With lash-enhancing products and treatments popping up everywhere and at every price point, you don’t have to go to great lengths to get the luscious lashes you’ve been longing for.
1. TINT THEM
Got fair-hued lashes?
You have options: head into the spa for an eyelash tint treatment, a 20- minute procedure done by an esthetician using vegetable dyes in shades ranging from brown to black or to more dramatic blue-black. Results can last up to three weeks, depending on the speed of your hair growth. Or mimic the effect with new semi permanent mascaras.
HIGH: RVB 15-Day wear ($40, available at intercosmetics.ca)
LOW: Hard candy 4 day lash tint ($7, at Walmart)
2. DOUBLE DUTY BRUSHES
“Often, when I’m applying mascara, I want to define the lashes first, then, for a more dramatic look, I apply a second coat of mascara using a big bristle brush,” says Brittany Sinclair, a M.A.C makeup artist in Toronto. Look for double–headed mascaras to give you that two step process in one.
HIGH: M.A.C Haute & Naughty Lash ($23, M.A.C)
LOW: L’Oreal Double Extend mascara ($14, at Shoppers Drug Mart)
3. THE RX ROUTE
Latisse is the only prescription eyelash–growth product that contains bimatoprost, an active ingredient for treating hypotrichosis (inadequate or not enough eyelashes). “Our patients have achieved amazing results so far, and many of them have made the product application part of their regular skin care regimen. With 106 percent increase in eyelash thickness (over the course of 16 weeks), the results really do speak for themselves.” Says Toronto based Dermatologist Dr. Lisa Kellett, MD, FRCPC. “You apply the topical solution before bed using a single use application brush.”
COST: $150 per one month supply, available at DLK on Avenue
4. GLUE ON FALSIES
Glenda Raketti, a Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty Learning Specialist, offers tips on how to master putting them on:
STEP 1: Apply eye makeup. Line up the band with the lash line, starting at the outer edge. If the band is too long, trim with scissors.
STEP 2: Apply adhesive sparingly along the band. Avoid touching glue to prevent stringing.
STEP 3: Positing lash band slightly above your natural lash; use tweezers to make easier.
STEP 4: Press corners down first, starting with the inner side, and then work along the rest of the band, gently pressing to secure. Don’t place too close to the inside corner of the eye.
QUO LASHES # 803 ($7.50, at Shoppers Drug Mart)
5. CURL THEM
“An often forgotten method is to use a lash curler. Especially if you have straight lashes or downward turned lashes, it will help open the eye and prep your lashes for mascara or false lashes. Just a simple squeeze applied to the base of the lashes will give an all natural- curl finish,” says Sinclair.
HIGH: M.A.C curler ($19 at M.A.C)
LOW: Quo eyelash curler ($5, at Shoppers Drug Mart)
6. GO FOR CULT FAVORITES
Time and time again, you’ll see certain mascaras pop up on “best of” lists in beauty magazines. They seem to do it all: lengthen, add volume, hold a curl, and last all day without flaking or smudging. These two tubes have long withstood the test of time.
HIGH: Dior Diorshow ($31, at Dior counters)
LOW: Maybelline Great Lash ($8, at Shoppers Drug Mart)
7. GROW THEM WITH SERUMS
Infused with lash-growth peptides technology, these paint brush like wands, meant to be applied like liquid eyeliner once or twice a day, help stimulate your lashes to appear longer, fuller, and stronger with regular use. Higher priced ones claim to deliver results in as little as two weeks.
HIGH: Envy Derm Eyelash Growth serum ($100, envyderm.com)
LOW: M.A.C. Prep and prime Future Length Lash serum, ($37, at M.A.C.)
8. EXTEND THEM
“Eyelash extensions are applied to your natural lashes one by one with special medical grade adhesive. The procedure can take anywhere from 1 to 2.5 hours and results last from four to eight weeks,” explains Urla Duncan, owner of Winks Eyelash Boutique in Toronto. “Clients feel they can wear less makeup, some even say that their extensions ARE makeup! Because of the instant appearance of brightness around the eye area, eyelash extensions make you look younger, and, of course, sexier.”
COST: $30 to $90, at winksboutique.com
From Elevate Magazine - Written by Helen Vong | Nivember/December 2011
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