Trendlet: Lash lifts

Unless you're born with them, keeping eyelashes long and lush is a major beauty chore. Full fake strips slip off, partial strips shift to crooked - especially after a workout. And after a few weeks, extensions fall right on out, leaving gaping holes in the lash line. Enter the latest fluttering alternative.

Lash lifts safely lengthen natural lashes and add a deep curl. It almost looks as if you slept with eyelash curlers clamped to your lids.

Here's how it works: A licensed cosmetologist molds the client's eyelashes around a silicone eye pad, brushes on a solution that straightens out the natural curl - thus lengthening them - and applies setting lotion and a nourishing oil treatment. The eye pad acts as a roller, so when it's removed, lashes are noticeably longer with a soft, upward curl.

It takes about 45 minutes - and costs from $100 to $200 - for lash perfection that lasts about two months, or until the natural lash grows out. Mascara is optional.

Lash lifts are a new take on the lash perm, introduced to the world of beauty in the 1970s. Back then, lashes were straightened and then set on teeny-tiny rollers for Farah Fawcett-style lashes. The straightening solutions, however, were harsh, and the technique dropped out of favor.

Fast-forward 40-some years to 2010, and the beauty-obsessed wanted fuller lashes. Lash extensions - where hair is added to the end of lashes - were introduced to the general market. And Latisse, a prescription solution, offered quick growth - but with possible side effects. Around 2011, beauty companies such as Lash Lift by Victoria, Nouveau Lashes, and Babydoll started introducing products - mainly referred to as "lifts" - that lengthen and curl lashes with more gentle ingredients. They dropped the word "perm."

Now that women are posting glammed-out selfies daily on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, it's imperative that their eyebrows - and eyelashes - are always on fleek. Meaning: fabulous.

Anyone who wants to look like a movie star every day. The celebrity best known for getting lashes lifted is Kim Kardashian. But other famous faces with long lashes include Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, and Kerry Washington. Wedding dress designer Irina Sigal is a lash lifter, as is Main Line philanthropist and socialite Amy Burnham.

I have an appointment on the books.

Long lashes enhance everyone. If you've got the cash and an extra 45 minutes to burn, I say, why not?

215-854-2704

@ewellingtonphl