Primalashes Extensions Review
By Annette Kellow
Eyelash extensions are have been around for decades- from the fluttery film stars of the 1940’s to the more modern day fashion catwalk looks, they bring a feminine allure in an effortless style. But would they work for me? And more importantly where is the best place to get the procedure done?
I had read a few horror stories online after some late night googling (which is not always a good idea as they love to tell you what could go wrong!) So, after much research on various beauty sites, I decided to try Prima Lashes, a boutique lash extension clinic in the heart of Bond Street, that offers comfort and luxury in one. Admittedly, I was nervous (I’d never ventured into the land of lash extensions before) but as soon as I walked in I was immediately put at ease by the friendly staff.
Primalashes started in 2008 after Priscilla, the owner, had several bad experiences trying to find a reputable lash salon in London (including having her eyes glued shut in one place- ek!) So she decided to train and open a location dedicated only to the application of high quality eyelash extensions with her focus more on natural sets, and where even dramatic lashes are made to look like they could be your own. This of course is what I wanted- to look like the lashes were elegant, chic and more importantly suited my face.
After an extensive consultation in which we discussed the exact look I wanted for my lashes we decided on a vintage style and quite full as although my lashes are longish they are certainly not full! I was recommended to try the Russian Volume lashes, a relatively new but very popular lash type.
First of all I was made comfortable on the clinic bed and then gel pads were stuck – gently! – underneath both eyes to keep my lower lashes out of the way. This isn't uncomfortable at all, indeed as it was a hot day they felt quite refreshing! My technician used a multi lash technique for applying the Russian Volume lashes and each natural lash was carefully isolated with a fine tweezer. Using a handmade fan of extra fine mink lashes, these were applied to each natural lash, thus creating the illusion of having more natural lashes. The process doesn’t hurt at all, actually quite the opposite and the usual thing happened to me when lying down- I drifted straight off to sleep!
My technician used up to 10 lashes as a cluster to create very a dense and voluminous look which is called hyper volume. This is why Russian Volume lashes take longer to apply than normal lashes and a fanning technique is used. It is more time consuming than normal lashes and also selecting the number of fans and density of each lash is important which is why it takes a minimum of 1 hour and a half to do a full set of Russian Volume lashes at Primalashes. Not that I minded of course, I got to relax, sleep and I found the whole process very easy indeed!
By the end I couldn’t wait to see what they looked like. The big reveal was exactly what I was hoping for- long luscious thick fanned dark curled lashes! I was also surprised at how natural they looked—with just a bit of added thickness, the length was not overly long but enough to create a gentle flair around my eyes.
I was a bit worried on how to care for them and was informed for the first 48 hours they should be kept completely away from water. This includes oil based eye creams and face moisturisers. Also, no sauna or steam rooms and most importantly, no mascara on the lashes, which you would not need anyway. Mascara may contain oil which will break down the glue and will close the handmade fans making the extensions look clumpy. I also wanted them to last as long as possible so definitely was not interested in adding mascara to them.
I hoped I could do them justice and keep them in good condition so they would stay! But how long do Russian lashes actually last for? Prima Lashes usually advise having infills every 2-3 weeks to keep them in great condition as you will loose lashes in line with your natural lash growth cycle. By 6-8 weeks, all the lashes would have fallen off without infills anyway so it’s worth taking that extra care of them.
My final fluttery verdict? They are great for saving time, looking chic whilst you can definitely tone down your makeup application as they are effortlessly stylish. And anything that saves time and looks good is a winner in my book!
16 South Molton St, Mayfair, London W1K 5QS
Submitted by avogel on 2 July, 2018 - 20:02