I have been so curious about eye lash extensions ever since I first read about them on Tiffany’s blog I Am Styl-ish. I read this post even before I started blogging so when I began blogging about beauty I had it written down as something I wanted to research.
I was EXTREMELY excited when I was contacted by Ingrid of Sweet Grass Spa offering to let me try out lash extensions installed by Laura Hippensteel Sweet Grass Spa’s Lash stylist. I jumped at the chance!
Sweet Grass Spa is located at 111e Queen Street East in Toronto and is a cool little underground space that seems small from the outside but is quite spacious and open on the inside!
Love this light fixture that greeted me as I walked in
Steps leading towards the spa – the door is gorgeous!
My Locker – robe, slippers, toothbrush and toothpaste!
The change room (don’t worry, I was alone!)
The lounge area
I don’t have any pictures of my actual lash extension process taking place, but let me share my experience. Laura was amazing and extremely knowledgeable and professional. She let me know what to expect. The session would take about 90 minutes depending on how many lashes she was going to add and made sure I was ok with laying down with my eyes closed for the entire 90 minutes.
Make sure you go to the bathroom first!!! I wear contacts and normally she recommends they be removed, but it’s more for comfort level – my contacts are actually the kind you can wear for a month even though I take them out every night and I’ve fallen asleep with them on so I wasn’t too worried. Oh, and don’t bother wearing eye make up when you show up, it will all get taken off anyway.
The lashes would be essentially glued onto my individual own lashes – so no glue would touch my skin.
She asked me what I was expecting my lashes to look like after. I’m pretty happy with my overall length when I curl my lashes and apply mascara but I was hoping for a bit of volume and more “darkness” to help frame my eyes. But I still wanted them to look fairly natural and not like I had a set of fake lashes on!
After assessing my lashes Laura decided to use J & B curls lashes in varying lengths of 9, 10 and 11 mm. J has a natural curl like the curve of a J, there are also “C” curl lashes which have a more dramatic curl to them. If I’m not mistaken B curls were used to kind of match the way my own lashes were.
My before pictures:
Pretty pathetic and non existential sans mascara!
Pretty straight too, not much of a curl going on
Now, I’m a realistic girl, I knew that the amount of lashes Laura could add would be dependent on the number of lashes I already had – she mentioned she could apply about 50 to each eye but that my eyes wouldn’t be able to hold 90 – 100 unlike some lucky girls!
The process itself was completely painless. Patches were applied under my eyes to hold down my lower lashes so that the adhesive wouldn’t stick to them. The removal of the patches didn’t hurt at all!
Laura and I chatted throughout the beginning of my session …but then at some point I think I fell asleep…several times LOL! I only realized when Laura would ask if I was doing ok and when she would break out a little fan to help speed up the drying process. So as long as you’re comfortable lying on the table for 90 minutes it’s quite a relaxing experience!
Ok, ok so I know you want to see the after…well voila!
Slightly dramatic eye look to see how the lashes looked! No curling or mascara at all! I’m not even wearing eyeliner, just applied an eye shadow with an angled brush to kind of fill in the natural gaps.
- Well for one I would seek recommendations. I have heard amazing things about Laura and loved this Toronto Star feature she was in. I also have a friend that went to see her and she was raving about it, so I knew that for me Laura was the girl to see!
- The lashes don’t feel like your real lashes. I was prepared for this but it still feels a little weird. They are thicker and have kind of a “plastic” feel to them compared to your own – almost how your lashes feel when coated with mascara.
- For the first 24 hours after getting your new lashes keep them away from water!!!
- For the first 2 days you should stay away from steam so don’t steam your face, don’t take a steamy bath/shower don’t tan and don’t wash your eyes with hot water. You also need to stay away from any make up removers that contain oils as the adhesive may break down.
- Don’t be alarmed when your lashes fall out (I knew this yet I still freaked out a little!) – most people lose 1 – 5 lashes daily
- After 2 to 3 weeks you should go in for a lash maintenance. This is where you can assess what you liked about your lashes and your stylist can make any corrections or fill in any gaps.
- Don’t use regular mascaras or curl your lashes (no need anyway!). Sweet Grass Spa carries a special coating sealer to protect and extend the life of the lashes