below, a stainless steel applicator for strip lashes, like tweezers, but curved at the end, the same shape as your eye for a very easy application – it does the work for you! You can then use the other end of the applicator or tweezers to dip into glue and thinly apply onto the back of the lash strip!
Image: Shu Uemura Lash Applicator $58
I like to place strip lash centrally first, then press down inner and outer edges after that for a seamless application. Flare lashes are just placed amongst the base of your own lashes, no real technique required compared to the strip lashes.
So ladies, give a lash a go! They can be the perfect way to beef up wimpy lashes or just create more elegance! Less is best when it comes to glue and think about trimming to size your strip lashes and all will be good, we hope!
By Michael Brown
Twitter: @mbrown_beauty
Facebook: facebook.com/michaelbrownbeauty
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