I had a panicked bride today who had gone to a big box chain to have her lashes done for her wedding. The reason she called me panicked was because after three days the lashes on one of her eyes were nearly gone. I hesitated because following sub par lash work is extremely difficult, but it was her wedding and she seemed like a very nice girl in a bad situation.
When she arrived I was struck by her gorgeous baby blue eyes. However, the lashes she had on were so badly styled they would the first thing to be noticed on her rather than the beauty of her eyes. These awful lashes were just hanging there. What a shame!
Unfortunately, time did not allow for full removal and a whole new set, which would have been my ideal for her. So, instead, I placed the right lash map on her and went about furiously removing the inappropriately long lashes applied in the wrong places with the wrong curl and did the best I could to “fix” these lashes. When she opened her eyes and her baby blues shined beautifully with the properly styled lashes for her eyes, accenting the gorgeous color and shape for her, she was thrilled!
So what did I do differently than her first stylist? Fist of all, I listened to what it was she wanted from her lashes. What she explained to me wasn’t anything close to what was on her eye. I’m always baffled by people that tell me they went here or there and the stylist just laid them on the table and started lashing. Imagine if your hairstylist just started cutting and coloring without asking you what you wanted! Yikes!
As a good lash artist we can’t always do exactly what the client wants, because of limitations with a customers natural lashes, but we can listen to them and their expectations and then meet somewhere in the middle and both client and stylist are happy with the outcome.
Second, I looked at her and assessed her unique features and created a custom design. I gave her lash extensions that were the correct length, curl and shape to make her amazing baby blues pop instead of the former lashes that overwhelmed her eyes with a bunch of thoughtlessly placed lashes. This takes skill and a little extra time but a great stylist will do this every single time. Every. Single. Time.
Third, I followed a lash map meant for her. A lash map is a guide that insures symmetry, and proper length and curl placement. I simply took the time to place and follow the map I decided would be best for her. This is so simple and yet very few artists do it.
So next time you are getting your touch up ask your artist what your map looks like, or how she decided on your design, curl and length used. If she doesn’t have a good thought out answer you are not getting the best possible lashes.
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