I was getting ready for a girls night out, a long-anticipated evening of friends, fun conversation and frufru cocktails. I was still at home, waiting for my friend to pick me up, thinking that I had cleaned up pretty nice—especially given the fact that just an hour earlier I had paint stains on my shirt from doing a craft project with the kids, my hair was piled in a tangled mess on my head, and dog hair clung to every inch of my yoga pants. Now that my locks were actually washed and I was sporting a new pair of heels, I was ready to shed my mommy skin and tackle the grown-up world. I was feeling pretty good.
Then the doorbell rang and in walked my friend. I looked at her and in two seconds realized she had a powerful new beauty tool in her arsenal, and I was jealous.
“Uh, exactly what is happening south of your eyebrows?” I asked her.
“Oh, nothing,” she said in a mock demure voice.
“Get over here,” I said.
I quickly noticed that her pretty brown eyes looked particularly striking this evening. Her lashes were a mile long, curled perfectly, and drew attention to her entire face. Maybe she was trying out a brilliant new mascara? Perhaps she’d discovered an eye-popping new shadow?
It didn’t take her long to admit she was wearing false lashes. It was one thing to see how big they made her peepers seem, but another to accept that she’d mastered a beauty skill I had long ago deemed way beyond my capabilities. I had false lashes applied professionally a couple of times, but those dalliances ended in melancholy (peeling them off at the end of the day, I lamented the fact that, because I had no idea how to reapply them, it would be a while before I saw them again). Once or twice I made an awkward attempt, but only ended up with glue all over my eyelids and plastic strips poking my eyeball.
My friend explained how easy falsies were to apply, as long as you knew the right way. She also told me it’s so much less expensive to do it yourself than to go to a salon.
So a couple weeks later I gave it another go. And I ended up with glue all over my eyelids. And then I did a little research and tried again. And I ended up poking my eyeball—but just a little. By the third attempt, I pretty much had it down. Friday night is our next girls night, and this time I’m fully expecting to be wearing mile-long lashes.
If you want to experiment with this fun beauty product, I say give it a try. It’s easier than it looks, with just a little practice. Strip lashes are readily available in many styles and thicknesses—from simple medium-length varieties to ultra-long glam versions to rhinestone-adorned novelty lashes in crazy colors. You can even purchase individual false lashes, which are a little tricky to apply but give you the flexibility of filling out certain parts of your lash line more than others. Prices run the gamut from about $5 for synthetic drugstore brands like Andrea and Ardell, to $20 for higher-end varieties from labels such as MAC and Shu Uemura. Experiment with different styles and lengths until you find the ones you love best.
But most important, here’s how to apply them without pulling out your real lashes—or your hair:
1. Size them up. To make sure the lashes are the right size for your eyes, remove one of the strips from its case, bend it slightly if necessary, and lay it close to your upper lash line, with the fuller side of the strip at the outer corner of your eye. If it’s too big, use a cuticle scissor to gently trim it at the outer part.
2. Prep your eyes. Apply a coat of mascara to your real lashes, because doing so after you’ve applied the falsies will ruin them for future use.
3. Stick it to ’em. Squeeze a fine line of lash glue onto the back of your non-dominant hand or on the outside of the eyelash case. (Try Duo clear eyelash adhesive, $6). Use the back of a tweezer to pick up some of the glue and apply it to the lash strip. Wait about 10 seconds, or until the glue gets tacky.
4. Apply the lashes. Look downward and carefully lay the strip as close as possible to your lash line. (Tip: Drop the strip onto your lashes from above; don’t come in from the front, perpendicular to your eye.) Press gently and allow the glue to dry.
5. Seal the deal. For a seamless look, go over your lashline with some black liquid liner.
To remove the lashes, peel them off slowly, then remove any excess glue from the false lashes, using either your hands or a non-oil-based makeup remover, and return them to their case for future use.
That’s all there is to it. For more tips on how you can get big, beautiful eyes—and look years younger in the process—read our story, “Get Carded Tonight.”
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