by Shannon Smith  |  on March 29th, 2012  |  0 comments

The eyes are the windows to the soul, and every window needs decent framework. Not everyone is blessed with long and luscious lashes though. Ah well, you know what they say: if you can’t make it, fake it!

False eyelashes that give you that Jessica Rabbit worthy sultry stare are the desire of every woman, but few of us can afford to cough up the cash (or the time) for exxy salon extensions and let’s face it, the DIY eyelash extension market can be a little scary.

That said, as Just Be’s resident intern and beauty guinea pig, I decided to put the latest at-home lashes to hit the faux lash market to the test this week. Revlon’s Beyond Natural Individual Lashes ($9.99), include 70 individual lash clusters in three varying lengths (long, medium and short) so these definitely seemed a safe option when it came to building up a look that was both natural and achievable. Here’s how I did it:

 How to get long lashes:

1. Using tweezers I carefully removed each pedindividual lash cluster from the packet and dip the ‘knot’ of each cluster into a tiny amount of Revlon Lash Glue – Precision Lash Adhesive ($9.99).
2. I placed each cluster along the root line of my natural lashes, ensuring to use the shorter lashes on the inner corner of my eye and the longer lashes towards the outer corners for a more authentic look.
3. To finish, I applied a coat of mascara over my new lashes and my natural lashes.

The verdict:

Not bad! For a budget buy you can do at home yourself, these were surprisingly easy to apply, and as my before (right eye) and afters (left eye) show – the results were – pardon the pun – worth batting an eyelid for!

© 2012 - Just Be Magazine www.justbemagazine.com

Think of the most classically beautiful women of all time – Munroe, Hepburn, Twiggy, Taylor – they all had one thing in common (besides having the innate ability to make men swoon with the wink of an eye): wow-worthy brows. Brows not only frame the face, they make the face. Neglected, unkempt brows can throw out your whole look, so don’t let them go astray. Here’s how to keep them in check...

Give strays the flick

Keep stray hairs at bay with a weekly tweezing session. When tweezing your brows, you should stick to plucking out hairs that fall below the brow line as incorrectly executed plucking along the top of the brow can dramatically change your entire shape – and this is best left to the experts.

The starting line

Not sure where to pluck? As a general rule, your eyebrow should start in line with the outer edge of the bridge of your nose and the highest point of your brow arch should be in line with the centre of your pupil. To find these key brow points, simply hold a pencil vertically at each spot to check if it lines up.

Fill in the gaps

For chic, refined brows an eyebrow powder is a must. But be warned: one you’ve used one, you’ll never go back! When selecting a brow powder, opt for one to two shades lighter than your hair colour to keep it subtle. Using a flat angled brow brush, simply brush in short strokes over the eyebrow, starting at the outer edge and moving toward the nose.

Perk up

For show-stopping brows that will define and perk up your face, take a very light bright pink eyeshadow and sweep directly underneath the brow bone, fading out down to the eyelid crease. Take a pearlescent shadow and sweep a fine line back over the pink shadow directly under the brow line for a stand-out finish.

Here’s how to get Hepburn-worthy peepers without breaking a sweat...

Step 1

Apply a light to medium grey shadow over your entire lid up to – but not beyond – the crease line.

Step 2

Take a dark grey or kohl shadow and shade in only the outer corner of your eyelid, starting from about halfway along the lid. Imagine you are filling in a triangle, only less defined.

Step 3

Take a very light shade, like a pearlescent white shadow, and sweep just underneath the brow-bone for an instant eyelift. Now gently dab a small amount of the same shadow around the inner corners of your eyes to give the illusion of larger peepers. Finish the look by lining eyes with a dark grey or black liner, gently pushing the eyeliner in between each of your top lashes to create fuller looking lashes.

Voila! Sultry eyes that say ‘I’m mysterious and saucy, you know you want me.’ Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?