• In-Between Times: If someone happens to fall a tad behind with getting their lashes touched up, mascara can help disguise the difference between extended and natural eyelashes. Concentrating primarily on coating the natural lashes will help everything blend well until appointment time rolls around.
• Covering The Colors: Subtle eyelights go virtually unnoticed unless viewed in direct sunlight, but if one is a fan of bold, bright hues there may be times when a more natural look is preferred. If there’s ever a need to tone things down, mascara is the simplest solution to keep colors out of sight for a short term.
• Dialing Up The Drama: Not every lash addict wants an ultra dramatic look for daily wear. Natural looks are the preferred choice for a number of eyelash extension fans. So, when a special event or occasion arises that demands an extra special touch, having eyelash extension safe mascara comes in handy to turn the drama up a notch or two.

Top 5 Reasons Eyelash Extensions Beat Out Mascara

Ever wonder what all the “eyelash extension” fuss is about? Do you wonder what is it about those little synthetic lash strands that has everyone in a lash craze? Maybe you’re thinking, “I’ve got a great mascara. It’s just as good.” Well, not quite. Eyelash extensions have a few lash legs up on their liquid eyelash enhancing counterparts. Here’s why:

5. Custom Looks: You can’t create a cat eyed look, vary the curl of different lashes to add lift or choose exactly how long you want your lashes to be with mascara. Your Lash Stylist can do all this and more with eyelash extensions!

4. No Panda Peepers: Eyelash extensions won’t run, bleed, drip, etc., etc. You will be safe to swim, shower, cry, perspire (or “glow” if you like) and not leave any telltale signs that your lashes have been “enhanced” from those that Mother Nature blessed you with. Who hasn’t had one of those unfortunate black-eyed mascara incidents?

3. Easy Breezy Cleanup: No going through 10 cotton swabs and more than a few tissues at night trying (always unsuccessfully it seems) to get ALL the black off your eyes. Just regularly oil-free cleansing of your face and eyes, and you’re in the clear with eyelash extensions.

2. Always On: At some point you have to (or at least you really, really ought to) take off your mascara. So there will be times when you just don’t have that extra lash oomph you love. Not so with eyelash extensions. This is a 24-7, rain or shine, morning or night lash love affair. Mad dash to the store? You’re lashed. 5 am wakeup? Bat those beauties. Unforeseen zombie invasion? You look mahvelous, dahling!

And the NUMBER ONE REASON eyelash extensions trump mascara?

1. MORE!!! Simply put, eyelash extensions just give you more. More length and more fullness than any mascara in the world could ever even dream of achieving. There’s a reason all those mascara ads use “lash inserts” (their discreet name for lash extensions, flairs or falsies)! They want to show REALLY dramatic and high volume lashes – but they just can’t without a little help from their synthetic lash friends.

Of course, we wish that everyone chose an Xtreme Lashes Stylist for their eyelash extensions but we always hate to hear of anyone receiving a bad eyelash extension application, no matter who they choose. The image above was shared with us by Xtreme Lashes Poland and is of a woman who came to see them after having a very poor quality lash application from an unqualified person, NOT an Xtreme Lashes Stylist.

We always stress that training is immensely important when choosing a stylist for your lashes and we strongly suggest that you always ask to see proof of training before allowing anyone to work on you. Not everyone receives this advice in time, though. If you have an unfortunate experience with eyelash extensions (or cluster lashes) applied by an unqualified person, here are a few things you should (and shouldn’t) do:

• First and foremost, do NOT attempt to remove the extensions yourself. Professional quality lash adhesives are strong-bonding (if that is even what was used) and designed to hold tight. Attempts to remove any extensions yourself will often result in the removal of many of your own lashes as well.

• Find a professionally trained lash stylist for removal. We don’t advise returning to a location that performed a poor quality application for removal. If care was not taken during an application, it is highly questionable that it would be taken during removal.

• Consult with the professional lash stylist about the condition of your lashes. If your natural lashes are damaged after the extension removal due to excessive adhesive use, you may need to apply a lash conditioner for several weeks in order to strengthen and fortify your weakened lashes.

• You can have new eyelash extensions applied correctly, but only when your professional lash stylist advises it is okay to do so. You may need to wait for a period of time if your lashes were damaged to allow them to strengthen and regrow.

Remember that properly applied eyelash extensions should never look like those pictured above. Eyelash extensions should never be painful and they should look like your own lashes, just longer and thicker. You should always be able to completely separate each of your extended lashes and not have large sections adhered together.

Here is how lash extensions SHOULD look:

High fashion runways were filled with models sporting show-stopping statement brows at many of the shows for spring 2012’s collections.

While runway beauty is often a bit over-the-top for your every day look, this trend can be scaled back to achieve the same idea, without the excess. To channel your inner Brook Shields:

• CONDITION: Start using an eyebrow conditioner now if you have thin, over-plucked or sparse brows. Within a few weeks, you should start seeing visibly thicker and fuller brows to give you a nice base for shaping and definition. Check out Tyra Banks’ TypeF.com for feedback from beauty experts on the best brow conditioners, including Amplifeye from Xtreme Lashes.

• SHAPE: Opting for bushier brows doesn’t mean you should toss aside the tweezers entirely. Even a fuller look requires a bit of shaping to keep from looking unkempt. Remove any stray hairs growing outside the main area of the brows, while keeping the fullness and shaping the edges and arch. For a general guide to achieving a well-shaped brow, take a look at this Brow Basics Guide.

• DEFINE: Color is the final and key component that truly turns “so-so” brows into bold “wows”. Following the natural shape of your brow, fill in with a long lasting brow color that complements your hair coloring. Apply your color with short, light strokes, building up to achieve the desired amount of drama. Blend with a brow brush to ensure a smooth finish and tada – you are now rocking the real world version of this runway trend!

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