BeautyCon London 2015: The Lash Story

If you were following me on Twitter, you would have seen that I was running very late for BeautyCon London 2015.  There were several reasons such as I wanted to make sure my hair and nails were looking good but the main reason was my false eyelash mishap.

I have a selection of false eyelashes but I never wear them as I always make a mistake when putting them on, which means I get glue all over my eye make-up and it all gets ruined. In the end, I give up trying to wear the lashes.

As I decided to wear a graphic yellow and blue eye, I needed the lashes or I would look a little bizarre.  I thought about wearing some Superdrug lashes, the limited edition intense volume lashes made in celebration of Superdrug’s 50th anniversary however I decided that these were far too dramatic for a day-time event.

I decided to try my Lancome Show by Alber Elbaz (limited edition so no longer available) lashes again after failing to apply them when I went to a casino themed party and wanted some drama, but not too much.  I like a little added length and lots of volume. If the lashes are too long, it will be impossible for me to wear my glasses should my contact lenses fail me. I decided that these lashes are just the right length and thickness to finish the eye look without going overboard.

To apply the lashes, I used Duo adhesive rather than the included glue. It is said that Duo is the best glue so that’s why I use it. Admittedly, I didn’t cut the lashes as I didn’t think they needed cutting but more about that later. I applied the glue to the lash, waited for about a minute for the glue to get tacky then tried to put the lash strip on my eyelid without sticking it to my own lashes. I find it really difficult to stick lashes on to my upper lash line because my own lashes get in the way, even if I look down. Can somebody please tell me how to get them out of my way?

Anyway, I stuck the lash strip near my lashline and tried to use tweezers to adjust the position but that didn’t quite do the job so I tried to use my fingers. I failed so I pulled the lash off to attempt it again. I couldn’t give up as my eyeshadow was already messed up and I looked bald without the lashes. I noticed that I had stuck a bunch of my own eyelashes together and managed to get glue on my upper waterline. I think I am the only person to have achieved that!

Unfortunately, as my natural lashes had been glued together and had become hard, I found it even more difficult to apply the lash a second time.  When I partially closed my eyes to apply the lash, my eye was temporarily glued shut thanks to the glue on my waterline. I ended up with an awful gap between my lashes and the lash strip. I thought I could fix it with mascara and gel eyeliner but that was also a failure.  The second lash strip went on with less drama but it was by no means easy.

At BeautyCon London, Eylure had a stand. I usually wear Eylure so I was tempted to buy some more lashes at the discounted event price but I was strong and didn’t break my beauty spending ban.  So, imagine my delight when I was told I could get a set of lashes applied free of charge provided I took a selfie and posted it with #eylurexbeautycon and followed Eylure on Instagram.  Of course I jumped at the chance, not least because I needed someone to fix the mess I had made!

The lovely lady at the stand (unfortunately I didn’t catch her name) advised me to try no.126, a “definition” set of lashes.  She said they were new and I thought they looked quite pretty so I picked them up.  When it came to application, I was told I have small eyes. Well, that’s news to me! So much was trimmed off the lashes I thought the beauty of the lash would be destroyed.  Luckily, my thoughts were proved wrong. The application of the lashes were finished with a liquid liner to get right into the lash line so if there was a space, it was not noticeable, and I was given a touch of mascara.

The lashes looked incredible! I felt very conscious on the train home but there was no need.  That’s the beauty of London, no-one really cares because anything goes.

I have to say, I felt quite pretty wearing my new Eylure lashes but I felt sorry for the Alber Elbaz lashes.  They only had a few hours of use. I am looking forward to wearing my Eylure lashes again, I just hope I can get them on!