Review - DIY semi permanent lash extensions by Perfect 10

 I've been lusting after lash extensions for seemingly forever now. I'm not naturally blessed with particularly lush lashes, and as a blonde, those I have are pretty fair. Generally for any sort of occasion or going out I wear strip lashes, but these can be a bit of a faff, and I love the idea of something more permanent.

So, on one of my recent trips to Bodycare (I love a rummage through the beauty bargains!) I spotted these Perfect 10 Individual Lashes which advertise that they are semi permanent and last up to 4 weeks. I had a quick look online for reviews (ah, the joys of a smartphone) and when it didn't look like they were going to make my eyelids drop off or anything horrific, thought that for £4 I couldn't really go wrong.

In the packet you get instructions, lashes, lash glue and glue remover. The lashes are knotted together into small bunches and in 3 lengths, short, medium and long. I found that the long lashes looked ridiculous, even at the outer edges of my eyes as they are VERY long, so stuck to the short and medium lengths. If anything I would have liked something slightly shorter for the inner corners of my eyes ( I tried trimming some of them down myself, but this just left them stubby, so abandoned that idea!).

To apply you grasp a lash bundle with tweezers, dip in the glue, then gently place on top of your own lashes. The whole process probably took me half an hour. I found that a couple of the application instructions didn't work for me. Firstly, you're told to blob the glue onto some tinfoil and dip the lashes into it. I found that a, as the glue is transparent it was actually quite hard to see on the foil, and b, it dried really quickly so I felt like I was wasting a lot of glue. Instead I ended up applying the glue with the wand inside the bottle lid. Secondly, you are told to do one eye, then the other. I found that I got a more even effect by alternating applying lashes to each eye.

It was a little tricky to get all of the lashes placed properly, and I had to do a couple again as they ended up sticking out at a funny angle, but eventually I got an effect I was really happy with. Here's my before and after:

Before

after

 

 

 

 

 Please excuse my complete lack of makeup in these photos, but I think it's really important to note the massive difference the lashes make, even without anything else on. Although I had a couple of nit picks with them (I would probably be able to apply them a little more evenly the next time, and also wish they weren't quite so black as it looks very false on someone as fair as me) I absolutely loved my new bambi eyes! The fact that they are applied to your own lashes, not the lid, makes them look far more natural than strip lashes, although I may have been a bit heavy-handed with the glue so some of it was quite visible if you looked closely.  Having the lashes made my every day makeup so easy, just a bit of base to cover up any spots, a little lippy and I was on my way, no need to do anything to my eyes really, they already looked super glam. Then, when I did go whole hog and layer on the eyeshadow and liner, well, it looked fabulous!

So, what about the maintenance and did they really last 3-4 weeks?

On a day to day basis they were no problem at all. I'm not a big eye-rubber anyway (think it comes from wearing contact lenses) but to be honest they were so light I forgot that they were there. Beware though if you are an eyelash twiddler anyway, I have heard reports of people fiddling with them, pulling them out, and their own lashes coming out with them!). The only trouble I had was getting my eyes really clean at night, as I tend to wear a waterproof liquid eyeliner, I generally find that only an oil based eye makeup remover shifts it well, but you are advised not to use this as it can weaken the glue. I therefore felt a bit like I was never really getting all my makeup off.

After a couple of days I shed a couple of the inner lashes from each eye, but this wasn't really a problem as I had felt that they were a bit long anyway, and it looked fine with a little mascara on my own inner lashes. Then there was no change, bambi lashes for days.

Then, exactly a week after I had applied them, I woke up looking like this:

Yup, massive lash shedding in the night (I actually found them in my hair!). I decided that rather than replace the ones that had gone missing, I'd actually remove them alltogether as the ones that were left were starting to look a little worse for wear also (some of them had bent a bit, others looking a little wonky).

As instructed I soaked a cotton bud in the remover, placed a cotton wool pad under my eyelashes, and pressed the bud against the glue. Most of the lashes then slid easily off onto the cotton wool below my eye. However, there were 2 on each eye that just refused to budge. I soaked them in remover again and again, and by this point I was a little worried about what exactly I was putting onto my eyes, as the bottle says 'flammable', and my lids were beginning to sting a bit! I then also noticed that one of my false nails had gone a bit soft where it had come into contact with the remover - worrying! However, eventually with much coaxing the last stubborn lashes slid off, although some glue was definitely left behind on my own lashes. My stingy eyelids soon calmed down and I don't seem to have been left with any irritation - phew! I also seem to have held onto my own eyelashes (what ever there was of them) so that was another worry averted.

Would I use them again?

Absolutely, but probably only for times when I maybe had several special occasions together and didn't want to be constantly applying strip lashes. I don't think that they are a permanent solution, and to be honest they definitely don't look as good or as natural as the professionally applied ones and this half way house solution has just made me want them even more! As a much cheaper method though, I think this was well worth trying. Just another case of getting what you pay for!