City Guinea Eye Lash Extensions

Being City Guinea and a fairly prominent figure in the City means I get invited to lots of nice posh events.   I like to look my best and uphold the reputation of being City Girl by complimenting what nature gave me in whatever way I can.  I am fairly proud to be false in a number of departments and I am also not an individual who will grow old gracefully, saying that I will never become mutton dressed as lamb either.   The team at WeAreTheCity know how to press my buttons and to compliment my latest invite to a posh do I was asked to go and trial Eyelash extensions for the site and the benefit of you, our curious readers.

I wasn’t quite as dubious as I was with the botox or tummy tuck, however, I had also heard a rumour that if you mess with your eyelashes they don’t grow back – queue my vision of eyes as bald as a coot, would I ever wear L’Oreal double lash again.  So, in the interest of self protection I negotiated a deal with the WATC team that if it all went horribly wrong, they would sponsor my eyelash extensions for life.   They agreed, however, the giggles as I exited to face my next dooming experience made me feel slightly uncomfortable.  Why do I get the impression that they gain great pleasure in sending me off on these beauty fact finds.

With WATC credit card in hand, I booked in to my local beauticians to try out eye lash extensions, main reason I trusted them, they had CACI’d my face on many occasions and body wrapped me so tight that I could not breath, needless to say the inches were lost and the face would still where it should be, so their reputation held firm.  I wont say who they are as by and large they are a good outfit, I just believe they are pushing a crap product.  You get the gist of this article it is not going to end well.

Eye lash extensions can range from between £60-£120 and are supposed to last for at least a month.  A bit like false nails, you are then expected to return for infills and maintenance (which is another way of regular donation to said establishment’s bottom line).

The Process

You have to lie on a beautician’s bed with a cotton wool pad underneath your eye in a half moon shape.  The pad is extremely close to your bottom lashes and therefore feels quite uncomfortable.  The individual lashes (which are made of a fairly hard nylon type material) are then glued to your own lashes mid way down your own eyelashes individually.  This can take between 15 minutes to 30 mins for each eye.  The bottom lashes are left alone (thank the lord!).

The Pro’s

The lashes look quite natural and you don’t have to go Katie Price style with layers and layers.

I personally didn’t find the effect that dramatic and I actually found them quite uncomfortable and annoying.

The Con’s

The process of application is not particularly nice, I am all up for this beauty is pain lark, however this is quite an uncomfortable experience.  It may be because it’s your eyes and they are particular sensitive, especially when you have cotton wool in your eyelids.  Once the process is complete, when you touch your lashes they feel quite hard and you can almost feel the glue.  You also have to be careful on how you remove your make up and not use a oil based remover as the molecules affect the glue and make the eyelashes fall off.  Very attractive when you are sitting with your new date and you have a handful of eyelashes stuck to your cheek!

To have these removed you are supposed to visit the beautician again who will use a special chemical to dissolve the glue and remove them safely.  Picking them off will remove your own eyelashes and ultimately result in a nice patchy balding effect, dependent on how many you pick off.  However, they are a bit like Pringles, once you pop you can’t stop and there is something quite therapeutic about pulling them off.

My experience

I personally didn’t find the effect that dramatic and I actually found them quite uncomfortable and annoying.  The fact that they are black saves you having to apply mascara, but as said, for me they were more aggravation that they were worth.  I did pick them off and can gladly say I do still have a few of my own left, but they are not as thick as they were.   I would rather recommend a self adhesive set for £5.99 from Boots any day above these so called beauties.

So how much do they cost?

Between £60 and £120

How long do they take to apply?

Between 30-60 minutes

How long do they last?

At most 2 weeks, but it depends how you look after them and your approach to on going maintenance, cost and commitment.

Would you recommend them?

No, a total waste of money and time