The Great Latisse Experiment

Eyelash extensions don't come off. They just don't come off. You can't take them off. They stay attached to your natural eyelashes until your eyelashes fall out naturally, or UNNATURALLY, like when you're gently drying your face with a towel after your shower and a loop of terry cloth catches the unnaturally thick fake eyelash and RIPS IT OUT BY THE ROOT.

Yes, I am yet again relegated to fashion and beauty industry victim status, as three weeks later I have half long (really really long now that my own eyelashes have grown and pushed the fake lashes out even more), thick, eyelash extensions and half my own soft, short, wispy eyelashes, combined with more than a few gaps from a few of these towel incidents. The only way to hide this disaster is to wear a really solid layer of matte, dark brown eyeshadow every day and skip my usual bang trim, so that's what's currently happening... my eyelashes are a disaster but it doesn't matter because my bangs are covering them and I have spackled them with dark brown eyeshadow.

I also started using Latisse, which is the eyelash growth drug (prescription only) that Brooke Shields is hawking. It takes about 12 weeks to see noticeable results, and by then my lashes would likely have repaired themselves anyway, but Latisse works by lengthening the natural growth cycle of each eyelash, so this should speed up the process. I love that Latisse is prescribed for the condition "hypotrichosis" - "not enough or inadequate hair". Apparently sparse eyelashes are a medical condition. Will keep you posted.

Tried Lash Extensions...

I recently tried eyelash extensions for the first time. Eyelash extensions look like traditional false eyelashes but without the strip. Instead, it's individual hairs that are glued with some super-strength glue one-by-one to each of your own individual eyelashes (rather than being attached to the skin, like strip lashes). Because there is no strip, and that's the part that looks fake, they look more "real" than strip lashes. The application process is time-consuming (when I got it done it was only an hour and a half, but that's a long time to sit with your eyes closed while someone is gently touching your eyelashes over and over again and while you have a piece of tape taping your lower eyelashes down), can take up to three hours, and is pretty expensive. I went to a local place that had a lot of good reviews and the application was only $100, but from what I understand it more commonly costs $250 or $300.

When they showed me my new eyelashes I was pretty amazed! For one thing, they asked me if I wanted the lashes to look "natural" or "dramatic" and I chose "natural".
(I mean, how natural can fake eyelashes look, and what does "natural" mean to someone who is having such a thing done, right?) Well, the resulting eyelashes are long and curled and pretty much look like something a Vegas showgirl would wear. I wonder what "dramatic" would look like!

Vegas is why I got them done - I was going to Las Vegas for a few days and didn't want to deal with mascara or curling my eyelashes or applying false eyelashes. The eyelash extensions make the eyes look "done" without any makeup.

I got them done exactly a week ago. They're holding up pretty well. They stay attached with the super strong glue forever, or until your real eyelash falls out naturally.
So, you lose a few a day. People usually need to get a touch up after two or three weeks, depending how careful they are. I am being pretty careful and am not wearing mascara on them, so a week later they still look full. Here's what they look like from above. I don't have any makeup on.