December 28, 2011

Oh My Lashes!

 

I’ve had a lot of interest in the eyelash extension post, and I apologize for not getting it up sooner. For some reason, even though it’s on the same day EVERY year, Christmas always manages to sneak up on me. I was busy doing a hundred million things before I headed out of town, including destroying my Holiday Manicure. I had naked nails all weekend! Yes, ME. But... the LASHES! The lashes made up for everything.

A few weeks ago I bought a Groupon for a “Ruby” set of eyelash extensions at JJ Eyelashes on Wooster Street. (They also have a location up in the 50s.) I was a little worried about them fitting me in before Christmas, but I had no trouble making an appointment. When I arrived, I filled out a form and waited a few minutes for my technician. The place was clean and calm, except for the surprising number of randoms who came in the front door and asked the receptionist for directions. They all liked to yell from the doorway, even though everything about this place said “SHHH.”

My technician was Nicole, and we started with a consultation. She had a card with sample lashes taped to it, numbered 1 through 15. She asked me to close my eyes and exclaimed “Wow! You’re natural lashes are already at 11!” (I immediately thought of Spinal Tap, but knew she probably wouldn’t get the reference. Still, I was amused that my lashes go “to 11”.) She said “We’ll just go one size longer and make them more full. Otherwise it will be too crazy!”

She asked me which set I had bought, and I told her Ruby. She told me I needed the Diamond set. (A $30 upgrade). I was cautious of being upsold, and protested, saying that I already have a lot of eyelashes, I just wanted a little extra. She explained that my eyes were very wide, and if she didn’t use enough lashes, the line would look clumpy. She said the only people who could get the Ruby set were people with smaller eyes, like Asians. (Nicole is Asian which made it okay to say that.) Ruby set is 80 lashes, Diamond set is 100 lashes. It made sense, so I upgraded to the Diamond set. She said the best thing would really be the Black Diamond set, if I had a special occasion. The holidays are special, but not another $30 dollars special, thanks anyway!

Then we decided on a cat eye shape, which would put the longest lashes near the outer corners of my eyes. For the actual lashes, Nicole recommended the “J” curl, which is a more natural shape that the “C” curl. Again, to avoid looking “crazy.” So now we had established “My” set as  Cat J Diamond, 12-13. (Also my stripper name.) She wrote it on a card for next time.

After the consultation, Nicole escorted me to a warm, quiet room with a row of bed/tables. I took off my shoes, put my purse in the cubby underneath, and Nicole covered me in a soft white throw blanket and told me to relax. She said my name a million times which was kind of cracking me up. Everything she told me to do she said my name. Including when I actually DID start cracking up at something she said, which disturbed the tape, and she yelled at me at said “Jill! Don’t smile! Be mean!” Which of course made me giggle more.

So, yeah. THE TAPE. The tape is absolutely the weirdest part of the whole thing. Before she started, Nicole had to tape down my bottom lashes to keep them out of the way. She put the tape on her inner arm first to remove some of the adhesive (Which is questionable, but I guess fabric would pick up fibers and a table or tray wouldn’t get enough stick off.) She also put some kind of moisturizer or something under my eyes so the tape wouldn’t irritate the skin. And then she taped my eyelashes down! It feels as weird as it sounds. I think she had about four pieces of tape under each eye. Then she told me to close my eyes and go to sleep. (Nicole does not know that I am an insomniac and napping is nearly impossible.) Instead, I just laid there, relaxed, and thought about writiting this post. I also noticed that she put tape on my forehead, and tried to figure out why. I am about 99% sure I had strips of eyelashes taped to my forhead. I guess it’s a pretty convenient place to keep them.

Nicole couldn’t have been more gentle if she was a butterfly. It was pretty nice to just lay there and let it happen. There was one part of the process that almost felt like she was braiding my eyelashes, but obviously, she was not. I think she was just combing across the lashline to make sure the individual lashes were aligned. The glue didn’t smell, but a few times it did irritate my eye a little, when I didn’t have them shut tight. Not terribly painful (almost like too much swimming in a heavily chlorinated pool) but it did make one of my eyes tear which is not good for the process. You’re not supposed to get the extensions wet for 24 hours.

The whole process, including the consultation, took about an hour and a half. When I opened my eyes, Nicole was as excited as I was! She asked if she could take some pictures with her phone, which was really cute. She was proud of her work and I was thoroughly impressed too. Here are the photos I took before I left, and after I got back home.

before

after
before
after

My lashes are longer, thicker, and perfectly curled. Plus, as Nicole told me before we started, the thickness at the root really defines the eye, almost like eyeliner. And just like a well-groomed pair of eyebrows, great lashes make your whole face look better. Plus they make every single thing you do about 500x more glamourous. I could swear on the subway ride home that everyone in the car was jealous of my eyelashes. (I think I was probably just excited though.)

The lashes themselves are made of synthetic silk, and don’t feel heavy at all. I barely feel them, unless one of them goes in a weird direction for some reason. I feel them most when the wind blows, which feels very VERY weird. But it’s sort of awesome to have lashes so long you can feel them blowing in the wind.

They don’t look obviously fake, and they’re not over the top, which is perfect. I definitely don’t want to look like a friggin’ Kardashian! It’s almost like I’m just wearing the most amazing mascara ever. Most people don’t seem to notice, though the girl sitting next to me in the nail salon asked me if they were real. We ended up chatting for the duration of my soon-to-be-destroyed manicure (plus dry time) and then she gave me an insane cookie made of two big peanut butter chocolate chip cookies sandwiched together with more chocolate. She said it was her first attempt at baking. I had skipped lunch so it was extra delicious, and I’m still alive so I guess it was safe. On Christmas Eve, my sister-in-law also commented on the length of my eyelashes, but didn’t question their honesty. I, of course, confessed, and launched into the story of my extension adventure. The only other people that mentioned my eyelashes were the ones who knew I was having it done. They were all dying to see how they came out, and find out about the process.

I wore eyeshadow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but other than that I haven't been wearing any makeup on my eyes. I don’t need it, and then I also don’t have to worry about losing any lashes removing it. You’re only allowed to use oil-free make-up remover/oil-free products in general, and they don’t recommend using mascara or an eyelash curler. Those things are completely unnecessary though. After a shower, I just gently pat my eyes dry and then comb through the lashes with a clean spoolie brush to separate them.

Originally, I thought I would just try eyelash extensions “this one time” with the Groupon, but now I kind of (okay, definitely) love them! The only problem is the price. They are not, by any means, cheap. The Ruby set is $120 and the Diamond set is $150, which is why it was so awesome to get half price with the Groupon! (Plus I had a $10 credit.) They are supposed to last 6-8 weeks, and “Refills” are available at a lower price, if you need them. The JJ website says you get 20% off if you refer a friend though, so if you go there, give them my name! And then, get your friends to give them your name, and so on. Eyelashes for everyone, forever.


8 comments:

  1. Okay: I'm a redhead with transparent eyelashes. Normally I dye 'em just so I can see them if they get into my eyes. Would extensions look weird on me, having mostly-blond eyelashes? Should I dye them first?

    Also, please let me know if not getting water on those suckers for the duration drives you crazy. I am wedded to my Clarisonic and soaking my grill in the shower; I'm convinced that I would go nuts with no-water-touching rules.

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  2. My guess is that dying them first would look better, because you're not supposed to use mascara with the extensions, but you should probably ask the technician. (Maybe stop by for a quick consultation before you actually schedule an appointment?) Also: They make the eyelashes in black and brown, but Nicole said no one ends up liking the brown ones.

    You only have to keep them dry for the first 24 hours. After that, you just have to be gentle with them. I would have a really hard time giving up my Clarisonic too! I just don't get it too close to my eyes for now.

    If you want to write a guest post about your experience with eyelash tinting, get in touch! There is an email link under "contact" in the right-side column of this page. I can't pay you, but we could link to your blog or something.

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  3. I love it! Your long eyelashes extensions certainly accentuate your alluring personality. It frames your eyes beautifully, making them more communicative. Anyway, did you get another eyelash extension after this?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I think about them a lot, but I haven't been able to justify spending the money on them again. Since I work at home, I'd just be here batting my eyelashes at myself unless I have a special event.

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  4. I just got my lashes done about 2 hours ago. This is my first time getting the extensions after spending entirely too much money over the years on different mascaras to achieve one goal...longer more curled lashes. I love my eyes and love to focus on drawing attention to them, except they also needed tons of mascara. Enter a client's sister. She told me she got hers done at Wal-Mart of all places! Of course I was skeptical of the Wal-mart salon doing my extensions but after getting a gift certificate to the salon (courtesy of a client) I figured I'd do my research. (I'm not saying Wal-mart is the way to go, just saying I started there first. I will see how these do and go from there).

    I did extensive research on extensions and whether they are good for me. I went to the salon in Wal-Mart and met the technician, Mimi. I asked to see her licenses and asked her about her experience. She provided me with everything I asked for, and even sat with me to answer the 15 questions I had written to ask: can I use eye drops as I have allergies, can they sustain the rain and wind of New England, will they come off during intimate occassions..you get the gyst. She answered them honestly and we made the appointment for a week later. I arrived and was immediately thinking "oh no, I can't do this" but she sat me down and again listened to me batter back and forth with should I or shouldn't I. Once I decided I'd try it once and go from there, she asked what style I had chosen. The one thing I had not done! she suggested the cat eye style as I had "beautifully shaped eyes" and offered to remove them and reapply if I was not satisfied with her recommendation. I took a deep breath and layed on the table. she gently wiped my eyes of makeup, and told me to relax. The relaxation music playing did not hurt! I closed my eyes. The weirdest part was the tape she applied to position my eye. After 30 minutes she told me to sit up and look. I was shocked! They were incredible!! It was painless too!! I told her I loved them and she then recommended a lash enhancer (much like latisse) only less potent and suggested I use it to help me reduce the need for extensions. I thought they were supposed to try to get clients coming back! I left the salon and as I walked through the parking lot I got tons of looks! All in all, as weird as it was, I feel it was the best 50 bucks I spent (30 for extensions, 20 for lash enhancer, not including tip). The enhancer is not required and I probably wouldn't have bothered but I had the gift certificate).

    All in all I was very impressed. I will say this, there is this heavy, tight feeling to my eye lashes near the lid, and sometimes I get that funny feeling like I have eye junkies, but it is slowly dissipating. If that weird sensation goes away, and I can try to change my sleep position for the first few days, I think my extensions and I are going to be very happy together. My boyfriend was leary of me getting them as he loves natural, but even he is impressed. he is, ofcourse, most curious how they will fare to our time alone. only one way to find out ;)

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    Replies
    1. WALMART? Who knew? I would be skeptical too, especially for only $30. I'm glad it worked out for you. I really want mine done again. 'Tis the season!

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