I FINALLY Had My Lashes Lifted, And Here Are My Thoughts

My straight eyelashes have always massively bothered me, and while curling them meticulously in the morning makes them sit in a lovely flare, that only lasts for so long. Even once mascara-d up and held in place as they dry, they droop (see below pic for uncurled, non-existent lashes). Droopy lashes make my eyes look less sparkly, my face less awake. So my past strategy has been to curl and curl and curl in the morning, then popping my eyelash curler in my handbag for a speedy lunchtime lift.

Pre-lash lift

It was a reader who read about my constant curling over Christmas and suggested I get a lash lift, and I did that thing where you think ‘yes, that’s a good idea’ and then do absolutely nothing about it.

But then someone told me a queen of lashes was coming to the UK from Australia for a few days only and that she could do marvellous things to lashes and brows and some covetous, FOMO part of me spurred me on to book in.

So that’s how I found myself in the spa in the Dorchester, just me and Amy Jean the lash queen, discussing my straighter-than-straight lashes. Cruelly, nature may have give me a completely straight fringe of lashes, but it’s also given me enormously long ones, so they needed to go on a fairly large curl barrel thing (Amy used a technical name for the equipment that slipped my mind) which apparently is a bit of a faff and perhaps had I gone for a lifter of less skill I’d have ended up with my lashes curled back touching my lids.

Midlift

The experience of the lash lift itself wasn’t hideous, but I didn’t love having my eyes effectively glued shut. This is truly one for experts because it’s not just about which lashes get curled, but also about protecting lower lashes and making sure they don’t have any contact with the solutions lest they curl up into the eye.

The results are well, well worth the odd twenty or so minutes it takes for the solutions to do their thing. Having lashes that sit at a perfect curl has shortened the time and reduced the effort I put into makeup surprisingly considerably, and means that without make-up my eyes still look twinkly and are nicely framed. I’ve littered this piece with pictures so that you too can see the difference.

It lasts for a lash cycle (around two months), but unfortunately for me, Amy Jean is now back in Oz so I am now a lash lift addict without a lash lifter and very much in need of recommendations of London-based lifters if you have any, or else I’ll have to do some canvassing of curling people myself in about a month.

Post lash-lift with mascara (‘scuse the earphones – I quickly took this picture on my way out)