For the love of lashes!!



Pixie Luxe $12- House of Lashes

Many of you who know me will know my love for lashes and having worn them for around 10 years now unsurprisingly I had to have a blog post dedicated to them! Honestly I love lashes.. they really can change the way you look so dramatically. Even if I am not wearing anything else make- up wise lashes can really make me feel so much better!  

So many people ask me about my lashes and the first question most people ask is how do you apply them!? So here it goes.. I think this is a personal thing.. I firstly prepare the lash by ensuring it is not too long (if it is simply cut to fit) and then I bend the lashes into a ‘U’ shape to loosen the strip as most come straight.



Bend the lash to a 'U' shape to soften them and make them easier to fit your eye shape

Moving on to application; I apply mine with tweezers and a small mirror... others use fingers but both are fine however personally I prefer tweezers. I use my tweezers to loosely grip the root of the lash and once the lash is secure in the tweezers I open my glue and sparingly apply across the strip of the lash (remember you can always add more but if you add too much then you risk ruining your lash as the glue will seep onto the lashes and it will make it harder to apply as the glue will not dry).

Hold the lash at the root with tweezers

After applying the glue I wait for around 10 seconds for the glue to go tacky and then place the centre of the lash on to the centre of my own lash line and wait a couple of seconds for it to stick. I then go back to the lash and pull down the ends of the lash to the inner and outer part of my eye. I then use my tweezers to press along the top of the lash line to make them extra secure. This is the most effective way of applying lashes for me.

 The next thing I'm asked is what lashes I use and over the years I have tried pretty much every lash brand on the market and most styles. I have just received an order so thought I would show you some pictures of the ones I use at the moment and tell you a bit more about them. The lashes I am currently using, and have been for almost 6 months, are by ‘House of Lashes’. The lashes, I believe are only available to us here in the UK online. I found out about the brand on Instagram as they are often modelled by make-up super gurus such as Amrezy, Chrisspy and Nicole Guerriero (if you haven’t checked them out before then you should!).

The style I use are called ‘Pixie Luxe’ ($12)- they are a criss- cross weaved style and are double layered for extra density. I love these lashes because they look relatively  natural due to the different lengths of the individual lashes and also the band is not at all black or thick like many other double layered lashes I’ve tried. If this style isn’t for you (even though I think they would suit most eye shapes and sizes) then check out the other styles on the website. I also love ‘Noir Fairy’ and ‘Iconic’.

Pixie Luxe $12- House of Lashes

Pixie Luxe $12- House of Lashes

Me modelling Pixie Luxe lashes

Other things to mention are House of Lashes are cruelty free which makes me a very happy girl, shipping can take up to 2 weeks and the lashes can last up to 3 weeks if cared for correctly i.e not leaving out for dust to get to and also picking off the glue after each use. I would also avoid mascara as it can reduce the amount of times you can reuse the lashes.

If you don’t fancy ordering online and want to get something similar from Boots or Superdrug I would recommend Eylure 143 (similar to Pixie Luxe).

Eylure 143 £6.99- Boots

Eylure 143

 

Some previous favourites of mine are Ardell 'Demi Wispies' which are rumoured to be Kim K's lashes of choice and again look natural due to the un-uniformity of the individual lashes (all being in different lengths and directions). 

Ardell Demi Wispies £5.49 - Boots

Kim Kardashian modelling some wispie style lashes

I also love Red Cherry, who in my opinion have the best and widest range of lashes available. My fave's are #43! 

#43- Red Cherry

If on a budget then trusty Primark have a fab range of lashes. Yes they do feel very plastic and false but for a night out and to wear once they would be great and at only £1 you can't go wrong.. This is my favourite style... 

Sultry Lashes £1- Primark

My top tip is for the most natural look is to go for lashes with ‘gaps’ (for lack of a better word) and that cross over as they won’t be so thick and also lashes which feature different lengths of the individual lashes and will mimic your natural lashes. 

For glue I love Ardell’s DUO which comes in a white tube and lasts forever! I can’t remember the last time I had to buy some it lasts that long! Never have my lashes loosened during the day using this glue and it is a must for any lash wearer! The glue is available at MAC and also online at BeautyBay who also offer the dark version which is the one I use.    

Ardell DUO glue in Dark £7.95 - beautybay.com