I love, Love, LOVE eyelashes. My daughter graduated last week, so, two weeks ago I decided to splurge–$25–on permanent eyelash extensions. Now, to be honest, I’ve done this on two other occasions. The first, I looked like I was going to fly away because they suggested I get a mixture of long and extra long as my natural lashes are long. I didn’t like them. My frame is so small, it didn’t suit me. A couple of months later, I decided to go with long, still not too happy. After a couple of years, I decided to give it another shot. This time,  I decided to go with a natural mixture of medium and small. I love it!. I’m on week two. Here is my journey–so far.

My natural eyelashes without mascara:

Why I love them:

I go to sleep looking like this:

What could be better than that? My husband loves them and, let’s face it, all Renaissance mom’s and ladies out there need all the help we can get. I have a million things to do and why not look glam while Picking up  yesterday’s digested dog food–you know what I mean– or while changing diapers? Who doesn’t want to look glam while nursing or while grocery shopping? Why not have one less step in the beauty regimen? Why not look well put together while discussing rhetoric and partake in discourse analysis while attending grad school? I like how natural they look because I feel like I can still be seen as a serious student among my brilliant classmates.

I got them for this day:

Two weeks later, my son jumped on me and snatched one off. Luckily, my own eyelashes didn’t go with it. You can’t really tell when I put eyeliner on. Here is what it looks like with one missing (notice the left side):

 

Pros:

1) You look good at all times.

2) You are always camera ready to take silly, I don’t know what I was doing, pictures such as these:

3) You don’t have to spend time to put the strip on or worry that your eye is crying too much, mine always does, making your strip unglue and, possibly, look like a crazy person as your strip ends up waving good bye to everyone. Yes, that has happened.

4) You save money on mascara, temporarily anyway.

Cons:

1) You can’t just head into a hot-steaming shower and submerge your head and face. I have had friends wear a visor to not get water into their lashes. I simply try to avoid wetting my face as much as possible when washing my hair in the shower. Let’s face it, I’m a busy mom and I have a limited amount of time to shower.

2) They do hurt a bit the first day.

3) They do begin to fall and you may look a little silly if you don’t get them fully removed. Hmm even worse, if you work, you may end up like my mom.

Funny story, she went to work with one eye with full on eyelashes and one without. Since the place is close to work, she figured she’d go during lunch to get the other eyelash set removed. Suddenly, a client, that wasn’t scheduled, decided to show up and insisted on seeing her, she had no choice but to show her eyelashless eye. It was so funny. I saw it since we used to work for the same company. Hilarious, but humiliating.

4) If you don’t get them professionally removed, your eyelashes seem to feel weird the first week. Almost damaged because you still have the glue reminant on them. Mascara doesn’t seem to look right as the glue interferes with a smooth application which can be simply frustrating. Side note, they do sell the removal kit. I’ve always felt like I could do it myself with my own natural oils, but have regretted that stingy choice while struggling to remove the glue.

IMPORTANT:

Never take them off by simply pulling on them. You may risk removing your very own lashes.

After Eyelash Care:

I use castor oil and biotin capsules, after the eyelashes are removed, to nurture my own eyelashes. Honestly, I see them grow full and beautiful, but certainly, not as dramatic as placing fake eyelashes.

Eyelash Information:

I got mine at this place called Johnny’s Eyelashes. I decided upon the “C” style lashes in a mixture of small-medium. I did request a medical grade glue as I suffer from allergies. Finally, they did add mascara to my lashes. It is suggested to not place oils on the face because doing so may risk an early detach of your false eyelashes. They also suggest to stay away from liquid eyeliner.

I’m hoping to keep them on for a month, as I have before, and I will update with a final view of what I end up with once the month is up.