Jeepers Creeper, Where’d you Get Those Peepers?

As promised, y’all get to participate in my eyelash extension session from Thursday.

Background — I am fair complected, blonde hair, and my eyelashes are almost blonde as well. Not blonde enough that they stand out a little, but just enough that they fade right into my eyeline, so nothing frames my eyes.  Compound that with having lashes to curl down below the line of the eye.  For me to even appear to have eyes with a nice little eyelash fringy frame, it requires about three coats of mascara, much curling, some conditioner, and even then… did I mention my eyelashes are really fine?  Yes, mascara does not like to stick, so it starts peeling off midway through the day.  Disheartening.  I actually have pretty great eyes other than that –  it’s one of my favorite features.  The lack of eyelashes without slathering on a lot of chemical goo suuuuucks. 

 For some idea of what my lashes look like, go here and look at the before and after pictures eight down from the top.  Not me, but that’s pretty close to my befores and afters.  I would take snaps, but I’ve had acute bronchitis all week, and even with pretty lashes, I am not looking very spiffy yet.  BTW, my doc did concoct me a killer phenergan/codeine cough syrup that is knocking me out a little at night so I’m getting just a tidge of sleep– blessedly.  I thought I was going to have to cancel my appointment this morning or give it to my sister (she was gleeful) because of my nonstop coughing, but my Lung-shushing Elixir worked its magic, and I made it through the two hours without hacking my lungs up.

I had heard about eyelash extensions from my hair stylist since they do it at her salon, thought it sounded pretty nifty, but just never seriously considered doing it until recently.  Two reasons finally made me fork over the $250 to get them done — 1) with my fair complexion, mascaras just wind up looking harsh on my mildly aging face, and 2) I really pretty much hate wearing mascara, always have and wind up going without most of the time and looking like I have no eyes. 

Lisa went over the process, what to expect, how long it would take, we decided to do a mix of black and brown lashes because I was afraid all black may be too harsh, but I wanted enough color that they would pop up.  She got me all settled down on her table, put some cooling doohickeys under my eyes, some tape to pull my eyelids up a little, and my eyes stayed closed the entire time.  She went back and forth from eye to eye putting on one lash at a time.  It’s a tedious process, and it will take a couple of hours for a full set (you can’t do your bottom lashes, nothing to grab on to.  How full/long/thick you can go depends on your natural lashes.  They have to have enough structure to support the extension.  So if you have really thin, fine lashes, don’t expect to get glam lashes. 

Just having someone working on your eye like that can be irritating. My eyes are a little sensitive to begin with, and they are still sick, so while they aren’t all red and irritated now, they do feel a bit mishish – getting better as the day goes on.

They are perfect, not too much, not over the top like false eyelashes can be, you can’t tell they are extensions; my eyes get a nice frame that they deserve, no mascara necessary. The upkeep?  Well, you have to go get a refill once every three weeks, which runs 50-65 normally, depending on how many lashes you want added back in.

It is a spendy procedure, and for people with dark lashes or no aversion to mascara, I wouldn’t recommend it just on the cost factor. If you have fine lashes, hard to see, and you hate mascara or it doesn’t stick to your lashes long and your budget can handle it, I think it’s a great way  to look great right out of bed in the morning.

Next time… I’m thinking maybe a little color, like a dark eggplant or navy blue, which is softer on the eyes.