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.