A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Ahh Liloo, mon petit chou-fleur (she likes it when I call her that).  I’m delighted to have this French-firecracker guest blogging for us today.  She’s the queen of Halloween, the high-priestess of Twitter and accelerates from nought to ‘passionate’ quicker that a Lamborghini super-charged Citroen. 

Today, she’s going to help us out with those pesky false lashes as she looks at the “8 reasons why you still can’t apply false lashes”.

So, grab a cup of tea, settle back, and read on as Lipglossiping.com features: LePetitJardindeLiloo

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Bonjour, my name is Liloo and I am a recovering hopeless false lash wearer.  Throughout my life, I’ve been obsessed with many things: trying to find the perfect foundation which doesn’t break the bank, the best fake tan, achieving a dramatic cut crease… but nothing has possessed me as deeply as trying to apply false lashes.  I couldn’t tell you how many “how-to” youtube videos I’ve watched in frustration as the false lash appears to pop itself perfectly on the wearer’s upper lashline as if by voodoo!  How do they do it?  What am I doing wrong?

Patience is not one of my virtues, I’ve never been further than Green Hill on Sonic the Hedgehog and a scrambled Rubik’s Cube lasts about my 5 minutes before flying across the room.  But a few years on, I feel I’ve finally cracked it.  I feel I can now apply *some* false lashes confidently enough to seen in public.  But it’s been one heck of a tumultuous learning journey and I wanted to share some tips I have learnt along the way:

1. Packet-ready: You expect the lash to fit straight from the packet

There is no way I would expect trousers I bought from the shop to fit my voluminous derriere and my short legs, without having to alter them.  Lashes are the same and I find myself having to trim the lashline on most lashes.  Make sure to measure the lashes before applying them and trim them accordingly, If in doubt, it’s better if they are too short, and you can always rely on some eyeliner to fake the little bit of lashline missing.  Went a bit mad with the scissors?  Again, not a problem as you can pretend they were corner lashes all along.  You bought full lashes and you want them to be noticeable but if they are sticking out too much on the outer corner, the eyelid will look heavy, as if it’s dragged down and the whole eye will look more closed off than before you started.  Placing it too close to the inner corner will bring a whole host of problems: 1) It will look unnatural, as your natural lashes only really start to be noticeable where the pupil starts, 2) you’ll struggle to make it stick without pinging out, 3) it will be very uncomfortable.

2. Run: You want to run before you can walk

You want to make an impact and have chosen the most extravagant lashes to wear.  Dramatic, full fancy and elaborate lashes will need a thick lashline to support all the drama.  The more dramatic the lashes are, the thicker the lashline will be, and the more difficult they will be to apply and align just right on your lashline.  Don’t throw away your amazing lashes, keep them for later when you’ve gained a bit more confidence.  Aim to wear subtle effect lashes first and work your way up.

3. Application Sequence: You apply false lashes after you’ve done your makeup.

This might be controversial but picture this: You’ve done the most amazing makeup ever. You’re so proud, you took 107 photos of it.  Are you really going to try 4 times to apply your false lashes, with glue all over the place and risking ruining your eyeshadow masterpiece?  No.  What you’ll end up doing is try to apply the lash just once and give up after that.  Why? Because while you removed the lash, the glue ripped some eyeshadow in the process, your perfect eyeliner smudged along the way.  You’re then left to try to fix your makeup, feeling worse off, wondering why you even bothered.

However, if you apply the lashes BEFORE any makeup, while you’re still trying to feet and learning, first you’ll have the best vision of your lashline and there will be no makeup to ruin. If there are pesky residues of glue in the process you won’t feel it so bad at trying to scrape it all off.  The obvious drawback is that the lash might have some eyeshadow fall out on it, so you’ll have to be extra careful at tapping the excess of eyeshadow beforehand.

4. Cause it’s not you, it’s me

The lashes are rubbish, not you.  You bought lashes that are so poor quality, that even an experienced falsies wearer would not go near them because they don’t sit right.  The first pair of eyelashes I bought were NYC £1.99 lashes and a few years down the line, I now understand why I was struggling so much.  Once you take them out of their curvy support, the lash transforms itself into a straight fringe of hair. You’re forever trying to make it ‘marry’ the natural horizontal curve of your eye and whatever you do it’s pinging out, on the inside and outside corner of your eye.  Again, this might be a bit controversial, but even if you are beginner you need to invest in decent pair of eyelashes, it makes such a difference.  No need to spend a fortune, but aim to spend minimum of £5 and go and spend your pennies in a brand who specialises in lashes, like Eylure or Ardell if you’re outside England.  Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing before removing the lash from support if they’re going to all straight or retain their curvy shape, so you’ll have to rely on recommendations from people you trust.  Yes, I am sure you can find decent £1 lashes, but as a beginner you need all the help you can get and you need to the lash to do some of the work for you.

5. Time

You’re not giving yourself enough time.  Not time in general (I gave myself years) but time on that day/evening before that special occasion where you want to wear your fluttery and dreamy lashes.  How long?  If you spend one hour to dry and style your hair, give yourself also 1 hour (you will inevitably be distracted) to apply your lashes, and aim to reduce progressively that as you grow more confident.  Eyelashes can make such a dramatic impact, I feel it’s totally worth spending the time.  If you like to include a little bit of spirit in your getting ready routine, I find it helps not to finish the bottle of vodka before applying my lashes.

6. It’s not sticking properly

Not all glues are created equal.  Most glues which come with lashes are not very good, so stick to reputable brands such as Duo, Eylure and Ardell, which are totally resealable.  I’ve been wearing lashes for years, but I always like to carry a little bit of glue, in case. Call it my comfort blanket.

7. Sit and Wait: Your timing is not right

There is nothing more irritating than following instructions to the letter and not getting it right.  You’ve counted 30 (Mississippi) seconds, you’re reading to tame the beast and introduce them to your lashline and it’s not working.  Apply the lash too soon, the glue will be too wet and the lash will end up everywhere but not on your lashline.  Wait too long, the glue is too dry, it will either not stick at all or you’ll be left with just one chance to get it perfect with no room to reposition it.  The best moment is when the glue is tacky.  “Tacky” is when the glue becomes almost transparent and when you touch it and it does small strings similar to melted cheese on a pizza, when you cut off a slice and the cheese trying to come off with it.

8. ‘Elp! You’re not using all the help available

Kids will start learning to ride a bike with stabilizers attached.  You can do the same for lashes.  Experienced false lash wearers will use a normal pair of tweezers or just their hand.  What if they made giant tweezers the same size as your lashline?  They do and it’s simply called a ‘false lash applicator’.  I found my stabilizers years ago from Japonesque, the best £7 I’ve ever spent.  Using the eyelash applicator made all the difference and, it was only then that I felt I had finally cracked it.  I am actually getting a little bit emotional reminiscing how happy it made me.  I can feel pretty now!

My lashes are so short, so straight.  Wearing false lashes gives me such a boost that it has become what I like the most about ‘makeup’.  The secret recipe for false application?  You’ve probably found it already, not very well hidden at the beginning of each paragraph 😉  When you’ve found it, do it, do it and do it again, like there’s no tomorrow.

You think you’ve ruined the lash after not getting it right for the first time? The lash can take it, it’s meant to be used and used and used again.  If the lash looks a bit bruised, that’s fine – it will help make it look more natural.  Keep at it, don’t give up, the rewards are worth it, I promise.

Happy false lashing xx

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Thanks Liloo!  I’m gonna get some more practice in!  You’ve enabled that Japonesque lash placement tool straight into my shopping bag, looking forward to trying it!  False lashes were the one thing I wished I’d had the confidence to use when I went to that wedding last month.  I will get it eventually!