If wearing false eyelashes means choosing from a rack of identical spider’s legs in plastic pouches at a high street chemist, before paying sub-£10 and going home to glue your eyelids together – you’re not alone. We’ve all been there, particularly during a year where having extensions done in a salon has largely been off the cards.
So imagine our delight to hear about Lashify, a brand which offers professional standard eyelash extensions on a DIY basis that are easy to use, have staying power and are gentle on both skin and natural lashes.
Not only that, but the fibre that the lashes are comprised of looks more natural than traditional false lashes. They are also designed to be applied beneath your natural lashes rather than on top, for a more authentic finish (trust us, it’s less complicated than it seems).
Sound too good to be true? Anyone who has wrestled with glue-gummy tweezers or experienced a sagging eyelash making a bid for freedom in the middle of a night out has every right to mistrust home lash kits.
The first clue that Lashify is different is the packaging – also known as the control kit – which looks like it might contain a diminutive designer handbag.
We had to get used to some of the technical language unique to the brand which felt a little alien at first. The contents of the control kit contained two sets of gossamers (lashes); bond (glue); and a fuse control wand (tweezers). The latter curves to mimic the contours of eyes and cheekbones.
The lashes are handmade and ridiculously light – forget fat strands of polyester, as these are soft and fine wisps of synthetic silk, while the “spine” – otherwise known as the band – is almost invisible, which only adds to the natural finish.
There’s a vast library of lashes to choose from in different sizes and volumes. There are seven styles, 11 colours, including pink, and 12 lengths. Whether you want to look naturally gifted in the lash department or ostentatiously extra – you’ll find your desired look here.
The lashes come in small sections, which is helpful for application – sayonara to long strips that resist neat placement. We went for the amplify gossamers in a 10 – a fairly conservative choice. But how do they fare on the eye? Read on to find out.
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Lashify control kit
How do Lashify lashes work?
Essentially, you apply the bond – which comes in both mascara and pen format – to the underside of your natural eyelashes, and then use the wand to apply the lashes there, rather than on top, as is the case in almost all other falsies. This makes them appear much more real.
The main thing to master is how to hold the tweezers and understand how they work in accordance to your face. Obviously, each eye requires a different grip on the wand, and we recommend practising the holds extensively before you’ve even thought about the lashes or bond.
The golden rule is not to use too much bond. Far from making lashes more likely to hold, it causes mess and takes longer to dry, so you only need a little bit. Then, the impulse to hurry to get the lashes in place must be ignored. There is plenty of time.
We carefully swept the section of lashes, held between the wand’s tips, under the desired section of natural lash, and far from having to force it to hold – it honestly glided into place. We won’t go overboard and say it felt magnetic, but it wasn’t far off.
Of course, we didn’t get it right every time. But far from it being a disaster where the entire endeavour is ruined, you just pull them away and try again – no extra bond needed.
Is Lashify cruelty free and vegan?
Yes and yes. The company is committed to ensuring animal welfare – and almost all of the packaging is recyclable.
How do you remove Lashify lashes?
Truthfully, we waited until they were about to fall off and gently pulled them away. They were in good nick, so we popped them back into their little pod for next time.
But the proper thing to do is to remove lashes at night with the help of Lashify’s melt away liquid – and then reapply the next day. This will help make them last – see below.
How can you make Lashify lashes last?
To make the lashes last you do need to be mindful. Anyone who works out daily – and hard – or likes to scrub their face while drenching themselves in the shower will have to accept that their Lashify experience might be short.
To keep the lashes on for the 10 days, which Lashify says it is possible, but you’d have to live like a sedentary saint – we managed 72 hours.
Can you reuse Lashify lashes?
Yes, but bear in mind that the lashes are designed to disintegrate over time, so you’ll only get away with this a couple of times before they have literally worn away. This is thanks to their deliberate lightness which prevents damage to the natural lashes.
The verdict: Lashify control kit
We’re sold. Lashify is not cheap, but experience has taught us that when it comes to fake eyelashes it rarely pays to be thrifty. Also – you’re paying for the control kit and all of its accoutrements, including two pairs of lashes that you can reuse, up to a point.
We would say that if you want your lashes to last for weeks on your eyes – as is possible with some salon lash extensions – you might be disappointed. But the bonus of Lashify is its ease – you can put on and take off every day without investing much time at all but still have a salon standard, natural finish.
And the end result was impressive – the lashes do appear to be genuinely growing from our eyelids, because they aren’t balancing on top.
You can also top up on lashes either via regular subscription or as and when you need. In some cases, this will be more cost effective than salon visits and the results are just as luxe.
The only thing standing in the way of perfect lashes is lack of skill on the user’s part. Lashify offers online tutorials which is a boon for anyone lacking in confidence.
Although we’d wager that even without digital hand-holding, most people could get the hang of this fairly quickly.
We are by no means a dextrous, neat or patient people, but managed to master both eyes in about 20 minutes, a personal best we are happy with as a first pass, but that we hope to improve on. We can well believe the whole process can be complete in five minutes.
