Last week I learned that “how to apply magnetic lashes” was the most searched beauty question of 2018. How did I learn this? By way of Leandra shouting it across the silent office, unprompted and unsolicited: her favorite way to share facts, and mine too. So in honor of this learning, we’re republishing this story Amelia wrote in October 2017, in which she endeavors to answer this oft-googled question in exquisite detail. Enjoy. -Haley
Everyone loves a party hat! But no one more than my eyelids, which have been deprived of fun ever since I was 16 and used blue eyeshadow to cover up a stye (it didn’t work if you were curious!!!) before trying to sneak into a Miami club with my two cousins. My eyes didn’t party for at least 10 years after that. No makeup-equivalent of refined sugar allowed in this household. Not under my roof, thank you.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I changed my tone. I fell into an eyelash extension addiction that more or less robbed me of my finances and later, my actual lashes. (It may have been my hypochondria acting up, but I was convinced the extensions were making me bald.) But boy were my lids happy. They were like, “Finally, mom is acting cool! She’s letting us have Gushers! This rules!” We were all happy, honestly. Those big, long eyelashes changed my world for a while. I loved them so much. I would have hugged them if I weren’t worried that would ruin them. But like I said: bald; no money. I eventually gave them up.
It’s been two years since my last lash extension session. I miss them every day, but have taken an oath to never go back. It’s too much of a slippery slope to mess with. Recently, however, I found the loophole: TEMPORARY MAGNETIC EYELASH EXTENSIONS by One Two Cosmetics. There’s no mess (or smell) of glue, no time-consuming mistakes, no wonky one-corner-coming-off-at-3-a.m.-situation. They’re re-wearable. Aesthetically, they do the trick. I need to get better at putting them on, so I’m about 65% sold — but am . intrigued enough to tell you about them.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re about to click “buy” and are pre-purchase-curious:
– You get two sets per pack and they last a while since there’s no glue, but even still, at $69, they aren’t cheap. You can buy about 100 non-magnetic “falsie” pairs on Amazon for under $10.
– Rather than line your lids all in one strip like the kind you buy at CVS, these are slices of eyelash bread that you clamp over your top-lid lashes, a.k.a the ham of this scenario. They stick together with magnets.
– They are really hard to figure out at first. It took me a million tries. The key is to hold the bottom strip under your top-lid lashes, then put the top strip on top of your top-lid lashes (sorry for all the “tops”) like the above metaphor’d eyelash sandwich. It’s likely you’ll develop your own technique, though, sort of how everyone has her own unique mascara-in-the-mirror face.
– DO NOT PULL THEM OFF. GOD NO. Instead, push the magnets in opposite directions to disengage the magnetic pull then gently pluck them off.
– They last all night, whether you dance like crazy or blink a lot. But…
– Because the magnet is in one spot, you have to be okay with corners blowing in the wind a bit.
– They’re a little dramatic. I love them for a theme party or a black-tie event. If I were to make these part of my daily routine, I’d cut them down a bit.
– They look better with mascara already on your lashes (put mascara on first, let it dry, then apply). The inner corners of my eye to the middle part, where the extensions begin, looked like I’d forgotten something without it.
Other than that, the joy is all yours to experience. I sort-of recommend. More than anything, I needed you to know about this. Because I’m intrigued, I will definitely try again. Did I just wink at you? Yes I did. Now it’s time for your thoughts, tips, hopes, dreams and opinions.
Feature collage by Louisiana Mei Gelpi.
