Hi friends! Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the false lashes I wear on the weekends, the mascara I use for my lashes, etc. So I wanted to write a little blog post to share my thoughts on my favorite lash products, false lashes, and my one experience with lash extensions.
If you know me, you’ll know that I have lusted after long lashes my whole life! I was not blessed with long luscious lushes. My asian lashes are thinner and on the shorter side for sure. I’ve always been too scared to try Latisse or lash growth serums so I can’t speak to those but I love trying different mascaras and false lashes so I wanted to share some of my favorite products. *UPDATE* I started using this lash serum in July and LOVE it! My lashes are so long now and I love wearing mascara. When I want a little extra flair on the weekends, vacay, or events I still love false lashes but I’m so happy with how my “natural” lashes look now after using the serum!
FALSE LASHES
DO YOU WEAR LASHES EVERYDAY?
No, I don’t. I usually wear lashes on the weekend though and whenever I have an event. When I’m on vacation, I do wear them everyday 🙂
My job is very cyclical so there are a couple months of the year where I am crazy crazy busy. I hate the feeling of mascara at the end of the day and after a 15 hour work day, there’s just nothing worse than old mascara. This past fall busy season, I decided to make my life easier and I wore false lashes EVERY day to work. And you know what? It was amazing! Because I’ve worn lashes for so long, it’s actually faster for me to apply false lashes than to do my regular mascara routine so it cut out time while getting ready in the morning. I wore a wispy but very natural pair and I felt they were work appropriate. (I work at a large public accounting firm in recruiting).
After busy season ended, I stopped wearing the lashes every day but I will most likely do so again next fall for busy season because it was such a life saver!
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE LASHES?
My go-to for a natural look are Kiss Lashes in the style ‘Ritzy’ – these look so so natural, the band is thin, and the ends are tapered. I usually find them at Walgreens.
If I can’t find the Kiss lashes, I like using Ardell Demi Wispies. Ardell is a really good drugstore brand for lashes.
My all time FAVORITE brand of lashes though is House of Lashes. The style you will always see me wearing in my IG photos and stories are the ‘Boudoir’ ones. They are fuller in the middle which really opens up the eyes. I love how they complement my round eye shape! I also love the ‘Iconic’ lashes from them. One thing I’ll note though is that the band on these are pretty thick so if you are a beginner with applying lashes these might be a struggle to put on. I just picked up the “Lite” versions of both of my favorite lashes. They are supposed to have a thinner band and be more wearable for everyday. I’ll let you know what I think of them!
(The Lite lashes are the ones in the lighter pink boxes in the photo above. The darker pink boxes are all ‘Boudoir’ lashes.)
*Sorry for the super close selfie, but here is a close up photo of the House of Lashes boudoir lashes. This was the first time I tried them last year and I instantly fell in love with how they looked!
HOW LONG DOES EACH PAIR OF LASHES LAST?
This depends on the brand but I can usually wear lashes for multiple times regardless of the brand. I like them the most on the second or third day.
Kiss and Ardell lashes ($4-$5 per pair) usually last me 4-5 wears and House of Lashes ($12 per pair) ones usually 10-15 wears.
DO YOU PUT MASCARA ON BEFORE YOU PUT LASHES ON?
Surprisingly no. I used to but over time found that it looked more natural without putting mascara on my lashes prior to putting on false lashes. I do always curl the false lashes and my natural lashes with a lash curler though to ensure they blend together.
WHAT GLUE DO YOU USE?
I use DUO clear eyelash glue.
ANY TIPS FOR PUTTING ON LASHES?
Wait 30 seconds after you put the glue on the lash band or until the glue gets tacky before you put them on your lashes. You’ll drive yourself crazy if you try to put lashes on when the glue is still wet. They move everywhere, don’t stay put, and spread glue all over your eyeshadow (super cute) haha.
Always trim your lashes before putting them on. Everyone’s eye shape is different so make sure you trim lashes to perfectly fit the shape of your eye.
NATURAL LASHES
*This is my favorite mascara combo on my natural lashes. I’ve been using a lash serum since July 2018 so about 4.5 months now and its made my lashes so long!
FAVORITE MASCARA COMBO
Update: I now use non-drugstore mascaras but I still love and recommend the drugstore ones below if you don’t want to spend a ton on mascara! Right now, I like using the Dior Lash Primer followed by a coat of Benefit Roller Lash and then a coat of Better than Sex. I love this combo and it makes my lashes look great!
I’ve tried SO many drugstore mascaras to find this combo that works well for my lashes. My lashes are naturally thinner and somewhat short. I use the Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara first and then follow up with the L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara. For my bottom lashes, I like the L’Oreal Lash Paradise. I get all mascaras in black/blackest black and in the waterproof version.
WHAT DO YOU USE TO REMOVE MASCARA?
I use coconut oil to remove my mascara and eye makeup. It works like a charm, is nourishing, and keeps my lashes healthier.
LASH EXTENSIONS
WHEN DID YOU GET LASH EXTENSIONS?
I got lash extensions right after our wedding for our honeymoon to Bali. I’d always been interested in lash extensions but couldn’t justify the splurge. I figured our honeymoon and the tropical humid weather in Bali was a perfect time to splurge and try them out.
WHERE DID YOU GO?
I went to Noir Lash Lounge in San Francisco per my blogger friend Bailey’s recommendation and absolutely loved my experience! The lash lounge is located in the Marina district, is super cute, and all of the employees are so sweet. I highly recommend them if you’re looking to do lash extensions.
WHAT SERVICE DID YOU DO?
I did the full set and it was only $95! I’m kind of surprised that their pricepoint is so reasonable because I’ve heard of some places charging $150-$200 for a full set. Their quality and lashes are great too so I don’t think the lower price means the quality is less. It’s just a great deal!
DOES IT HURT?
It didn’t hurt at all! In fact, I didn’t feel anything and I fell asleep during my lash appointment LOL. I mean I pretty much fall asleep everywhere but when you’re laying on a comfy daybed getting your lashes played with, it’s bound to happen.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
REALLY LONG. I’m not kidding it takes like two hours lol.
DID YOU LIKE LASH EXTENSIONS?
This is a hard question for me to answer. I loved waking up feeling already done up and I really loved how my lashes looked. However, there were A LOT of things that didn’t personally match up with me and my lifestyle.
Lash extensions are bound by a strong adhesive, but to protect the integrity of that adhesive you have to avoid makeup products and cleansers that are oil-based. You know what has oil in it?!?? Everything. I went home and ALL of my favorite things (eyeliner, cleanser, etc) had oil in it…. So I had to buy all new products for my new lash life and they didn’t live up to my usual products. I’m sure with time and research, I could’ve found good alternatives but it just didn’t work out for me.
I didn’t like having to be careful with them in the shower and doing my best to not sleep on them. I am one of those people that rolls around A TON when I’m sleeping so it was really hard to train myself to sleep precisely on my back.
I really didn’t like how they looked when they started falling out. By the second or third week, they start to naturally fall out with your regular lashes and I hated how they looked. They weren’t full anymore and had these random gaps.
I already go to so many appts (nails, waxing, facials) that it was kind of a lot to add another appt into the mix and the lash appts took soooo long.
But the real reason why I didn’t LOVE them… is because they just weren’t dramatic enough for me. Now I know I could’ve gotten a volume set of lashes (but those are $200+ and girl I can’t justify that!). I just prefer the look that my false lashes give me over lash extensions – is that weird? 🙂
WOULD YOU GET LASH EXTENSIONS AGAIN?
Now that I started using a lash serum and love my natural lashes, I don’t think I’ll ever get lash extensions again because I hated not being able to rub my eyes and felt the cleaning/upkeep was too much. I did like how they looked and I loved how easy they made my life though. I didn’t feel the need to put on makeup some days and I felt very put together. I would for sure go back to Noir Lash Lounge too if I did 🙂 They were awesome. However, I will most likely stick to false lashes because it works the best for me and my preferences.
I am super interested in a lash lift now though so I’ve been doing some research on that and want to try it soon 🙂
If you have any questions about anything I talked about in this post, feel free to reach out to me! Xoxo