A good

Jul 18 2009 by Liz Lamb, The Journal

This week Liz Lamb tries out the latest celebrity favourite – eyelash extensions.

HERE I am fluttering my eyelashes. They are lusciously long and gorgeous and when I wake up on a morning my eyes look wide-open and bright.

All this and there isn’t a drop of mascara in sight!

My new fluttery-eyed look is all down to 3D lashes, a new beauty wonder, that has been adopted by many A-list celebrities including Victoria Beckham, Girls Aloud, Paris Hilton, Gwen Stefani and Beyonce.

I must admit, when I first heard about this new trend I had my reservations. Could someone really glue individual lashes onto my own? Would they fall out? Would they damage my own lashes?

3D lashes have been available in the UK since 2004 but have gained in notoriety in recent months thanks to a growing list of celebrity clients. They are basically eyelash extensions which are glued on to your own individual lashes.

The lashes are fixed with a super lightweight adhesive and are based on the principle of hair extensions. The 3D lashes are one of the first to have incredible bonding power, lasting up to two months.

As a blonde who has very pale, short eyelashes that need extra lashings of mascara just to be noticeable, I was excited to see if 3D lashes really work. I headed to see Tracey Bruce, a beauty therapist and lecturer at Newcastle College, who is based at Soul Salon in Saville Row, Newcastle.

Tracey is a dab hand at applying eyelash extensions and has seen her client list grow as more people discover the trend.

She says: “It’s not just young women who are having them. A lot of my clients are middle-aged women who get a fantastic result with them.

“You end up with a very natural look. They come in different widths and lengths so you can pick which ones are more suited to your own lashes. You can get different varieties too – really long ones, brightly coloured ones and even ones with diamantes in them. But most people like them to look natural.”

Before having the lashes applied, I had have a couple of eyelashes applied to test if I would have a reaction to the glue. I then had to wait 48 hours before my treatment could begin.

After a consultation about the types of lashes and after-care, Tracy got to work. She painstakingly separated each of my lashes, isolated each and then applied an extension which is made from a soft, curved, synthetic material that looks identical to human lashes and are crimp resistant.

The whole process took around one-and-a-half hours. It may seem like a long time but I actually found the whole process very relaxing.

Tracey has to concentrate on her work so there is no talking and you can just lie back, close your eyes and drift off.

When it was all finished, Tracey held aloft a mirror so I could see my new look and I was quite taken aback. They looked amazing. Long and luscious, they were more effective than using lots of mascara and an eyelash curler.

I was actually quite shocked – I hadn’t expected them to look this good.

After admiring my reflection for several minutes Tracey then gave me a helpful after care leaflet which spells out the do’s and don’t of looking after your lashes. Because of the lifecycle of your own lashes the extensions only last up to 90 days. You can have in-fills in between having the full extensions applied.

My extensions have now been in place for over a week and they still look fabulous. It’s great waking up on a morning and looking like I have lovely, long lashes.

My mascara and eyelashes curlers are now completely redundant.

I’ve also received lots of compliments thanks to my new look so have been walking around with a warm, lovely glow for days.

Batting my eyelashes has never been so much fun!

The full set of 3D lashes is £65 and in-fills cost £25. To book an appointment with Tracy call 07976 251 665.