A lesson in fake nails, lashes and budget cosmetics

It seems the world and her mother are trying to save money by the old DIY beauty these days. I had my eyelashes and eyebrow tinted with a little tidy of the eyebrow before going on holidays recently and it cost me €35. After initially being too dark for 24 hours, I didn’t really notice it after two days. My daughter told me I had wasted my money and should have let her do it at home.

I had bought an eyebrow tint in a hairdressing suppliers last year and she has been going at it goodo since.

A few weeks back those of us who write about beauty in print and online and some makeup artists in the west of Ireland were invited to two events by cosmetics companies, which is unusual because they generally do all these kinds of events in Dublin.

These are two budget brands, Kiss and Note, which are increasingly in demand in these high inflation times. Kiss is the market leader in fake lashes and nails. Note has cornered the market in very affordable foundation, lipsticks, mascara and other makeup essentials.

After years of spending a great deal of money on the latter in the belief that the quality was worth it, it’s a real eye-opener what is now available for much smaller money.

I did try mink eyelashes once and loved them until they started falling out one by one. And then some of my own lashes started falling out, which was a shock as I have decently long ones.

So it was the last time I went down this path. But I’m in the minority.

At the Hyde, I was one of only two out of 15 people who did not have the falsies on for the Kiss event. Thick, long lashes are very much in vogue and the bloggers and makeup artists who turned out for our summer outing were raving about them.

Photo: Fake eyelashes can look great if you know how to apply.