I know some make-up artists and lash-wearers like to get the lashes on first. Their idea is that you can apply make-up as normal and not have to worry about messing up your hard work if it starts going wrong. Me? I like applying them last. Several reasons. First, I want to keep a balance. If I apply the lashes first, I tend to apply too much make-up on the eye to balance out the lashes. More importantly, I always end up mucking up the lashes with liners and brushes, no matter how gentle I am! That is what I find works for me. Some women like to apply a liquid liner before applying the lashes to help disguise any gap between the false lashes and the real ones and to hide the little knots on the fibre. I would rather practice a bit more and make sure I have the false lashes up neat and close to the natural lashline. But you really will have to play around and try to figure out what works best for you. Don't try to do this for the first time right before you are going out. It would be worth buying a second (or cheaper pair) to practice with. For more information on. If you have a set in your hands, let's give it a go!

Full sets
Apply your eye make-up as usual. I now usually apply a single coat of mascara and follow that with a heated lash curler. This gives me a better guide for the false lashes, but it is by no means a necessity. This is just experience and finding out something that has worked well for me. If you are a 'clamp' lash curler, you could give them a little bend and then apply a fine coat of mascara. One of the reasons this seems to work so well is that most false eyelashes have a sweeping lift, so if your lashes are straight, they will show as two[quote] separate lines of lashes. Now, with tweezers, gently pull the strip of lashes off the backing. Be really careful… if you get them out of line, they will always look a little bit mangled when you have them on. Gently lay them along the lashline to ensure the fit will be correct. If you need to shorten the strand, cut from the outside edge. Most lashes are graduated from the inner corner to the outer corner, so the logical place to take off excess is the outer corner. Apply a thin line of glue to the lashes and blow on it to start the drying process. Experience has taught me that a halfway-dry line of glue is far easier to work with than a wet one. Look either down or directly into a mirror. Lay the lashes on your own natural eyelashes and then simply push the false set back. If they seem to have lined up, gently press them into place. If they have not gone on perfectly, lift off the part (or entire strip) and re-position. Press back into place. If this second time it has still not gone on, take them off, peel off the glue, and do it all over again. Be careful pulling off the glue, so the line of the lashes stays straight. While the glue is tacky, you can lift and re-stick inner and outer corners for quite a while until they are comfortable. Now, ensure they are comfortable before moving on! You are going to feel the weight of them for a while, so make sure you don't leave either side with a feeling of imbalance or scratchiness. This will ruin your evening, as you will be aware of the lashes all night. You will need to get used to them, but they should feel no heavier than a really dramatic application of mascara. You may need to apply a little bit of liquid liner to blend the line of the lashes, especially in the inner corner. I am partial to lashes that are on a coloured fibre, so this is much less of a problem. Now you can seal your lashes together with the false ones with a quick lick of mascara for added security – though this will make them harder to reuse. Or use your heated lash curler to blend your natural lashes into the false ones… this is another benefit of the heated lash wand. If you can avoid applying mascara to the false eyelashes, you can use them over and over again. Always remember the glue looks white until it dries, then it is clear and invisible. So don't panic!

Individual lashes
Do all of your eye make-up as usual, including mascara. Look for gaps and choose individual false lashes that are more or less the same length as yours. Decide if you want them to be a temporary 'night out' thing or something that will last you a couple of weeks and choose your glue accordingly. If you are new to this, go with temporary glue. Using tweezers, pick up a clump of individual lashes, dip them in the adhesive, and blow on it to start the drying process. Place the glued end right into your natural lashline where there are gaps or on the outer corners where you want to thicken the natural line. Move them into place by manipulating the individual lash with your tweezers and then allow it to dry. If you are not happy once they are in, take the tweezers, remove them, and do it over with a new lash. I often like adding three or four individual clumps to any party make-up to add a little bit of drama.

Half-lashes
For half-lashes and flared outer corners, follow the instructions for full lashes. Cut the lashes to half, or if you have purchased a set of outer flares (RMK, MAC), you are set. Shu Uemura does a long line of lashes that you can cut off whatever size piece you want. All of these work the same way.