Rihanna’s ravishing eyes, among the most beautiful in the business, are front and centre of M.A.C. Cosmetics’ Riri Holiday campaign
Not too long ago, we stumbled into a spirited debate with a fellow beauty scribe over a deceptively simple two-part query: Why do we have eyelashes and – more to the point – why on earth are long lashes considered attractive?
The first has a fairly pedestrian and frankly banal explanation: Eyelashes exist to protect your peepers from pernicious airborne pebbles and other potentially devastating debris.
As for the second part of our puzzle … well, an hour and two pots of tea later, we had to throw our manicured fingers up in despair. Long lashes are just lovely to look at, period. The longer and thicker, the better. Call it the girly counterpart to guys’ anxiety over well, appendage size.
Luckily for us lasses, we can always turn to our trusty makeup magician to conjure up all sorts of smoke and mirrors (or is that smoky eyes and vanity mirrors … ) If you’re new to the art of artful deception, consider this story your convenient cosmetic compendium: Keep this browser window open on your tablet or smartphone – yes, herworldplus.com is now mobile-friendly! – and follow the step-by-step guide below.
STEP 1: CURL We picked the beauty brains of celebrity makeup artist Larry Yeo for expert advice, and the first thing he told us was to always curl your natural assets: “If you just slap falsies on bare lashes, you’ll look ridiculous when viewed from your side profile.” Crimping your lashes will ensure that the real and the fake hairs intertwine for a seamless, is-she-or-isn’t-she appearance.
STEP 2: PREP & CUT Much like wigs, all falsies demand some degree of customisation – lashes that are too long for your lids will create a disconcertingly droopy effect. The first order of business: Actually getting to the false lashes. Most novices may not be aware that they’re glued down to their case, so if you rip them out they’ll just fall apart. Save yourself the grief by always using a pair of tweezers to gently coax them out of their container, starting from the outer edges.
Now that you have a pair of foreign-looking hairy caterpillars in your quivering hand, don’t panic and back out: They’ll look just fine when applied properly. Size them up against your own lash line. Looking in a mirror, hold the spine (the flexible bit that grips the hairs) up to your eye and see if they need to be shortened (they almost always do).
Great, so now we have to be both makeup artist and hairdresser. Once again, don’t panic! Use a pair of sharp tweezer scissors to snip off the excess from the outer edges, then a little from the inner side. Larry says that for precision length, cut them right down the middle: “I learnt this amazing trick from Juey Huey, a fellow makeup artist and co-owner of The Makeup Room.”
Here’s Juey’s "patented" technique, as told by Larry: "Take the first half of the lash and attach it from the outer corner of the eye. Next, layer the second half about one-third into the attached first piece for extra fullness that looks absolutely natural.”
As for himself, Larry says he mixes and matches up to five pieces on a single eye: “I cleave a single lash into five sections, then manipulate them to fit my client’s eye shape. Sometimes I avail myself of up to four different sections, each from a different false eyelash, to build up layers for a maximum-impact eye.” Gulp. We’ll stick to a modest snip and cut, thank you.
Katy Perry’s peepers are legendary for their generously girthed lashes. She’s teamed up with eyelash expert Eylure for her very own Katy Perry Lashes collection, $11.90 to $13.90
STEP 3: HOLD Now that you’ve got your lashes down to the right size, it’s time to prime them for application. Lashes that are fresh out of the box are usually stiff and unyielding. Using your thumb and forefinger, hold down both ends of the modified lash to mold it into a U-shaped curve. Applying the gentlest of pressure, bend the lash for oh, about five seconds, to break it in. This “setting” process makes all the difference in ensuring your falsie hugs the natural contours of your lash line.
STEP 4: GLUE True story: We know of a poor unfortunate soul who used stationery glue to … oh, we can’t bear to recount the the tragic tale. Always use a decent cosmetic adherent for the longest-lasting results; try M.A.C’s Duo Adhesive ($16).
Tip: Unless you have the steady hand of a Zen meditator, don’t squeeze directly from the tube onto the lash. Too much gloop will gush out, creating a syrupy, soggy mess. Instead, dole it out onto a clean, flat surface, then glide the spine of the lash strip across the adhesive, like swiping a credit card.
Pay extra attention to the inner and outer corners, which may unfurl if they’re not well and properly coated with glue, and always remember to keep within the line of the spine – getting glue onto the hairs will mean the sticky kiss of death for that particular pair of falsies!
M.A.C Cosmetics Duo Adhesive, $16 and M.A.C Lash 1, $22
STEP 5: WAIT Now that you’ve got the glue onto the strip, wait for 10 seconds. You can blow on the glue to speed along the process – you want the glue to cultivate a tacky consistency so that the spine doesn’t flop about when you’re maneuvering it onto your lids. You’ll know the strips are ready when the opaque glue starts to develop a glassy translucency.
STEP 6: APPLY You’re almost there! Looking into an upright mirror, tilt you head upwards and aim to ease the strip onto the base of your natural lash line, just above your real lashes. To do so, pick up the false lash with your tweezers, lower your lids ever so slightly, then press the spine into your lid, starting from the middle outwards. For an elongated effect, position the false lash so that its outer edges extend just a little from your natural lash line. Tamp down the inner and outer corners of the spine and hold slightly: The edges are the most likely to peel away.
Take the blunt end of your tweezers to nudge the spine into the skin, using gentle tapping motions. “Once the spine has adhered, smoosh the fake hairs together with your real lashes by pressing them between your fingers,” Larry adds. “As a final step, run a finger through the hairs to check that the real hairs are weaving through the longer false strands.” In other words, press and prod until you can’t tell where “real” ends and “fake” begins.
Maybelline Lash Factory, $16.90 for two pairs, and NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner, $11
STEP 7: FINISH UP At this point, your eyes should be looking really good, and you should be feeling well pleased with yourself. Final lap! To fully integrate the natural lashes with the fake ones, wiggle a generous coating of mascara through the hairs: The inky viscosity will further mesh the hairs together into one.
Tip: If, despite your best efforts, you still see a demarcating line of naked skin peeking between your own lashes and the false ones, don’t despair, and please, don’t rip them off. Plug in the gap by lining it with a lick of the thinnest liquid liner.
If you have a bit of extra time to spare before your boyfriend turns up, consider using the same superfine brush to “tightline” your lashes. For this, you’ll need a magnifying mirror to get a close-up view of your lashes. Use a light, stippling motion to dot the tiny gaps between each eyelash.
Viola! Super sexy peepers that will induce serious lash envy among your girl friends. We still don’t know for sure why long lashes are so desirable, but we did stumble upon an anonymous quote making the rounds in the online beauty community that pretty much sums up our philosophy towards those tiny, inexplicably important hairs lining our eyes: “I want my eyelashes to be as black as my soul and as long as the list of people I hate.”
M.A.C Duo Adhesive and Lash 1 are available at all M.A.C Cosmetics counters. For more information, visit www.maccosmetics.com.sg and follow the brand on Facebook and YouTube.
NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner is available at NYX counters at Sephora stores. For more information, visit www.nyxcosmetics.com and www.sephora.com.
Maybelline Lash Factory collection is available at selected Watsons stores. For more information, visit www.maybelline.com.sg and www.watsons.com.sg.
Katy Perry Lashes are available at selected Guardian stores. For more information, visit www.guardian.com.sg.