REVIEW: Mink Eyelash Extensions - Week 4 & 5 // Summary

oops - this was super delayed by a few weeks. i completely forgot to do a final post on my experience with mink eyelash extensions.
interested in week 1? week 2? what about week 3?

i have two sets of lame pictures for you to see since these were taken near the final days of my eyelash extensions' life cycle.

on day 25, i have one eyelash just chilling on my left eye. and my right eye still has some but they are wonky and prefer to point in all directions.
the next day, i decide enough was enough and it was all in for the mascara. i needed to make my eyelashes look normal ASAP.
this worked on day 27 for my left eye! whoo hoo! one eye to go.
day 28 - about 3 left. so close! i can't even say for sure the actual day i finally lost all the extensions because i just started using mascara a lot and lost track, but i'd say these eyelash extensions lasted about 30 days.

counting eyelashes lost:
Day 26 (April 18) - lost 1 in the afternoon
Day 27 (April 19) - lost 1 at night ... left eye is now bare!
Day 28 (April 20) - lost 1 in the morning
Day 29 (April 21) - lost 1 in the morning (intentional because it was just hanging there since yesterday and i had to lose a real eyelash because of this as well... boooo)

summary:
the last eyelash fell out around the 30th day, but i wouldn't say this is necessarily a good thing since i lost the majority in my second week.
i had a voucher for these extensions ($50 for a full set of mink eyelashes) and including tip and taxes, it came to about $80 (i also wasn't sure how much you'd normally tip for this service). even though it was much cheaper than regular price, i feel that i would not make another similar purchase in the near future.
i found the hassle of maintaining the extensions as well as the odd behavior of the extensions (curling in the opposite direction, being stuck to the middle of my eyelash rather than the root) was not worth the price. i also did not enjoy the uneven look of my lashes as they began to fall out - the extensions on my left eye fell out at a much more rapid rate than my right. not to mention, there was the initial pain of sleeping with the eyelash extensions as well as if you accidentally push down against them (i.e. pushing my glasses up my nose).
i must admit though, i loved the way my eyelashes looked in the first week - very dark, full long AND curled. but this only lasts for so long before all the other problems come into play.
i feel that i am much more comfortable just wearing mascara or if i really wanted to put in the extra effort, i'd apply some fake eyelashes.

so here's a quick photo recap:

i hope you have enjoyed reading about my experience with them. let me know if you had had them too and if you had any tips. thanks :)

REVIEW: Mink Eyelash Extensions - Week 3

so here we are at week 3 with the eyelash extensions. i'd have to say it wasn't a very good week.
if you'd like, you can compare them with week 1 and week 2.
i have no idea why but my left eye is almost completely bare as compared to my right eye. it looks quite strange..

if you look at the top right picture, you can see an eyelash that is just barely hanging there - it isn't glued down at the base.
so by Day 20, i was down to 2 extensions on the left eye. i decided then that it was much better to have my normal eyelashes and wear mascara instead of having two random eyelashes that stuck out like a sore thumb.
sooo to achieve this i began using mascara (which was not recommended - sohni skin & hair studio suggested their mascara specifically made for eyelash extensions). those 2 extensions remained stubborn for a couple days and i still have 1 of them today (which looks completely ridiculous - you will see pictures soon).
i recall the lady who applied my eyelash extensions spending less time on my left eye since she did that after my right eye (perhaps it was getting tedious) AND the fact that my right eye had more time for the glue to settle in than the left one. i guess these factors made a huge difference.

here is a quick comparison with before and Day 15 (sorry i forgot to take one for Day 20!). my left eye extensions seem to prefer curling downward than curling up :(
again, trying to keep a record of eyelashes lost:
Day 15 (April 7) - lost 1 in the morning
Day 16 (April 8) - 1 in the afternoon
Day 19 (April 11) - lost 1 at night
Day 20 (April 12) - lost 1 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon

one thing i noticed recently was that when i wore my glasses and i pushed them back up when they began to slip on my nose, i'd occasionally hit my eyelash extensions in such a way that they'd press into my eyeball - there'd be a painful moment where i'd have to squeeze my eyes shut until my eyes watered and the pain went away. maybe it's just me or how my glasses sit on my nose or something but it wasn't a pleasant feeling.
so i guess we are nearing the end of the eyelash extensions! week 4 coming up!
(oh and my Topbox should be delivered shortly!!)

REVIEW: Mink Eyelash Extensions - Week 2

soo a quick update on my lashes situation.
i apologize for not taking more pictures this week. please check out my first week here. by the 7th day, my lashes are completely different from a week ago. as i mentioned earlier, the extensions near the inner corner have fallen out which you can see in the pictures. (sorry for the color on my eyelids - it is so difficult to take off makeup since i have to be so gentle!) my eyelash extensions have also decided to turn in different directions. they've become a little tangled and requires some brushing to separate them.

i also posted a picture from the 9th day. i was driving when i noticed something was blurring my vision. once i parked, i found that one of my eyelashes have gone limp. BUT the thing is, it was still stuck onto the middle of my real eyelash - not the base, but the middle. so it just hangs there. sadly, this was the beginning of a common occurrence. as you can see, the extensions have also started to lose their curl.

so again, trying to keep count of eyelashes lost:
Day 8 (March 31): lost 1 in the afternoon
Day 9 (April 1): lost 1 in the morning, 1 in afternoon
Day 10 (April 2): lost 1 in the morning
Day 13 (April 5): lost 1 at night
i also found a few lying around my pillow.. i probably lose the majority of them during my sleep.

today, i must say i am not happy with my lashes. my left eye has lost almost every single eyelash extension (probably like 2 left - which does NOT look good) while my right eye still looks decent. i went out the other night and i had to put falsies on but only on my left eye just so it can balance out a bit. the falsies were much curlier than the extensions so it didn't work out too well. i am seriously thinking of using oil-based products on my left eye to completely get rid of the extensions that are left just so i can start using mascara. stay tuned for week 3 results!

i want to take the time now to mention something super exciting!
Steph Shoeaddict from Budget Fashionista held a birthday giveaway near the end of March and i won! so stoked to win a JustFab gift card - i have been building up quite a list of items i wanted to get for my first purchase so i am definitely very very excited. i never win giveaways (or anything really) so whoohoo! thank you so much Steph and happy belated birthday! she has some great shoes so check her out :)

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 :)