Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Like learning to ride a bike or parallel park, learning how to apply false eyelashes isn’t a skill that comes easily. But anyone who’s mastered it will tell you it’s well worth the practice. False lashes can make your eyes look bigger and more dramatic without the mess of mascara—and for the fraction of the price of eyelash extensions or lash lifts.
But we know few things can be more intimidating than putting glue near your eye, so we called on Benefit Cosmetics makeup artist Deanna Tharp to share her expert advice. Whether you want the drama of strip lashes or the full, natural look of individual ones, here’s everything you need know about how to apply false eyelashes like a pro.
How to Put on Eyelash Strips
Step 1: Choose the right eyelash set for your eye shape.
While most false lash strips will fit all types of eyes, knowing your shape can help you get the placement of yours just right. There are six main shapes: monolid, upturned, downturned, hooded, round, and almond, as this video from Smashbox demonstrates.
If you have monolids (lids without a crease), you’ll want a shorter set of lashes that’s fuller at the outer corner to open your eyes up. Otherwise you’ll want to cut strip lashes and stack leftovers at the outer edge (like the trick seen here). Upturned eyes, or eyes that are lifted higher at the outer corner than the inner corner, and downturned eyes (which slope downward at the outer corner) also benefit from more volume at the outer edge. Think of these types of sets as the cat eyes of false lashes.
Hooded eyes (eyes with a prominent brow bone that don't show a crease when open) can be easily weighed down by false lashes, so you’ll want long, fluttery lashes concentrated just above your pupil to open your eye at the center. Individuals or shorter lash strips work well for this.
If you have round eyes (you can see the whites of your eyes above or below your irises), opt for curled lashes that lift and enhance the curve your eye shape. Anything too dense or voluminous will make your eyes look smaller.
Lastly, almond eyes (no whites of your eyes show above or below your irises while looking straight ahead) are traditionally the easiest to place lash strips on, since most styles work well with this eye shape. Feel free to experiment and see which style you prefer.
Step 2: Apply eyeliner.
No matter which style you start with, you’ll want to line your upper lash line with black eyeliner first to hide the base of your falsies. Once that’s set, you’re ready to apply them.
Step 3: Remove the lashes from the box.
Contrary to intuition, it’s not a simple as grab and pull. Tharp warns that if you pull the lashes straight from the packaging, you risk damaging the hairs, leading to bent lashes or sparse spots on the strip. Instead you’ll want to gently roll the band down with your fingertips to loosen the glue, starting from the outer corner (which you’ll likely be trimming anyway once you size them) in.
Step 4: Loosen the spine of the lash strip.
In order to size the lashes and to get them to fit the curvature of your lash line, you’ll need soften up the strip first. Otherwise you risk the lashes popping up at the inner and outer corners when you go to glue them down. Tharp’s trick is to wrap the strand around your finger for a minute, but you can also use a makeup brush or a pen. This will help give the lash strip some extra bend and let you gauge if it needs to be loosened up further.
If the spine has a hard time staying wrapped around your finger, Tharp says, you can also run your fingernail over the spine like a curling ribbon to give the strip more bend (see how she does it above). Again, the key here is to be as gentle as possible so you don’t accidentally damage any of the individual lashes.
Step 5: Measure the lashes against your eye.
Using your fingers (or lash tweezers if you want more precision), rest the lash strip along your lash line to see if you’ll need to trim it down. The strip should start where most of your natural lashes begin. If it’s too close to the inner corner of your eye, it’ll have trouble staying on and it can irritate your eyes. To determine where they should end, count about two to four lashes inward from the edge of your outer counter. If there’s any overhang, it can make your eyes look droopy.
Step 6: Trim any extra length off your lash strip.
Using a pair of lash scissors (they’re made specifically with small, sharp blades to offer the maximum amount of precision for lash strips), cut the spine from outside—not the inside. Lashes are specifically made with extra length on the outer ends, so don’t worry that you’ll lose volume.
If you want to make application even easier, once you trim the edges off, you can also cut your lash strip into quarters, as makeup artist Brett Freedman demonstrated on Instagram (above). This helps prevents pop-up by letting you secure each section more snuggly to your lash line.
Step 7: Apply glue to the spine.
It’s easy to go overboard with a glob of lash glue—which can get all over and take forever to dry—so Tharp recommends first putting glue into an empty cup (she loves reusing takeout dressing containers for this) and then using the stem of a cotton swab or the edge of bobby pin to place an thin, even layer of glue on the lash spine. Wait a few seconds to let the glue get tacky on the lash before applying. And most important: Don’t blow on the glue to get it to dry. “You don’t want the germs from your mouth to get anywhere near your eye,” warns Tharp.
Step 8: Use tweezers to place the strip along your lash line.
As mentioned above, you want the beginning of the lash strip to line up with where the bulk of your natural lashes start. Use tweezers to first place the middle of the strip in the center of your eye, then nudge the outer and inner corners down along your lash line. Once all the edges are in place, you can use your fingers to gently pinch your natural lashes and false lashes together so they’re blended. The goal is make sure there’s no gap between the lashes and your lash line.
The finished result:
Give your lashes a minute or two to dry, and they’ll be all set until you’re ready to take them off. If you want to give them more lift, you can also push against the base of your lashes at the inner lash line to coax them up slightly.
How to Put on Individual Eyelashes
Individual eyelashes are much easier to apply than strip lashes, since you’re working with only a few wisps at a time. They won’t give you as dramatic a volume, but they’re great for adding a little extra fullness to your lashes. Here’s how to put them on.
Step 1: Remove the lashes from the packaging.
Gently pull lash clusters off with your fingers—not tweezers. Tharp says while you’ll need some force to remove them, the grip from a tool can be too strong and might bend the lashes. Once you’ve freed the cluster, stick it on the back of your other hand so you can grab them with your tweezers for application.
Step 2: Apply lash glue.
Using lash tweezers, dip the base of your lash cluster in the glue, being careful not to overly submerge it. Wait a few seconds for the glue to get a bit tacky (the same as you would for a strip—and again, don't blow on it) before moving on to the next step.
Step 3: Place a lash cluster on the outer edge of your eye.
Given that most eye shapes benefit from extra volume at the edges, you’ll want to start placing clusters there, using your tweezers to coax them into your lash line. Wait to make sure they’re in place and the glue is dry before moving on to the next cluster.
Step 4: Repeat with as many individual lashes as needed.
Follow up by placing lash bundles in the middle and the inner corner. Then decide if you need more lashes in between the sets you’ve placed. Clusters are great that way—you can add as many or as few as you like.
The final result:
Consider this look “your lashes but fuller.”