For anyone who knows me, knows that I am a pretty low-maintenance person. Honestly, if there was a potential romantic partner in the mix, I would subject them to my no makeup, hair in a bun, walking around in athleisure self from the get-go. Let’s be honest, that is what I will look like more often than not. Not like I do not enjoy dressing up, but I enjoy my leisure time more. So, if there are any lazy hacks or a way to get me those 5 extra minutes of sleep, I am all for it.
It was wedding season a while back, and a close friend was having a week long extravaganza. Like many Indian weddings, this one was an early morning affair with functions beginning as early as 6 AM. While I was cribbing to a friend about having to wake up early and heading to a wedding with half done makeup, she suggested that I consider getting eyelash extensions, and that is when my love affair with lash extensions began!
Like every other person looking to try out something new, I raided YouTube and every other beauty bloggers’ posts trying to absorb as much information as I could about lash extensions. Everyone loved lash extensions, and aside from a few misses, there were mostly hits. I found a salon in my city that did the procedure and booked an appointment there. Armed with all my knowledge, I knew exactly what I wanted. Before I tell you about my experience, eyelash extensions are basically artificial mink lashes that are glued onto your original lashes with semi permanent glue to give you that wide-eyed, big lash look. They are available in various lengths and curl variants, and are either pasted in clumps or as single extensions. The clumps give you more of a doll-like look and the single lashes are more natural. They stay for about 2-3 weeks after which just as you do with nail extensions, you have to get them refilled. They basically fall out with your natural lash cycle.
I am not going to lie to you and say that I took a short nap and woke up with beautiful lashes. No it was an excruciating procedure, but it wasn’t necessarily painful. Here’s how it’s done – the technician makes you lie down and then glues your lower lashes to your undereye with masking tape, and after this, you have to keep your eyes closed. The procedure takes about 2-3 hours and the whole time your eyes are glued shut (figuratively speaking). You can’t nap through the process because you need to focus on being still while the technician does her number.
As soon as the procedure was done, I swear I heard the angels playing the harp! My lashes looked mascara-ed and done. But with the power of batting my eyelashes I also got some major maintenance guidelines. I was asked to sleep like a decent person and not like the giant toddler who slept on her face. I would have to be careful when I washed my face and hair, and make sure that I dried my lashes well after every shower or every rendezvous with anything remotely watery. Of course, no eye-rubbing and harsh pulling. But oh, my eyes!
Now ladies, let’s get down to brass tacks:
Pros:
- At least 15 minutes off your morning makeup routine.
- You can actually leave the house in lip balm and people will think you look flawless.
- For people with straight eyelashes, or small eyes, these are god-sent.
- No hassle of adding falsies if you’re going for a bold eye look.
Cons:
- The price – it is north of Rs 4,500 to start off with, and the maintenance every 2-3 weeks would cost around Rs 3,000.
- Potential addiction to the lash look, you will never look at your regular lashes the same way again.
So there you have it, the good and the bad, but I know one thing for sure, these babies are here to stay!
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