Sunday 12 August 2018

What happens when you get eyelash extensions?


A couple of weeks ago, I did something that I had always been curious about. I got eyelash extensions. And it has been my favourite non-invasive cosmetic procedure to date.

I've had acrylic nails (pretty, but really chewed up my real nails, and a nightmare to remove), hair extensions (I had micro-rings and they felt awful. I couldn't wear my hair up, or brush it properly) and an eyebrow tint (quite pointless as I have dark eyebrows anyway, but I was bored). No, my list of treatments may not match Kim Kardashian's, but as a beauty writer I've either had or witnessed most procedures - and I have to say that, out of all of them, I could get addicted to eyelash extensions.

One of the best things about them is that they're completely tailored to your look. For me, it was all about having naturally fuller and longer looking lashes. However, you might want to go full glam instead. It's all down to what you prefer and what your technician recommends. Eyelash extensions can be found in a range of lengths, thickness and degrees of curl for a perfectly personalised look.

Before
For my treatment, I went to Lashes By Beckie, who is a certified Novalash technician. For the entirety of the appointment, I was lying down on a comfy beauty bed, which was fine by me. There's nothing more enticing than literally doing nothing for an hour and a half. We had the radio on, as well as the soft hum of Beckie's fan (it was late July and baking), and it just felt like a relaxing evening with a friend.

Beckie placed adhesive strips over my lower lashes to keep them out of the way. This was a weird feeling at first - as if someone was softly pulling your lower lid down - but I soon forgot about it. The hard part was keeping my eyes shut. I'm a blinker, for some reason. I blink a lot, and I didn't really realise that until this appointment. I was just so tempted to open my eyes to blink. But I urge you to keep them shut, and there are two reasons for this. Firstly, opening your eyes will let the eyelash glue seep in which, although it's not going to blind you, can leave you with bloodshot eyes for a couple of days. Secondly, you'll annoy your technician - it's kind of similar to someone moving their hands around at a nail appointment.

After

Every so often, Beckie would use a small dryer to set the lash glue. This was a weirdly nice sensation, as the air felt cool and seemed to stop my eyes from watering from the fumes of the glue. Another little treat was the ocassional brushing of the lashes with a tiny spooly - again, oddly satisfying. And you'll probably find yourself doing this at home with your own spooly to stop any criss-crossing or wonky eyelashes.

Once Beckie had finished applying the lashes, and they had dried, I took a look in her mirror and fell in love with the results. I'm an unfortunate member of the short-eyelash-group, so it was a real treat to be able to have that extra length framing my eyes. I feel more 'feminine', which is an odd thing to say as my boyfriend has lovely, long, thick eyelashes (and what does 'feminine' even look like, anyway?) but I just feel like the word epitomises their appearance.

The great thing about Novalash extensions is that they're water and oil resistant, so you can get them wet or wear them with makeup. However, since my appointment, I haven't worn makeup as I'm so happy with how the lashes make me look 'done'.

Two weeks have passed and, although a few have dropped out with the completely normal growth and fallout of my natural lashes, the falsies still appear long and full. I give them a gentle comb every other day, and avoid rubbing them, as I find that this is helping their longevity. Infills are recommended every two to three weeks to keep lashes looking full, but if you're not planning to top up, expect the lashes to completely fall out within six weeks.

Share:

No comments

Post a Comment

© Jen Lou Meredith | All rights reserved.
Blog Design Handcrafted by pipdig