REVIEW: Mink Eyelash Extensions - Week 1

hi everyone!
thought i'd share my experience with mink eyelash extensions so far..
i've always wanted to try eyelash extensions out and when they began popping up in the coupon community, i decided why not!
on October 2, 2011, i bought a voucher from Groupon to use at sohni skin & hair studio in Calgary. i checked out the reviews (of course) but it was a fairly new place. i always take a look at the company's website too. with all these vouchers popping up everywhere, i've seen a few deals that seem pretty shady. and when there are spelling errors all over the website or images you've seen used again and again, i become wary of their professionalism.
anyway, sohni skin & hair studio appeared safe so i took the risk. the voucher was $50 for a full set of mink eyelash extensions. at the time, it said this was a $175 value. today, their site states that they cost $120 for a full set and $80 for a fill. $80 is still really expensive! that's almost how much i eventually payed anyway, including tips.
come to think of it, that's pretty steep. especially for someone like me without a steady flow of income just yet :)

i was going to get them done for the holidays but that didn't happen. i went in on March 23, 2012 instead (they expire on April 3). i'm a bit of a procrastinator.
i forgot the name of the lady who did these for me. i had an appointment at 1:30 pm, signed a consent form and then 7 or so minutes later i was in a chair (their studio is really nice and clean). the lady asked what type of look i wanted and i wasn't entirely sure but said something that looks natural and wouldn't continually interfere with my glasses. the lady decided to use the "12s"; another option was "14s" which were longer (not sure what these really mean). they say some people fall asleep during the process but i was not THAT comfortable.
so eyelash extensions work in that they are glued onto your individual eyelashes. each extension consists of 2 "eyelashes" which makes it look like you do have more eyelashes. i felt a little poke every time an extension was glued on. it didn't hurt but it wasn't comfortable either.

the whole process took like an hour including about 10 minutes of waiting for the glue to dry.
so here are the pictures. individual eye pictures look creepy next to each other! i apologize for some of the weird angles. it's tough taking pictures of yourself with your eyes closed!

definitely a noticeable difference! my eyelashes appeared fuller and darker. hooray for curled eyelashes! mine prefer to point downwards. one thing i wished the lady did was to take into consideration my eye shape. my left eye is a monolid - it folds underneath itself so it appears hooded. the lady put a few extensions on the very inner corner of my eye so when i opened my eyes, it looked pretty strange. it also kept rubbing against my eyelid. eventually these fell out pretty quickly anyway. 

i've never had synthetic eyelash extensions so i can't say i noticed a difference with the mink ones. it's been a little over a week now, and my eyelashes looked best a few days after i got them done. nowadays, my eyelash extensions seem to be disappearing rapidly.  i tried to keep count of the ones i notice falling out:

Day 1 (March 24): lost 1 in the morning (usually when i'm washing my face)
Day 2 (March 25): lost 1 in the morning; 2 at night
Day 5 (March 28): lost 1 at night
Day 6 (March 29): lost 1 in the morning

the first couple of days, i was constantly reminded that i was wearing eyelash extensions. it hurt a bit when i slept on my side because i felt the tubes pressing into my eyelids. either this feeling went away or i got used to it because i don't notice them anymore (or that i've lost so many!).

according to the company's site, they are supposed to last 3-6 weeks. at this rate, i think MAYBE 3 if i'm lucky. i did everything i was supposed to too: avoid oil based makeup remover (i actually avoided all eye makeup for a while - first few days, i felt like i didn't even need it!) - i loved getting out of bed and looking like i was ready to go out. i try not to touch my eyes at all. i did not purchase their recommended mascara though. it's a special one for lash extensions and cost $25. perhaps, i need to look into all the ingredients in my eyeliners.
i'll update you on more photos at the end of the week. meanwhile, i'm looking for a heated eyelash curler since i cannot use a normal one. i was told these extensions would hold their curl but it seems that they did not take Asian eyelashes into consideration. mine are normally stick straight so it seems that these lash extensions are slowly molding into MY shape. boo :( i've checked plenty of places that i've previously found heated eyelash curlers but cannot find any now!! funny how it's never there when you need it hey? so any recommendations on where i can find one?

AND AND - my very first Glossybox should be here today! will be positing again either tonight or tomorrow :)