Strip Lashes

Ta dah – Strip Lashes of course!

If fuller-looking lashes have always been your thing then Strip Lashes/Falsies are your new best friend to see you through these days of quarantine.

With strip lashes ranging from natural to dramatic to more extreme in both length and volume,  if you are new to the idea of wearing DIY falsies then know from the start that whatever your eye shape or preferred lash look there is a suitable pair of strip lashes out there to flatter your eyes!!

Compared to salon semi-permanent classic and volume lashes that can take up to 2 -3 hours to apply and require infills every 3 wks, strip lashes, on the other hand, provide instant enhanced lash effects however the adhesive used to apply them is not semi-permanent and therefore they will need to be removed and re-applied after a day or two.

Step Guide – How To Apply Strip Lashes 

Before you start you will need the following items;

• Mirror
• Tweezer
• Toothpick (or something similar to precisely apply adhesive to the back of the lash band)
• Small scissors (*If using Noveau Strip lashes there should be no need to cut lashes to fit)
• Eyelash curler
• Mascara (*recommend Nouveau Lash Enhance)
• Eyeliner (gel or liquid)

Step 1 – Removing from the box – The lashes are secured in their box with a strong tack at the back of the delicate lash band.  Removal must be slow and delicate and best removed from the box using a tweezer to prevent causing accidental damage to the lashes.  *Strip lashes are re-usable so keep the box for lash safe keeping storage afterwards.

Step 2 – Check if the lashes will need trimming – Measure the lash strip against your top lashes and assess if they align perfectly.  If they extend past your outer lashes cut them down so they fit exactly to your top natural lash line.  *Cut lashes from the outside only!!

Step 3 – Eyelash Curlers – Curl lashes

Step 4 – Mascara – Apply a coat of mascara to the natural lashes.  *Mascara provides grit for a better blend of the falsies to the natural lashes

Step 5 – Adhesive – Squeeze out a small amount of adhesive onto the back of your hand.  Either slide the back of the lash band across the adhesive (*less is more) or use a toothpick to transfer a very thin layer of the lash adhesive all the way across the back of the band i.e. corner to corner (*ensure the lash corners have glue on there this ensures no lifting!!)

Step 6 – Hold and wait – 10-20 seconds – this allows for the glue to get a little tacky

Step 7 – Mirror – Place it so it’s under your chin almost and looking down into the mirror ensure you can see clearly your top lash line

Step 8 – Lash Placement – Place the strip lash onto your eyelid as close as possible to your top natural lash line

Step 9 – Press – Start to press in the middle then out to the corners.  Use your thumb and forefinger to press the lashes onto the top lash line

Step 10 –  Second Eye – Repeat process

Step 11 – Eyeliner –  Apply the liner to the upper lash line to conceal the lash band and any glue residue.

Step 12  – *Optional – Apply a single coat of ‘Enhance’ mascara to bind and blend natural lashes to the strip lashes

Removal

Use eye makeup remover eg Dermalogicas Precleanse to remove eye makeup and dissolve the adhesive follow with pressing a dampened cotton disc, over the eyes and then slide away the lash strip from the eyelid

*If you prefer to wear strip lashes for a day or two remove eye makeup with an oil-free makeup cleanser

Strip Lash Cleansing & Maintenance

Use a cotton bud dipped in a little micellar water and gently cleanse over the lashes to remove traces of glue and make-up. Follow by gently brushing through the lashes with a spoolie brush and leave to dry before putting them back into the box.

Salon LVL Treatment – After Results

When it comes to DIY beauty at home, safety is key!

In salon an LVL consultation and a 48hr mandatory patch test is performed prior treatment the purpose being to assess the health of the natural lashes and to test for potential sensitivity to the different LVL solutions and ideally to prevent a possible adverse reaction to treatment.  The procedure itself is an eyes closed process from start to finish and for health and safety reasons LVL is always best performed on you by a trained practitioner and it is never ever advised to consider to use an alternative DIY Lash Lift system at home.   *There is however a safe and easy alternative DIY solution to achieve similar effects to that of a salon LVL Lash Lift with tint using just 3 basic products i.e.

1. Eyelash Curler – lifts & curls lashes
2. Waxy Black Eyeliner – darkens the lash roots gives an illusion of longer lashes
3. Black Mascara (for tinted and added LVL lash effects i.e, Lengthen, Volumise, Lift & Separate

Alternatively for – an LVL Lash Lift without a tint effect use;

1. An Eyelash Curler – lifts & curls lashes
2. Nouveau Enhance Triple Lash serum (£29.99) or Nouveau Lash & Brow Conditioning serum (£19.99) – achieves glossy, healthy fuller looking lashes! *Apply serum daily from root to tips

*Both these serums are available to purchase from Beauty Vibes online shop 

Method – LVL Lash Lift with tint – 3 easy steps

Step 1 – Waxy Black Eyeliner

*Makeup Tip  – Achieve a quick top lash eyeliner effect by coating the spongy inside rim of the curlers using a black pigmented waxy eyeliner pencil (*Clean the curler afterwards with dampened cotton or soaked with a little micellar water) 

Stpe 2 – Eyelash Curler – Clamp the lashes with the curler 3 times with a count of 10 on each clamp.  Clamp the eyelashes from root to the tip.

Step 3 – Black Mascara – Apply 3 coats from root to tips – top and bottom.

Note – As opposed to the salon LVL Lash Lift treatment where results last up to 6-8wks the DIY alternative is a daily routine as effects dissolve with makeup removal.  *More descriptive details about the actual in salon LVL treatment can be accessed via the LVL tab on the grey description box over on the pricelist page.  To visit that page click the link here

*Makeup Tip – Alternative LVL effects using waterproof Mascara

*Choose a waterproof mascara that lifts, separates, lengthens and volumizes i.e. 4 n 1 mascara eg.

Maybelline – The Falsies Instant Lash Lift Look Lengthening Volumizing Mascara or Chanel – Inimitable Mascara

£9.99

or

*Recommended effective Eye Makeup Remover for waterproof makeup

Dermalogica Precleanse 150ml £39.50

Formulated with skin fortifying Borage Seed, Kukui and Apricot oils as well as conditioning Rice Bran and Vitamin E oils this gentle blend offers an effective makeup removal and deep cleansing ideal even for oily skin conditions.

How to use: Dispense into dry hands.  Massage over dry face and eyes to dissolve surface oil, dirt and makeup.  Wet hands and massage again to create a light, milky emulsion.  Rinse with lukewarm water. For overall facial cleansing follow with second cleanse using your prescribed Dermalogica cleansers.  *If not sure what is the best second skin cleanser suitable for your skin type email today to request your FREE Skin Consultation.

*All Dermalogica products are available for purchase via the Beauty Vibes online shop

Overgrown Eyebrow

In the current climate of uncertainty and salon lockdown, it’s now perhaps a case of “desperate times calls for desperate measures” and in particular when it comes to maintaining some sort of a beauty routine at home.

The guidelines set out below will hopefully pre-empt and prevent any at home ‘DIY ‘brow shaping disasters.

Something to consider before attempting your DIY brow shape is to know from the start that.. *When it comes to hair removal two fundamental factors are key;

1. Great stretch on the skin for the area you are working on and,
2. Great technique

With this in mind here are my;

Top 5 tips on – How To achieve better DIY Eyebrow Shaping results at home;

Ideal Eyebrow Shape outline

Tip 1 – Assess the overall eyebrow shape

Look at the shape of your eyebrows and imagine their ideal brow shape outline and draw with a pencil the outline of your eyebrows as indicated in the pic i.e wide body shape and tapered tail end

*A good eyebrow should have a wider body shape from inner nose area to arch point and a tail-end tapering to a point. The overall outline shape of the brow should look like a consistent line top and bottom without any gaps.  

Brow Shape prep outline

Tip 2 – Know what hairs should be removed 

The hair growth outside the brow line area (as indicated in the pic) is considered brow hair overgrowth and does not contribute to the overall eyebrow shape. *This is the brow hair that can be removed via threading, waxing or tweezering methods for a better and improved overall eyebrow shape  (*See Method procedures below) 

Tip 3 – Before attempting to remove hair, Stretch the skin!

Stretching the skin on the area you are working prevents against any unnecessary nicks or bruising of the skin and ensures hair is pulled out from the root.

Tip 4 – Always work against the growth of the hair

Combined with Tip 3 (stretch the skin) this technique ensures effective hair removal from the root, first time!

Tip 5 – Do Not overwork the delicate eye skin area

All hair removal is a form of skin exfoliation by adhering to methods specified in both Tip 3 & Tip 4 will avoid over traumatising the delicate skin area.

Finished Eyebrow Shape

Finishing Tips

Brush brow hairs up and using a brow scissors trim hairs extending over the top brow line

Always follow any hair removal process with a soothing application of moisturiser preferably containing SPF to protect the area against harmful UV damage

Hair Removal Method via Tweezer

• Hold the tweezer in your dominant hand and use the other hand to stretch the skin.
• Always focus on removing hair growth outside the natural eyebrow brow line area only *(Refer to Tip 1 above)
• Tweezer against the hair growth to effectively tweezer out hairs.

*If done correctly the hair tweezered out should reveal the hair bulb.  This means the hair has successfully been plucked from the root.

*If done incorrectly the hair will snap and break and the overall tweezering effect will reveal what looks like black dots in the area.  If this happens do not overwork the skin but do leave the hair to grow longer before attempting removal again

• Trim any long brows hairs extending over the top brow hairline and finish the treatment with an SPF application to further protect the skin against harmful UV damage

Hair Removal Method via Facial Wax Strips 

• Use a scissors to cut the wax strips into smaller more manageable brow strips
• Apply talc powder to protect the delicate skin area
• Apply the small wax strip focusing on the hair growth outside the natural eyebrow brow line area only (Refer to Tip 1 above) *Work in small sections
• Working against the hair growth, stretch the skin and whip off the wax strip in one swift action
• Do not work over the same area twice!! *The skin in this area is very delicate any remaining hairs can be tweezered out
• Using a brow scissors trim any long brows hairs extending over the top brow hairline
• Finish with the oil-based moisturising pads provided in the pack this also effectively removes any remaining wax residue. *Follow with a protective layer of SPF

What you will need

Unused, dry and clean teabag

Nail glue

Nail file

Nail buffer

Topcoat nail polish

Step Guide – How To Repair a Broken/Split nail

Step 1 – Gently buff over nail area with the split

Step 2 –  Cut open the clean and dry unused tea bag and empty out tea contents.  Cut out a small square piece of the bag just enough to cover the length of the nail split and place it exactly over the split

Step 3 – Apply a little nail glue on top and wait to dry

Step 4 – Apply a second coat of glue over the repair and wait to dry

Step 5 – When completely dry use a soft grit emery board/nail file to file away any overlapped edges

Step 6 – Gently buff over the surface of the repair to smooth it out. *Be very gentle as too vigorous buffing will lift the repair and you will have to start over again

Step 7 – Wipe away any surface dust and apply nail polish top coat to the entire nail to protect the repair

Step 8 – Wait to dry apply cuticle oil

*Learn the secret to healthy nails click the link here  

What you will need;

• ‘Acetone’ nail polish remover
• Cotton discs cut into small squares
• Tweezer
• Tinfoil cut into small squares
• 100grit (hard grit) nail file
• Soft grit nail file
• Cuticle pusher
• Cuticle oil
• Hand Cream

Method

• Gently remove the shine from all gel polish nails using a hard grit nail file. (This will crack the seal and allow for efficient acetone penetration to start an effective gel polish dissolving process)

• Pour some acetone solution into the cork screw (bottle lid)
• Using a tweezer pick up a single cotton square and dip into the acetone solution. *Make sure it is fully saturated.
• Place acetone saturated cotton square onto nail plate. *Focus on placing it exactly over the gel polish
• Wrap a tin foil square securely around the nail
• Repeat all 10 nails
• Wait for 15 mins
• Apply pressure to the nail and slide away both foil and cotton from nail
• If all the polish has not come away use the cuticle pusher or a wooden orange stick to gently lift away polish residue. *If the gel polish does not readily come away, re-apply another acetone soaked cotton square foil wrap for another 2 mins
• File and shape all nails using soft grit emery board/nail file
• Apply cuticle oil liberally to all nails and rub in to nail plates and cuticles, follow with hand cream application

*For further information about the amazing nail benefits of cuticle oil click on the link here

Tips

• Never pick or peel off gel polish!!
• If finding the above gel polish removal method frustratingly fiddly – (it is fiddly by the way!) suggest to first work on the non-dominant hand and make a start with 3 nails on each hand (pinky to middle finger) and then move on to index finger and thumb or try,

Alternative Method;

• Pour enough solution into a small glass bowl to cover all 10 nails and soak for 15-20 mins (*Remember to remove surface gel polish shine first)

Note

The featured ‘Boots’ – ‘Nail polish remover extra strength product will effectively remove gel polish and ordinary polish/nail laquer.  *Other brands are available but this particular one is easy to source locally and will do the job perfectly!!

*This product, however, is NOT recommended for removal of ‘Acrylic Nail Extensions’.  For effective removal of Acrylic nails you will need a pure acetone solution.  This can easily be purchased online via Ebay.  Alternatively, acrylic can be filed off using a 100grit file (hard grit file).  *However this is time-consuming and causes a lot of friction on the nail so manual hard grit filing the nail is NOT the recommended way!

*For nail extensions that have been sculptured with a ‘hard gel’ these cannot be soaked off, they can only be filed off!!  This is done in salon usually with an e file (i.e. electronic file) a process not recommended for home use if not a trained nail tech.

*If the nail extensions are lifting they should be removed immediately to prevent moisture and bacteria forming on the nail. *Whilst salons remain closed during Covid-19 lockdown your options to remove them efficiently remains limited and as detailed above.

*Word of caution

• Do not over file your nails
• Always make sure you are gently filing
• Work on product only not enamel!
• Always follow the removal process with a daily nourishing application of cuticle oil

Got a broken split nail?? Click the link to access – An easy at home DIY method on ‘How to fix a broken split nail’