One of my favorite tricks in makeup-land, both on clients and on myself, is using individual lashes to really enhance an eye and bring out some controlled drama.
Not every occasion calls for a full strip lash, and a strip can in fact overwhelm an eye, but individuals can really save the day.
So today I’m going to teach you how to apply them, so you have time to practice, and then get out there and rock some fabulous this weekend!
Now individual lashes can be a bit tricky at first, but don’t go getting disheartened. Just practice a few times and you’ll be just fine.
Some people like to hold a hand mirror under their chin with their free hand to help them see what they’re doing, others (like me) can’t co-ordinate that, and just lean in to the bathroom mirror and tip their chin up.
First up, you are going to do your entire eye makeup, including tons of mascara. If you are going to curl your lashes, be careful not to crimp them and have them flicking upwards. It makes it super difficult to place a false lash, and falsies are never shaped at that angle. So if curling, just get a gentle bend into the lash.
I’ll be teaching you this pretty little eye makeup next week…
I use Duo Surgical Adhesive to glue false lashes. You are highly unlikely to develop a reaction to this product, whereas some of the others I’m a tad skeptical of. It goes on white and dries clear, so you know exactly when they’re ready. You can buy clear lash glue or black lash glue, but I recommend this one.
Now to the lashes themselves. You can buy Ardell or Andrea individual lashes everywhere, and they are actually very inexpensive, and really good. Depending on the length of your own lashes get either short black flair or medium black flair.
These aren’t actually one single lash, but instead are a group of lashes knotted together.
Now using your tweezers (mine are Tweezerman tweezers, my absolute favorite), gently lift off one lash from close to the knot. They are held onto the plastic case with a soft adhesive. If you pull from the end of the lash you’ll change the shape of it.
Dip it into the glue and get the knotted end covered. Hold it for a few seconds to let it get tacky.
Now with your eye mostly closed, place the lash right at the lashline. Not up on the eyeliner and not on the lashes, but instead place it where a new lash would grow. The idea here is to make it look like they’re your own.
I don’t place them so that they’re pointing straight out, but instead angle them slightly to the outer corner of the eye. This widens your eyes and makes them look more sultry and mysterious.
(and we all want sultry and mysterious…!)
Your first lash should be your outer-most lash. Now you are going to place 2 or 3 more along the lashline, not too close together, just far enough apart that the outer corners of each lash slightly cross one another. This creates some depth and makes your lashes look thicker and sexier.
While you’re doing this, you keep the eye you’re working on looking downwards, or if you’re super talented, closed. If you are batting your eyelids around the lashes will start heading off in all kinds of different directions and will start twisting sideways etc.
(I told you it was tricky, but once you’ve got it down its like riding a bike – you don’t even think about the mechanics of it, you just do it)
I place the back of my tweezers underneath to level the lashes and keep them inline with the natural lashes.
It takes a few miutes for the lashes to dry, so sit there with your eyes closed and zen out or something.
Once they have dried they look like fab-u-lashes that you grew yourself.
This tutorial was shot during a teen photoshoot, so I couldn’t do a hardcore lash fabulous, we had to look somewhat natural. But I use individuals all the time, so will post pics of some rocking thick ones sometime soon so you can see how they look too.
All these images were shot by the fabulous Kelly Cappelli on location at my home away from home, Studio 5, on a photoshoot with our beautiful model Monica.
