Eyelash Extensions

So let's talk extensions. I'm talking eyelash extensions. This is something I've thought a lot about. I used to wear strip falsies. You know, for New Years and my birthday and such events. Looking back, I looked like a fool. Nothing natural about them at all. Just big gobs of black spikes on my eyeballs. Here I am with my not-so-subtle look.

I hated the whole strip lash process. I didn't trim them so they poked into my eyeballs. I used too much glue and you could see it. If one corner popped off (which happened frequently), I squeezed some more glue in there and shoved it back on. I didn't clean them properly. I ripped them off at the end of the night. All in all, a terrible experience and a terrible look.

I gave up on lashes for years and figured I was just stuck with the little stubs I was born with. I starting curling my real lashes, which I never did before, and I was happy with that for a while. Then when I tried Maybelline Falsies, I loved it so much that I was actually ok with having stubs. With a curler and some mascara, they weren't so stubby after all.

This is what I thought were long eyelashes. These just look like slightly longer stubs with tons of mascara scraped on them. I still had eyelash envy. I would scour celebrity photos obsessing over their long lashes. I was amazed at how long theirs were. I legitimately thought that other people just had amazing natural lashes and I just got the short end of the stick.

Little did I know it was all thanks to lash extensions. It blew my mind when I first heard about this little miracle. I thought it was heaven sent. Long luscious lashes just glued onto your own and they stayed in for weeks?! Sign me up! I was all gung-ho about it. Then my friend got them... and hated them. Then another friend got them... and hated them. Then I started reading reviews online... and people hated them. Tales of horror filled my mind: my own eyelashes falling out, burning eyes, itchy eyes, blindness. I imagined it all. And then you add the price on top of that. And then the price for fillers that you need every month. What started out as one of the best discoveries ever soon turned into a huge letdown. It was back to the drawing board for me, which meant learning how to love my little stubs again.

Then one night while browsing the makeup aisles in Walmart, I walked past the false lashes section. And then I turned around and walked back over. And then I remembered my past experiences with them and kept on walking. And then I thought, it was years ago, maybe they have new improved ones so I turned around again and started looking. As I was reliving the head-shaking missteps of my past lash adventures, my bestie, Cait, walks over and looks at the package in my hand. She says, "Those are the lashes from the MMandL video. They're supposed to stay in for a few weeks." Now, if you don't know who MMandL are, click that link and go obsessively watch all of their videos like I did when I first discovered them. But read the rest of this first!

My first reaction was disbelief, but then I started to feel the hope creep in. I thought and thought and thought about it. Could Walmart lashes really be that great? Am I just another fool falling for some marketing gimmick? Should I wait and do my research at home before buying them? Nope, not today. My impulsive-Walmart-shopper alter ego took over and I scooped those babies up. The good thing is they are less than $10(!!) so if they sucked, I was ok with that. I was planning on trying them out right away, but I was exhausted when I got home and fell right into bed. I decided to wait until the weekend when I could dedicate a good chunk of time into the process. I thought about them constantly for the next three days. Just sitting there on my dresser, waiting for me to try them, taunting me almost. 

The big day finally came... I tried them... and... I can't decide if I like them!

My first thought was holyyyy, I have longggg lashes! I was so excited! But then I noticed that they didn't feel that sturdy. I thought maybe the glue hadn't settled yet. But then hours later, they still felt that way and when I lightly grabbed one, it fell right out! 

I think the problem was that I was so afraid of using too much glue that I didn't use enough. So I pulled off a couple loose ones, dunked them in more glue, and reattached them. I decided to wait until the morning to see how they would hold up overnight.

I was surprised and delighted to find that they were all still intact! My hope was glimmering again. The only problem now was that when I put my glasses on, they were way too long and poked into my lenses. Ughhh, damn you, first world problem. So I curled them. And I didn't like them as much. I felt like they were a little less natural looking.

Note: There's a weird shadow on my face from my iphone. Just ignore that. It's fine.

So overall, I do like them. The only thing I don't like is that they still poke my glasses and they're not as natural looking as I would like.

I'll do another update to let you know how long they lasted for. I'm going to keep them in for as long as I can just to see if they live up to their promise.

Have you ever tried lashes?? Let me know how your experience was and recommend any that worked for you!

Walmart Spending and Makeup Saving

Ok, so there's something I need to talk about. I don't know why I have such a problem, but it's something I should address. You see, every time I go into a certain store, I end up leaving with armfuls of items even if I didn't need anything to begin with. Now this sometimes happens in other stores, but this one store in particular gets me every time. And that store... is Walmart.

Now let me just clarify something. I live in Canada and, until recently, we didn't have Target. Now my Walmart spending has turned into Target spending.

From makeup, hair products, shoes, clothes, anything really. I turn a corner and I find something else I like.

I can't help it. I find so many things I like and they don't cost that much! Except when you add them all up and your bill ends up being over $100 every time you go there. Sigh..

That is exactly why I have become a fan of dupes. What are dupes, you say? Knock offs, rip offs, imitations, look-alikes, and what have you. They are a diva-on-a-budget's friend. I don't mean the kind of knockoffs you have to go down a back alley to buy or buy out of someone's van. Don't go getting yourself in trouble trying to save a buck. I'm talking about drugstore versions of pricey items. I love drugstore makeup. I hate the idea of spending so much money on something I'm just going to wash off at the end of the day.

The first dupe I love is Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Light. It's matte with just a hint of sheer shimmer. This is a dupe for NYC Sunny but I've never tried their version. I found the Rimmel bronzer before I even realized it was a dupe. Score one for me!

I love Maybelline's Falsies Mascara. It's been my favourite mascara for a while. It lengthens enough that my little puny eyelashes actually look nice and it's only $7! While that's nice, it doesn't thicken as much as I would like so I might switch it up next time.

Like my eyelashes, my eye brows have a tendency to disappear in pictures. They're blonde-ish and tiny. I fill them in with a pencil right now and I like that enough, but I really wanted to try something else. Cara from Maskcara recently did a whole bunch of posts about eyebrows (go check them out!) and she recommended MAC's Omega for blondes. As excited as I was to finally have a good product recommended from someone whose opinion I trust, I was disappointed at having to shell out $15 on a little tiny eye shadow. Well, after some googling, I finally found a dupe! Maybelline's 70D Browntones. Unlucky for me, I can't seem to find it anywhere, so I'm still on the hunt for that one.

For blush, I currently use Sephora Blush Me in Rose Rebelle No 1. I know it's not drugstore, but I love this colour. It's just the right amount of pink to not be too overwhelming, but enough to give you a natural flushed look. It looks pretty shimmery in this picture, but it's not really.

What are your favourite dupes or drugstore finds?