I have been fascinated by eyelash extensions for a couple of years now. A couple of girlfriends have had them done, and I love how they beautify their faces without the daily use of makeup. I had a million questions for them. But I'm not one to dote on myself, so I sat on my bony hands. Until the day I found my courage.
HERE IS HOW NOT TO GET LASHES: I had a big event where I was speaking at my church. I knew my face would be projected on a screen to about 500 people so I was in a playful mood for a makeover. I walked past this kiosk at Westfield Culver City and saw a girl getting her lashes done. They looked beautiful and natural. She was smiling and content as the technician worked. He was asking her questions, engaged in giving her what she wanted as her friends encouraged her. I sat down, and this girl who looked like she'd been up all night was assigned to me. I had planned to just get a strip of lashes for fun ($10) when I first saw the kiosk, but I wanted what that girl had - clusters ($25). The technician told me my eyes might sting from the glue, and to let her know so she could grab a fan. This point, I'm second guessing my decision to sit down, and wondering why my friends never mentioned pain to me. She had me sit up in a chair with my head tilted back awkwardly, then told me to open my eyes wide and look down. Then she started coming at my eyeballs with tiny clumps of lashes she'd picked up with sharp tweezers. I tried to find a focal point, but naturally, I blinked when she'd poke. She told me that was going to produce bad, clumpy results. My eyes were on fire from the glue. She seemed quietly frustrated by my blinking and needing a fan off and on, but seemed too exhausted to care. Twenty minutes later she was done, and I asked a man who seemed to own the cart if he thought my eyes looked clumpy, blaming my blinking self. He said one eye did - then said he needed my number and I was so pretty. Um, no.
HERE IS HOW TO GET LASHES: Three weeks passed and I was ready to get rid of the nut job look. I tried the steam and olive oil method I'd seen over and over online to get them off. It felt like I was tearing off my eyelid, not to mention my own lashes. And these plastic jobbies were not budging. I decided to try to find a shop that could get them off. Nikki had great reviews, so I thought I'd go ahead and get a new set. She could squeeze me in a few hours later. I walked into this beautiful serene space - which I needed after my public torture. Soothing music was playing. She wanted to know what I wanted - I said, a natural look. But first, she had to remove the mall disaster. Turns out I literally never would have gotten them off. It was like they'd been superglued to my eyelids. She worked on me for at least a half hour, gently using her professional techniques to remove huge dollops of glue while preserving my natural lashes. For free. And she protected my eyes, which were peacefully closed. And did I mention that I was reclining flat on a cushy table as she worked behind my head, as opposed to sitting up in a chair getting stabbed at?
Then she started on the lash application. Girl, you will knock out. I did. One moment I was thinking happy thoughts, and the next I was waking myself up with a little snortle, ascending from a different dimension where life was perfect. Nikki was used to it. And I fell back out as she continued to gently work on me. I woke up to beautiful lashes and barely thanked her because I was so groggy. I let her know later how awesome they looked. Night and day from the mall.
Then I somehow messed them up a week later with improper care. A bunch of them fell out on one eye. And she fixed my mess slowly and carefully, for free. Wouldn't let me pay. I felt bad. But my lashes are en pointe, y'all. And they look as though they grew out of my head, as opposed to slapped on in my bathroom. Thanks, Nikki. read more