Mascara with False Lashes: Do or Don’t?

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Bonnie

Myth: use mascara if you want your natural lashes to “blend in” with your false ones.

How to Take Care of False Eyelashes How to Make Your Fake Lashes Last Mascara with False Lashes: Do or Don’t?

Truth: NOT EVERY LASH STYLE LOOKS GOOD WITH MASCARA. Nor does every lash style need it.

False eyelashes are supposed to do ALL the work for you – fullness, volume, length, curl, separation, softness. With mascaras, you’re limited to either length or volume. And if you get both, well, it sure doesn’t look like anything false lashes can do.

Mascara vs. False Eyelashes

The difference is more pronounced when I close my eyes. Aren’t false lashes amazing??

See what I mean?

Now, I’m gonna break down which three general lash styles go well with mascara and which don’t – regardless of brand, quality, style, etc. As a general rule of thumb, steer clear of mascara altogether if you want to re-use your lashes. (Read this post for more tips on false eyelash maintenance and how to make your lashes last a really long time. Or just click on the photo to the right.)

However, if you can’t pry yourself away from that mascara wand, make sure to always apply mascara and wait until it completely dries before applying your false lashes.

Let’s get this learning party started!

Light Density Lashes
This is the style that most people go for when they don’t want to make it look too obvious that they’re wearing falsies. Used more for length enhancement than for volume enhancement.
Mascara compatible? No

Why?

why you should not wear mascara with false lashes

So you want your lashes to look like this? Oh, I see.

Never looked at yourself from that angle, did you? Tsk tsk. Well, here’s something else you didn’t know: EVERYBODY ELSE HAS.

Individual flare lashes (eyelash extensions)
A.k.a., eyelash extensions or cluster lashes. These are individual clusters of 6-10 hairs (depending on brand) and can be applied all across the lash line or just at the ends.
(See tutorial for DIY eyelash extensions here.)

Mascara compatible? Yes, as long as you’re using strip lash glue.

These lashes look prettiest when worn alone, but it is also the only lash I would actually put mascara on directly. Why? Because I usually just throw these guys away at the end of the day since I don’t plan on re-using them anyway. Without mascara, you get very clean, fluffy, natural, perfect-looking lashes (see below).

natural looking false eyelashes_individual flare eyelashes

Individual flare lashes applied on outer corner of eye

With mascara, you give yourself that clumpy look that mascara is so great at giving you, so although it doesn’t look as clean or perfect anymore, in a way it can look more natural because… imperfection is natural. Make sense?

how to apply false eyelashes with masacra

Knotted band lashes:
One of the most popular styles of lashes due to its natural-looking effect. It is essentially a line of perfectly spaced-apart individual flare lashes (see above) disguised as a strip lash. Provides the perfect amount of natural-looking density and comes in all kinds of lengths.

Mascara compatible? Depends.

If your natural lashes are somewhat thick to begin with, no need for mascara. Doesn’t matter if your lashes are short. If they’re thick at the roots, let the lashes work their magic on their own. However, if your natural lashes are really sorry and sparse like mine, wearing mascara will darken/thicken your lash roots, camouflaging the spaces along the lash band better.

No clue what I’m saying? Here. Look at the photo below:
mascara with knotted band lashes

Remember, if you’re gonna opt into wearing mascara, always let your mascara dry completely before putting on your false lashes – especially if you plan on re-using them. I have a favorite pair of knotted band lashes (#705 Black, baby!!! Aka the lashes I’m wearing in the photo above) and I’ve gotten 19 applications out of them so far! Just goes to prove how far good quality and proper maintenance can take you

If you still have questions, ask away in the comments section below and I’ll answer them in as much detail as I can! Remember, I’m your friend in this huge world of lashes and I’m here to help.

For the rest of you folks out there, tell me: do you wear mascara with false lashes? Yes or no?

Elegant Lashes #028 Brown False Eyelashes (Yay, Product Review!)

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Sunny

Pardon me, blonde Asian coming through.

shyne sunny wearing elegant lashes #028 Brown Human Hair False Eyelashes

I just tried a style I thought was a little weird-looking. It’s called #028 Brown and it looks like this: elegant lashes #028 Brown human hair false eyelashes in packaging

brown human hair false eyelashes

I think I’ve said numerous times that I’m a big fan of the spiky style lashes rather than the ones with even lengths. However, this style was a little too chunky-spiky for me, and the spikes were a little too few and far between for my liking.

However…… I will never forget the time we temporarily ran out of the #028 Black for a little while and people were freaking out and yelling at us to bring it back ASAP. Sheesh.

human hair false eyelashes 100% natural human hair false eyelashes

So… somebody out there must like these chunky spikes.

I never tried it, though, so I couldn’t judge… until like 10 minutes ago, when I found an extra pair of #028 Brown lying around and decided to play with it. Yay!

Ok, so how’d it go? Let’s see…

shyne sunny lee modeling Elegant Lashes #028 Brown Human Hair False Eyelashes

Length:

short brown false eyelashes

false eyelashes

The #028 Brown False Eyelash is part of our Medium Density-Short category. Surprisingly, this is one of the few lashes where I actually think “short” is a good word to describe the length of this style. Actually, it’s not really short, but it is definitely one of the more wearable lengths of our gigantic collection (although this is all completely subjective). I don’t feel self-conscious at all with this length. It’s a pretty natural and believable length. Good job!

side view of Elegant Lashes #028 Brown Human Hair False Eyelashes

Density:

I feel like #015 and #028 are very similar styles in that both are very short lashes with very defined spikes that are generally on the more dense side, especially for our Medium Density section. (The #015 lash has more spikes, is slightly shorter in length than the #028 lash, and has a shorter band, which means you never have to trim it to fit your eyes. You’re welcome.) natural looking short brown false eyelashes

I’m wearing a brown pair, so of course the lash isn’t gonna look all crazy dramatic and as defined as a black pair of the exact same style.

natural false eyelashes, neutral eye shadow makeup

Still, I like the amount of thickness in this lash because it’s not overwhelming or heavy-looking. I don’t know what the #028 Black looks like when worn, but I am completely comfortable with the short length and adequate thickness of this particular brown pair of falsies.

natural looking false eyelashes

Shape:

brown false eyelashes

In the packaging, the #028 lashes look kind of scary because they’re so spiky. The spikes actually remind me of those spiked clubs and round nun-chuck things that Vikings and bridge trolls used… you know, these things:

Image credit: www.digitalapoptosis.com

Seriously, every time I look at a pair of #028 lashes, I am reminded of this.

Remember how I mentioned the chunky spikes are few and far between?

I discovered this actually has an unexpectedly cool effect when worn. Because the spikes are so far between and are cut so close to the lash band, you won’t get a big whopping dose of volume…

brown false eyelashes

… but what you WILL get is an effect that is surprisingly very similar to a super-spiky, super-separated lash like #043 Black or #220 Black/Brown.

short natural false eyelashes

See what I mean? Very similar to the effect of wearing Elegant Lashes #043, #220…. or MAC 7 Lash. (Ha! Didn’t think this would be a lash dupe post, did you? Well, it’s not, but still. Why would you pay $16 for MAC lashes when you can get the same effect and same high quality for soooooooo much less?)

Insert random photo of #028 Brown lashes being modeled: shyne sunny wearing Elegant Lashes #028 Brown False Eyelashes

Anyway, that is the #028 Brown false eyelash in a nutshell.

100% Natural Human Hair, flexible and comfortable band, not too long, not too dramatic… definitely not what I thought they would look like when worn. I like ‘em!!

(Bonnie wore them over the weekend and she LOOOOVVES them.)

Try them out here – if I were you, I’d just buy them by the 6-pack since I’ll probably wear them every day and go through them in no time.

Toodles!

Giant Green False Eyelashes for St. Patrick’s Day! (Elegant Lashes W581 “Shamrock” Wild Color Lash Review)

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Sunny

Hooray for last-minute blog posts! And random eye(lash) photos!

long green false eyelashes for saint patrick's day

Today is March 14^th, which means that in three days, countless strangers will find it their rightful duty to pinch you in the _______ (fill in the blank) for the mere reason that you aren’t wearing a certain color to celebrate a certain holiday that most people don’t know the reason of celebration for. (Google it if you don’t know.)

I’m talking about Saint Patrick’s Day!

… Do green false eyelashes count as pinch protection? Because here comes a pair:

Elegant Lashes W581 Shamrock Wild Color Lashes - long green false eyelashes for saint patrick's day

KABLAM.

This huge, gigantic green monster of an eyelash is from our Wild Color Lash category (an entire family of freakishly gigantic, colorful lashes), is a perfect candidate for a St. Patty’s Day look, and is aptly named the “Shamrock” lash (formally known as Elegant Lashes® W581 Wild Color Lash).

I cannot stress enough how darn HUGE these lashes are. I don’t understand how people wear these, but they are freakin’ fun and awesome for Halloween and costume/party looks.

long green false eyelashes for saint patrick's day & Halloween

These lashes are so long that they extend waaaay past your eye. Perfect for.. men? And drag queens? And people with abnormally large eyes? Hahaha.

And let’s be honest, these are some giant lashes, so there is definitely gonna be some weight. Look at those lashes drooping a little at the ends. Hahaha

So how the heck do you wear such a huge eyelash comfortably?

Contrary to popular belief, false lashes don’t HAVE to be worn exactly as they come in the package. You can trim, shape, and customize any pair of lashes to your liking.

The W581 “Shamrock” Wild Color Lashes are way too big (width- AND length-wise) for me to wear as is, so I simply trim the ends off to fit my eyes:

how to trim false eyelashes for halloween, costume, and dance

The Wild Color lashes are long enough at the tips (they flare up) to trim the falsies to a width that is shorter than my actual eye length without actually looking shorter than my eye. When trimmed this way, the lashes don’t droop as much at the ends, but they still have that nice, lengthy flared-up tip.

long green false eyelashes for st patrick's day, Halloween, dance

Award-winning photo right here. ;P

This is the W581 “Shamrock” Wild Color lash trimmed to fit my eyes. Look at all that green goodness. Darker forest green at the roots for intensity and depth with brighter lime green at the tips for highlights and FUN!

long green false eyelashes for st patrick's day, Halloween, dance

Some more photos of this giant green false eyelash. Even after trimming, this emerald beauty provides PLENTY of length. Don’t worry about running out of that.

long green false eyelashes for st patrick's day, Halloween, dance

Wow. These funky lashes sure pack a punch with extreme length and a fun, flared cat-eye tip. Nice. =D

Final photo!

long green false eyelashes for st patrick's day, Halloween, dance

Hey, look. I looked at the camera for you. X)

The W581 “Shamrock” Wild Color Lashes are an amazing(ly dramatic) way to get your green on and celebrate St. Patty’s Day with style. Get it here before you lose a perfectly legitimate excuse to wear giant green eyelashes on a day other than Halloween.

If super-long, ginormous green falsies aren’t your cup of tea, check out this page for some other equally fun St. Patrick-approved green lashes. Just remember – don’t be boring.

Word.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

Elegant Lashes #001 Black False Eyelash Review (Red Cherry Ain’t Got Nothin’ on These!)

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Sunny

Say hello the one of the most popular styles in our humongous collection – the #001 Black Human Hair False Eyelash!

Shyne Sunny wearing Elegant Lashes #001 Black Human Hair false eyelashes

This is one of those classic shapes that everyone loves and everyone wants to get a hold of.

Unfortunately for me, it took forever for my tiny little eyes to work their way up to the point where they actually looked good wearing the #001 Blacks (I wore #001 Browns when I felt daring because it was simply too much for me to wear #001 Black). Thankfully, that’s changed. Whoo!

Elegant Lashes #001 Black Human Hair False Eyelashes

The #001 Black lashes are part of our Medium Density-Short category, but at this point we all know that what Elegant Lashes calls “short” is not exactly short by other people’s standards. Still, I have an affinity for spiky lashes and I want to be cool like everyone else rocking the #001’s (in Black), so I worked my way up there. =)

Elegant Lashes #1 Black Human Hair false eyelashes, red cherry #1 lash dupes

The Elegant Lashes® #001 Black false eyelashes provide just the right amount of flirty volume – not too sparse and not so thick as to make your lids look and feel heavy. This is a beautiful glamorous length, the thin, wispy spikes are pure precision and perfection, and the 100% Natural Human Hairs are so, so soft and luscious.

I had to work extra hard to do these lashes justice by taking cool photos. I think I did all right, so here’s another shot:

Shyne Sunny wearing Elegant Lashes #001 Black Human Hair False Eyelashes, glamour natural length false eyelashes

Do you not see how perfectly and beautifully separated these lashes are?!!? They are so glamorous and befitting for an elegant evening look. (Granted I’m not wearing elegant evening attire in the photos, but that is beside the point.)

And because people love before & after photos, here’s our first-ever false eyelash before & after photo, featuring the amazing #001 Black false eyelashes from Elegant Lashes:

false eyelashes before and after - Elegant Lashes #001 Black Human Hair False Eyelashes

Call me biased, but I think this photo is irrefutable evidence that falsies give the eyes 1,000,000x more appeal and opens them up like no other makeup can. Even with no eye shadow on the upper lid, the #001 Black false lashes make my eyes appear instantly more open and alluring. And that shape, with those flirty spikes… pure perfection.

Red Cherry what??

If you think the #001 Black lashes look familiar, it’s probably because you’ve either seen or used Red Cherry’s version, which is called Red Cherry #1. Here, take a gander and compare the similarities:

Elegant Lashes #001 vs. Red Cherry #1 lashes comparison dupe

Red Cherry images from kkcenterhk.com and buyeyelashes.co.uk

The Elegant Lashes #001’s and Red Cherry #1’s have similar names, look identical in shape, and both are made of 100% Human Hair, but one is far superior than the other. (See photo for the winner.)

So what’s the difference?

One word: QUALITY.

Quality makes a HUGE difference in the look and longevity of false lashes, and I’m not just talking about material.

Red Cherry lashes are made of 100% Human Hair (the best material), but there is always a consistent look of haphazardness that just… annoys the !@#$% out of me every time I see a pair of them.

What’s worse is that despite how long Red Cherry has been making lashes out of human hair, the craftsmanship never seems to improve, so the lashes look sub-par. Which means the people who wear them look… well, not sub-par … but they’d be a lot happier (and yes, look better) if they used better quality lashes.

green eyeshadow eye makeup, Elegant Lashes #001 Black Human Hair False Eyelashes

Now THIS is what I call a beautifully made, high-quality lash.

Let me put it this way:

If I paid you for professional makeup services and if you came at me with a pair of Red Cherry lashes, I would be sad. Most people may not know the difference, but I grew up thinking the precision and quality of Elegant Lashes was the norm, so I can tell right away when something is of lower quality. And to be completely honest, with Red Cherry lashes, the difference in quality is blatantly obvious.

In conclusion…

The Elegant Lashes #001 Black is an awesome, bomb-diggity style that is kind of essential for those evenings when you want/need to look glamorous. And the quality will blow you away.

Elegant Lashes #001 Black Human Hair False Eyelashes smokey eyes

Elegant Lashes #001 Black. Aren’t they stunning??

Elegant Lashes #001 in brown is equally as gorgeous (see photo below) and I still go to them when I wanna look pretty in the daytime. =)

Elegant Lashes #001 Brown

Go get yourself a pair here and experience the magic of quality false lashes!

Want me to compare Elegant Lashes with other Red Cherry styles?
Leave your suggestions in the comments below!

Afro Prom Birthday, IMATS Pasadena, & Sparkly Rhinestone Eyelashes

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Sunny

There are few better excuses to wear sparkly rhinestone eyelashes than your birthday… and a makeup artist trade show. So here is a useless post full of photos from our Afro Prom-themed birthday and IMATS LA in Pasadena. Yay, I’m kind of up-to-date because both events happened within the past 2 weeks. Let us begin…

Our birthday invitation (a.k.a., Facebook event photo) image looked a little like this:

Awesome afro prom-dress bobblehead birthday pic is awesome.

Fellow birthday princess Virginie came over the night before and we did some girly skincare stuff to our faces before knocking out. The next day was full of nail-painting, sash-making, food-eating, and … ready-getting. >;) To complete our birthday makeup, we all wore Elegant Lashes® rhinestone eyelashes! Bonnie wore D126, Virginie wore D179, and I wore D175. Yay, sparkles!

Glamorous bathroom photo shoot begins.

rhinestone eyelashes, bottom false eyelashes for prom looks

All three of us wore AT LEAST two pairs of falsies. I wore three: 747mini Black, D175 rhinestone eyelashes (applied on my crease to lessen the weight while doubly making my eyes ginormous), and a full strip of 104 Brown Under Lashes on the bottom. Hey, it’s my birthday. I can wear what I want to.

shyne sunny bonnie wearing prom dresses and afro wigs

Twin photo… Bonnie is wearing under lashes, too (probably her usual 602 Browns cut in half) on the outer corners of her eyes.

Everyone else wearing their wigs. I am a happy no-fro outcast.

afro wigs & prom dresses

afro wigs and prom dresses

Aww, shucks, I gave in.

3 girls wearing colorful prom dresses and afro wigs

No girly-girl sleepover is complete without a fun photo shoot in front of the ring light!

afro wigs prom dresses bonnie & virginie

afro wigs & prom dresses_Sunny & virginie

shyne Sunny & Bonnie_Afro Prom dresses & wigs

Our entire party of 20 people (who knew I had so many friends??) wore afro wigs and got suited up pretty nicely. (I would share photos of our huge afro-licious group, but I think some people want their identities to be kept secret.)

Some of the fabulously fro’d out ladies:

afro prom party

Fun afro-tastic times with friends. Too many photos taken that night, so I will stop with our thank-you card:

Afro Wig Prom Dress Themed Birthday Party for 3 girls

Now on to this weekend’s IMATS LA in Pasadena! It was our very first trade show, and we didn’t know what to expect. We just tried to be as prepared as possible…

… by wearing D126 rhinestone eyelashes every day of the show! XD

On the first day of the show, I wore 747-S Black lashes under the rhinestone eyelashes for more fullness.

sunny_rhinestone false eyelashes

Happy Bonnie posing in our booth before the crowds arrive. bonnie at IMATS Elegant Lashes booth

Day 2: Working hard at our booth. Putting hair behind my ear like a pro. sunny at IMATS Elegant Lashes booth

Yay, sparkly eyelashes. You can see them glisten when we look down. =) sparkly rhinestone false eyelashes at IMATS Pasadena Elegant Lashes booth

Quick photo break at the end of the day after all the shoppers got kicked out. SHYNE Sunny & Bonnie at Elegant Lashes booth IMATS

There was an after-party after Day 2 of the show. I basically went there to see if there was free food (there were tiny fancy hors d’oeuvres, but hardly any). At least I got a cool photo with this super-cool model in her cool makeup. That’s cool to the third power. IMATS special effects makeup model

Day 3: Realizing that I don’t own enough pink clothes to last me 3 entire days, I gave up on the last day and just wore blue. Bonnie wore my pink dress. She is saved.

Haha, Bonnie showing off her rhinestone eyelashes to some shoppers. We were doing this ALL day, because no one had seen rhinestone eyelashes on a living human before. Elegant Lashes at IMATS

Bonnie: “Yeah, isn’t it insane that MAC uses our factory and they charge 80% more because of their name?!” SHYNE Bonnie at Elegant Lashes, IMATS 2013

At the end of the day, we were exhausted beyond reason… and for good reason, too!

Still, we got in a picture with our next-door neighbor, Kyira of SnogCosmetics.com. We were both newbies to IMATS!

Where the heck am I looking?? Haha SHYNE Sunny & Bonnie at IMATS

Camera angled upward at bright overhead lights = stars and laser beams in photos.

Our booth was right next to/behind Sugarpill’s, and I told Sugarpill founder/creator Amy on Saturday that I was gonna sneak over to her booth after the show to snap a photo with her. (Total fangirl moment when she walked past the Elegant Lashes booth. Whatever, I’m not embarrassed or ashamed.) Unfortunately, I got too preoccupied with cleaning up and the photo never happened.

Thankfully, as I was gracefully sprawled out in my chair massaging my aching neck on the last day after breaking down our booth, Amy came over to say hi and sorry that she didn’t visit after the show yesterday. >O<!!!!!!!!! Why you so darn colorful AND nice?? ****DX

Elegant Lashes Bonnie (FalseEyelashesSite.com) and Sugarpill Amy Doan at IMATS

Bonnie and Amy Doan of Sugarpill Cosmetics. Hahah look at the “politically correct, unoffensive hands.” People in Korea supposedly call this “manner hands.” Hahaha! Perfect example.

Grainy phone photo. I never know what to do with my hands in photos… Sunny of Elegant Lashes (FalseEyelashesSite.com) with Sugarpill's Amy Doan at IMATS

I try to avoid the tired “hand on hip” girl-pose like the plague, but I was seriously lacking ideas. Really, I NEVER EVER know what to do with my arms/hands when taking photos. So I copied Amy and put my hand awkwardly on my hip. And now we look like awkward angry-pose smiling people. But we’re still smiling.

Sunny of Elegant Lashes (FalseEyelashesSite.com) with Sugarpill's Amy Doan at IMATS

Group photo. Featuring Stila halo above Amy’s head and blue recycle bin behind Bonnie. And cardboard boxes behind me. So glamorous.

Elegant Lashes & Sugarpill at IMATS Los Angeles

Demonstrating how to be a turtle:

Elegant Lashes & Sugarpill at IMATS Los Angeles

IMATS was sooo much work, but it was worthwhile and we enjoyed talking to everyone. (I’ve never talked so much in my life!!)

… Maybe we’ll be back next year.

False Eyelashes Blog

You should read this

Mascara with False Lashes: Do or Don’t?

Elegant Lashes #028 Brown False Eyelashes (Yay, Product Review!)

Giant Green False Eyelashes for St. Patrick’s Day! (Elegant Lashes W581 “Shamrock” Wild Color Lash Review)

So how the heck do you wear such a huge eyelash comfortably?

Elegant Lashes #001 Black False Eyelash Review (Red Cherry Ain’t Got Nothin’ on These!)

Afro Prom Birthday, IMATS Pasadena, & Sparkly Rhinestone Eyelashes