This is an actual image of the Beauty Bunny herself on her glorious wedding day. Clearly, makeup was a huge consideration in the process, and I’m aware many girls have particular problems when trying to get fake eyelashes for a big event. I am normally satisfied enough with my mascaras themselves and my ability to apply them, but for this particular event I knew photos would be snapped all day and some extra definition was in order. And what better time to glam it up than your wedding day? So here’s how I did it:
Step 1: Get some great false lashes. Individual lashes are VERY hard to apply for beginners, so I use MAC 7 Lash ($11.00), which come in a strip. These are great for several reasons: they look natural because of the varying lengths and separation, and they are reusable unlike the drugstore ones, so they’re a great deal. I also recommend MAC Duo Adhesive ($8.00) for your glue, as it dries clear and not gloopy like many other cheaper brands.
Step 2: Apply your mascara first. I highly recommend a mascara with a focus on lash separation, since these will give you great volume anyway, and you want the appearance of many separate lashes and not a big clump of black. For this reason, I’d go with a comb mascara like Maybelline Lash Stylist ($4.87). Sweep through several coats, getting the lashes as perfectly separated and coated as you possibly can. Do NOT allow any clumps, and don’t miss a single tiny lash. I also recommend you do this before applying any other makeup, as it can get messy and frustrating. (In general, do your eyes first.)
Step 3: Take out one strip of the false lashes and flex it a bit, allowing the strip to become pliable. Carefully apply your glue to the very edge of it. You’ll want to move along it as thinly as possible with the glue. Now wait a few minutes to allow the glue to thicken along the edge of the lashes; the glue becomes watery in the bottle and won’t adhere as well if you don’t do this step. Now, the hard part: Close your eyelid partially and be very relaxed. Holding both sides of the strip, place the lashes gently on top of your eyelid as close to your lash line as possible. Maneuver the lashes into place, as close to the lash line as possible, never taking the contact of the glue away from the lash line. Once you’ve got it in place, apply some pressure backward toward your lash line to set the glue. Hold it for a minute. Move your fingertip along the lid, pressing down the glue a little in each spot. Make sure to get the corners. When you’re confident the lashes are stuck on there, leave your eye partway closed for a minute to allow the glue to set. Repeat on the other side. Be very patient with the drying and try not to blink much.
Step 4: Once your initial glue has set, blink a few times and make sure nothing feels loose. If the lashes feel loose at the edges, take a tiny drop of glue and apply it directly to the lash line. Allow it to thicken for a moment, then press the falsies down on it again and hold for a moment. Repeat this step with much patience until you’ve got them all glued on. You may notice some haziness along the lash line - don’t worry, we’ll be fixing that now. Get out your trusty black liquid liner of choice and, ensuring that your glue is entirely dry first, drape it over the glued portion of the lashes. Please do NOT go intense on your liner; this is just to keep everything its blackest black and make sure the line on top looks even. If you do a big coat of liner over this, I promise, you will look like a drag queen.
Step 5: If you didn’t before, apply a light coat of mascara to your bottom lashes with a more traditional mascara like Diorshow. (The combing mascara isn’t necessary since we’re just trying to get some color on there, not highlight every lash in the place. You don’t want to look like a spider lady, do you?) Sweep your liner gently along your bottom lid to about halfway across, or, if you’re skilled with it, copy my technique in the above picture of me and reduce the size of the line as you go so you can move further across. And voila!
Hi there! Thanks for writing in such detail, as I previously (frustrated) user of fake eyelashes I was sure I would never attempt them again. Reading your post has reignited my resolve to try again.
One question that’s always bothered me.. my prime concern is ensuring there’s no visible distinction between the fake and real lashes. To minimise this, I used to apply fake lashes as the very first step in getting made up - ie, freshly washed & mousterised skin, light brushing of loose powder over lids to remove any excess oil (and prevent Bio glue from sticking). Once they’re stuck on, I would then apply mascara over both the fake and real in an attempt to ‘merge’ them, ie look the same - to be clear, whilst as looking as natural as possible (ie not one big clump as you mention). Of course this didn’t work very well. So my question is.. if you first apply mascara to the real lashes, and then glue on the fakes.. don’t they stand out from each other?
I guess the only way to find out is try
just wanted to ask you anyway. Thanks.
Great question, Alena! The answer lies in choosing the correct fake lashes and modifying them. First, for a mascara for your real lashes, choose something that separates well. (I have reviewed a multitude of those here.) That way, your real lashes won’t differ too greatly from the perfectly separated falsies. Secondly, choose fake lashes that look pretty real - I’ve had excellent experience with MAC ones. They should be of a decently normal length and not grouped too closely together; basically, the strip should resemble a black fine-toothed comb with very thin lashes. Another great trick is to choose a VERY sparse strip of false eyelashes (each lash being of normal width), which should blend well. If there’s a bunch of fake ones on the side that will lie at the inner corner of your eye, cut them off - normal lashes never grow well there and it’ll be a sure sign of fakes. Finally, just make sure you are gluing them as close to the natural lash line as possible. If you follow all these directions and cover your natural lashes well with the blackest black mascara you can find, you’ll look pretty natural. Enjoy!
how do you take em off? im having a hard time..
Kady,
Another great question! They can be tricky. Just grab an eyeshadow brush (the bristle kind, not the little pads) and saturate it with an oily eye makeup remover. Then brush the eye makeup remover all over the top of your fake lashes and up under the real ones too, closer to your eye. (Don’t poke yourself!) Clasp the lashes with a paper towel/tissue and massage gently to remove any excess mascara that might be making the fake eyelashes cling to your real ones. After a couple of minutes of doing this, they should be easy to take off. Enjoy! (And remember, if you got a nice MAC pair you can always remove the glue/mascara from them with eye makeup remover and wear them again.)