How I Finally Got To Grips With False Lashes!

I wanted to do a post on this because I have met so manygirls who say that they have tried to apply false lashes time and time againand they just can’t get the hang of it. That was me last year.  Seriously,I was a disaster when it came to gluing those bad boys on.  I had a couple of embarrassing peel offincidents and a couple of tantrums when I wrecked all my make up before night’sout because I had made a complete hash of applying my lashes (the lashes inquestion ended up being aggressively flushed down the toilet!).  I felt like I would never get the hang of itand it was really frustrating because it seemed like the whole blogging worldcould do it except for me!

I know there has been a bajillion posts done before on thistopic but it’s something that people always ask me about.  I love the glamorous look of false lashes butI’m much more into the more subtle ones so no drag-queen-esque-embellished onesfor me thank you.  I like lashes thatlook full, (reasonably) natural and slightly wing out at the edges to get thatcat eye effect.  They make such a bigdifference, especially in photos and they really finish off a makeup look andintensify the eyes.

So, after reading countless blog posts and watching someYouTube videos, I realised why I had been going so wrong.

I chose lashes thathad a thick band at the base

Some of the first false lashes I tried to apply were the EyelureGirl’s Aloud ones and they really didn’t work for me at all.  For one thing, they were just too obvious andlong for me and they also just seemed really difficult to apply.  It takes time to find the right lashes but bytrying ones that work for other people, you are more likely to find reliableones.

I used the wrong kindof glue

A huge part of successful application of false lashes is touse a good lash glue.  I actually foundthat the best ones for me are the Revlon one that comes with all their lashesand DUO, which you will hear a lot of bloggers recommending.  When you’re applying the glue to the lashband, make sure you apply a reasonable amount and get the ends too to make surethey adhere to the eyelid.  That willstop them peeling off half way through the night.  Don’t apply massive globs of the stuff or youwill end up with messy residue on your lid.

I didn’t wait for thelash glue to get ‘tacky’

An important thing to remember once you apply the glue tothe lashes is that it needs about 30 seconds to get ‘tacky’.  This just means it gets a bit more congealed,less watery and is a lot more effective at sticking the lash to your lash line.  Your lashes will not stay in place if youskip this step! I like to use tweezers to apply the lash and then VERY gentlypush it into my lash line, using the other end of the tweezers to pat the lash bandinto place and secure it.  It’s easiestto start to apply the lash to the centre of the lid, then pat down the innerand outer corner after that.

I didn’t trim thelash band to fit my eye

The one thing that really got to me when I first startedusing (or failing to use) false lashes was that I would end up with the innerpart of the lash band poking in my eye all night, generally making my eyes soreand uncomfortable.  It hadn’t dawned onme that I would have to trim the lash band to suit the shape and size of myeyes! It really was a hallelujah moment when I finally started trimming thembecause all of a sudden, they started to go on and STAY on! I only ever trimone little clump or collection of lashes on the outer edge of the lashband.  I always do it on the outer edgebecause you don’t want the inner corners to be too long.   


Myfavourite lashes that work EVERY time are Ardell 109’s:

 and Ardell 110’s:

 and RevlonFlirty:

They really compliment my eyeshape, don’t look over the top and have very light, flexible lash bands thatare easy to work with.

I found my ownroutine

Just because someone has a certain way of doing things,doesn’t mean that it’s the best way for YOU to do it.  I find that with most things beauty-related,it’s best to find your own little routine and techniques that you feelcomfortable with.  Who cares if it’s notthe normal way of doing it? I always apply my lashes just after I have appliedmy eye shadow base (normally a cream eye shadow product like a MAC Paint Pot).  I prefer to do it this way because it makesit easier for me to see my natural lash line and get the false lash band asclose as possible.  I then go ahead andapply powder eye shadow and liner.  Doingit this way also gives you a better idea of how the lashes will affect theshape of your eye and you can apply the shadow accordingly.  So you can tell whether you need to wing itout more.

Every little helps…

I find that applying a good long-lasting eyeliner over theband of the false lashes really helps them to stay in place all day and allnight.  I ALWAYS use Estee lauder DoubleWear Stay In Place Liquid Eyeliner in Black. It has a unique formula which is almost akin to the lash glue i.e. whenyou remove it, it can be peeled off in one go. It actually acts as an adhesive to really make sure the lashes will stayput and also blends the false lash line seamlessly into your eyelid.  A bonus to this product is that it’s easy toremove from the false lashes and clean them afterwards.

Natalie over at Miss Natty’s Beauty Diary did a REALLY goodthorough post on how she applies her false lashes so that is a must read.

Good luck with the lashes and let me know how you get on!