Alright, alright. Fine. I’ll do a tutorial on lashes! Geez! It’s been the thing that most of my friends have been bugging me about ever since I rose to the ranks of “Faux Lash Master”…or faux lashter…flashter? I’m just trying to save syllables here, people.Anyway, don’t take that title lightly. I can knock over trees with the sheer force of batting my lashes! (This is totally not a Hurricane Sandy reference…and for those dealing with post-hurricane hysterial – my parents included…sending lots of love!) Anyway, I’m being dramatic again. Maybe if I batted them really hard, I could create a slight breeze and also have my contacts fall out at the same time. So hot, I know. Whatever the case, if you read my earlier post (Things I’ll Admit To: My Top 5 Beauty Go-To’s), you already know my sad tale about lash loss and my path to lash salvation throughMakeup Forever’s fab falsies. But I digress…So, yes, time to teach you how I apply my lashes! After some practice, you should be able to get them on in about 5 minutes or less. However, for me, prepping my lashes is one of the most important things I have to do. What does that mean? It means you have to do the following:

note: I had to illustrate all of these steps because, um…have you tried photographing your own eyes while applying lashes before? If I kept on trying, injury would be imminent. So, here are some drawings!

Prepping your lashes is a must.

Not everyone has eyes large enough to accommodate an entire lash strip and if you do have eyes that large, I’m totally envious and you deserve a cake, a medal, and a trophy for “Best Eyes Given to a Human Being.” (Hello, I’m Asian. Have you heard that stereotype about our eyes? Well, it’s often true.) So, yes, be sure to trim your lashes so they are slightly shorter than your top lid. Why shorter? So your falsies don’t stab the inner corners of your eyes. I’ve made that mistake in the past and ended up red-eyed for most of that fateful night. I mean, yes, you look hotter when you’re lush-lashed while teary-eyed, but you look infinitely hotter when you’re not crying from discomfort.

Also, trim those lashes from the longer side. If you trim them from the shorter side, you won’t get that “natural” short-to-long look at your inner corners. Who’s lashes are super long on the inner corners? (Am I going to have to bake another cake, tinker another metal, and craft another trophy for “Longest Lashes Given to a Human Being?”)

Ok, on to the important part. Ready? Here we go!

Hope this all makes sense!

I know. It seems kind of clumsy & weird, but it works. It took a few tries, but now I can throw my lashes on in the morning like I’m throwing a scarf on before heading out the door! A really, really tiny scarf that doesn’t keep your neck warm so much as make you much more persuasive when blinking.

Three really important notes:

• I always give my upper lid a thick, cat-eye swish of liquid liner, so my mistakes are much better hidden…if you give yourself a thin liner line, you may need to practice more. (Hey, I’m just being honest here!)
• I use Duo Lash Adhesive in black which is basically magic in a tube! What’s so special about it? It dries dark, so it’s perfect for those of us who do the “cat-eye swish of liquid liner” (I’m totally copyrighting that phrase.) It’s also flexible and, at the end of the day, you can just pull your lashes off without fear that you’ll rip anything else off. I love keeping my eyelids on my face, don’t you?
• Take care of your lashes by removing all the adhesive (you can usually peel it off) and cleaning them thoroughly with rubbing alcohol & a cotton swab. Let them dry and store them in your lash case! They should last you at least two weeks! (This is why quality lashes are worth investing in!)

In short, I’ll say this. Mastering lashes is like playing a sport or learning a musical instrument (and I’m talking more about curling & guiros – those ridgy, wooden percussion instruments that look like fish – as opposed to figure skating & jazz guitar.) You’ll only get better at it with practice. Some of us are naturally gifted…and some of us have fingers as nimble as mutton chops, but everyone gets better in time. So, get those falsies out! Halloween is the perfect holiday to test your lash prowess!

Go forth & flutter those falsies, my lovelies! xo!