How To Apply False Eyelashes (And Remove Them Without Ripping Out All Your Real Ones), Courtesy of the Bag Snob

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Tina Craig of Beauty Snob

Removing fake lashes after a fun night out can cause irreparable damage to your lashes if not done properly! I learned this years ago when I noticed my lashes were thinning out at an alarming rate. Like most women, I'd peel my lashes off before washing my face (never do this, by the way!). I used Shu Uemura lashes, which were quite costly so I wanted to re-use them, and I thought pulling them off was the only way to preserve the shape. I actually stopped using fake lashes when I realized that when I pulled them off, I was pulling out my own lashes! Yes, totally frightening, but true.

For years I used lash conditioners, rubbing all kinds of oils (and now Latisse) on them in hopes of growing out my stumpy lashes. Though they're not as thick as they once were, I've gained back most of the length (phewww). But no matter how much mascara I used, my lashes just didn't compare to a set of flirty full falsies! I decided to investigate how I can have my lashes AND my false eylashes.

TO APPLY:
After interrogating makeup artists and beauty experts from around the world, I devised my own system that has worked quite well!

1. Curl your lashes and apply one coat of mascara before applying the falsies. (I know what you're thinking? "Wait, mascara AND fake lashes?!" Just stay with me here.)

2. Next, make sure you don't apply the falsies too close to your lash line. I know this goes against what most makeup artist say but trust me, too much glue on your lash line leads to bad things, like lash loss. I apply black pencil liner on the inside of my upper eyelid and a black thick line on the top lid so you can't see where your real lash begins.

3. Once your falsies are on, slick another coat of mascara on them to blend them in with your lashes. The result is the appearance of thick lashes (double rowed, like Liz Taylor—see my photo above).

TO REMOVE:
Now the hard part, the removal. Again: never, EVER, pull your fake lashes off. I don't care if you had an entire pitcher of margaritas at happy hour or 10 jello shots at a club, tape a reminder on your bathroom mirror before you go out if necessary.

1. I like using facial cleansing oil (Shu makes a good one, as does DHC, pictured) on cotton swabs to gently remove the falsies. Drench a Q-tip with oil and lightly massage on to the fake lashes. Don't rub (we don't need wrinkly upper eyelids!), lightly massage the lash line. It may take a few times going across to loosen the glue.

2. Once the falsies are off completely (don't pull even if they're only dangling from one end!) rinse them under water to remove the oil and pull any excess glue off the line.

3. Put them on a tissue and reshape to dry overnight if you want to re-use them.

Now you can wash your face as per usual. It's not as complicated as it may sound, just an extra step in your nightly routine to preserve both your real and fake lashes.
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