Really? (My LONG 'Investigation' Post!)

First of alllllll, I'm sorry for the lack of posts! I'm on the computer daily, and I have a lot of hauls and stuff to blog about, but a) since I don't have a camera, pictures suck! and b) writing is not my forté, so I really did not know how to word or write my 'investigation' post. So here you guys go! (Finally, haha)

Disclaimer: I really hope that this post does not offend anyone. I just did it because being interested in beauty, I was curious to see what those who have beauty procedures done are told about what they are doing. If you have any questions or comments, shoot! I'd love to hear your feedback on this topic.

Let's start this at the beginning. A couple of weeks ago, at the beginning of August, Toronto hosted it's 42nd annual Caribana Carnival weekend. This is a huge event that highlights and celebrates Caribbean culture. It's like a big party with tons of things to do, and this event is a huge thing for a lot of teenagers and young adults. I have a lot of friends that book Caribana weekend off work months in advance - and most of these friends have their outfits, shoes, make-up, hair and nails in check. There's sooo many people there, and you want to be dressed to impress! Understandable, right?

Before I start, let me give you some background information. I've noticed lately that a big trend that's emerging where I live is girls having eyelash extensions/false lashes. Big DRAMATIC lashes. No biggie. But it's JUST lashes. No other make-up, no liner to hide your lash line, nothing. I guess that was one thing that was starting to bother me because from I've learned from the make-up community is, you don't want to people know you're wearing fake lashes, so you wear eyeliner to hide the glue and what not.

That's where I come in. One day at work, 2 days before Caribana weekend, one of my co-workers walked in false eyelashes on. Me, being interested and curious, I asked her about them, how much she paid, where she got them done, all that. And she was cool (she's a nice girl) and she told me.

She had on individual lashes, but on her whole lashline, so basically it was like a full false lash, but done with individual lashes.

She had them done at one of those nail salons. You know, those small business that do acrylics, manicures, pedicures, waxing and all that. She said that she wanted something that would last, and the lady that did them on her told her that would last for a good couple of weeks.

This is when I got interested, from what I know, lashes are only suppose to be worn for one day, then you take them off, and put them on again the next day. Right?

But no, the lady told her, she could leave them on for however long she wanted, that they would last for week, she just couldn't get them wet.

Me, being intrigued, I asked her exactly where she got them done, and I set out to investigate.
On the store window, they have a list of their services, and one of them was "Eyelash Extensions."I don't know too much about them, so I went home and asked my good friend google.

Eyelash extensions, according to Wikipedia, are hair like extensions that are added to each single lash to create a fuller, longer look. Since they are attached to each individual eyelash, it's a tedious process, and it can range from $60 and up. It lasts depending on your lash cycle, cause when your lashes naturally fall out, so will the lash extensions, cause it's placed right on top of your natural lash.

I walked into this nail salon, and it was pretty small. There was only 2-3 girls working, and they were pretty busy. There was 4 girls getting pedicures in those massage chairs, and 2 were getting their nails done.

I walk in and one of the girls doing nails welcomed me. I asked her the eyelash extensions and she said she would show me in a moment, and to have a seat.

I wait for a couple minutes, and then she comes back to me and asks me to follow her to the back. She takes me to a small room, with a padded table for someone to lie down on.

I ask her about eyelash extensions, and she shows me Ardell individual lashes clusters and a little petri dish of hair. She starts telling me about how they can use individual lashes and apply them all across the lashline, or they can use individual hairs to apply to each lash on your natural lashes.




I asked her what kind of glue she uses, honestly, I was expecting her to show me a Duo tube, and I would of laughed and called it a day. But she hesitates, and tells me she uses a special glue that they have to order from the States and keep in the refrigerator. She shows me a box with some kind of Oriental writing on it.

"Can I still wear make-up? What about mascara?" She tells me that you can wear make-up and mascara, you just have to be careful about removing it to not get anything near the lashes.

I was kind of done at this point, and so I finally ask her, "How long do they last?" She said they last for up to 6 weeks, you just can't get them wet. She said they do fall out on their own, but if you wanted to continue them, you would just come in and the fill in the missing lashes.

Still puzzled, and not wanting to confront this poor woman, I thank her, leave and never look back.

The thing I found interesting about this whole thing is, the dramatic lashes, with no make-up. I've googled eyelash extensions, and they can look pretty natural without make-up. But that's not what these girls are getting, they're getting, dramatic, thick, long, in-your face lashes. I don't know, it doesn't look good to me without make-up, or atleast some liner to cover up your lash line.

Natural looking eyelash extensions, without make-up.

Imagine a look like this, but without the liner, and shorter - to match your natural eyelash length.

I really don't know where I was going with this whole post, but I hope it entertained some of you. What do you think? Would you get this done? Would you rock strip lashes without make-up?

Also, I know I have some tags & awards to get to, I'll do that this weekend, I also have a lot of stuff to post. (:

* Images from Google.