With New Year’s eve soirées just around the corner, I’ve decided to reveal my secret weapon for quick glamour: false eyelashes (well they aren’t all that secret, they are false lashes after all, but they are glamourous). I naturally have stick-straight, medium-length, blonde lashes, and although I have found some great mascaras to enhance them, nothing can do it like a pair of well-done false eyelashes (then again, I haven’t tried Latisse yet). I’ll never forget the first time I wore them around my husband (who was just my boyfriend at the time)- he couldn’t pinpoint what I had done different but he kept complimenting me, telling me how gorgeous I looked. From that moment on I was hooked! I’ve worn them on my wedding day, to holiday parties and girls night out extravaganzas, and even on a Valentine’s Day or two. While false lashes are not for everyone and the glue along the lash line is something Paula doesn’t like (at least not on a regular basis), when done right the payoff can be fantastic. Of course, when done wrong you can be left looking like a mannequin. Allow me to spare you the false lash fiascos I have encountered by highlighting the tips and techniques I’ve mastered along the way.

Selecting the Right Pair
The point of wearing false lashes is to enhance what you naturally have, but there is a fine line to walk when determining how thick and long to go. It’s one thing if you are wearing a costume or going into theatrics, but if you want your faux lashes to look realistic avoid sets that are overly thick, strange-colored, or too long because they will just end up looking obviously fake or overpowering.

As with all cosmetics, when shopping for false eyelashes, spending more doesn’t necessarily equate to better a product. I’ve experimented with several brands and variations of lashes, and I always revert back to my personal favorite, Ardell Accents Lashes #305, which can be found in drugstores and run you about $3.50. Ardell’s eyelash adhesives also work quite well. Ardell Accents Lashes are great for beginners because they only cover your outer lash line, making them much easier to apply. If you do choose to go the more expensive route, self-proclaimed false eyelash experts Shu Uemura have an extraordinary selection of lashes and their boutiques offer “eyelash bars” where consultants will work with you to tailor a pair that suits your preferences.

Application Process
I find it best to apply my eyeliner, eyeshadow and mascara first. You may have to re-touch up your makeup once you’re done, but applying the eyeliner first will fill in any gaps you may have if you don’t get the false lashes exactly on your lash line. You’ll also avoid getting loose powder on your false lashes if you apply your eye makeup first; getting eyeshadow off your false lashes is no easy task.

Next, remove the false lashes from the packaging and bend and flex the lash strip band. This will provide more flexibility when applying them to the curvature of your lash line and will result in a more natural look. Practice placing the false lashes as close to your lash line as possible and experiment to see what looks best. You may need to trim the lash strip to fit your eye.

Once you’ve got that down, place a thin layer of lash adhesive along the band, making sure to coat the ends. You can use a toothpick or the end of your tweezers to spread the adhesive. Allow about 15 seconds or so for the adhesive to become a bit more tacky and then apply the strip as close to your lash base as possible, going just to the outer corner without extending beyond your natural lash line. Depending on the type of adhesive you’ve selected there may be areas where you can see the glue. Don’t worry: this should dry to an unnoticeable clear state. Retouch your eye makeup if needed and voila, you are done!

Words to the Wise
Although I don’t recommend adding this step to your daily makeup routine, for special occasions it is an impressive way to enhance your features and add more pizzazz to your look. Chances are it’s going to take some trial and error so don’t wait until 10 minutes before your special event to try false lashes for the first time. The fact that it took an entire blog to explain the process may be enough to scare some of you away, but for the daring souls who want to give it try here’s to fabulous faux lashes in 2010!

I am not one to think of fashion magazines as a secular version of a Bible, laden with must-haves for the season. In or out, I mean really, who cares? On the other hand, I’m critical. Not just of cosmetic products, but I always notice how a person is put together. One of my favorite sections of any magazine in the world is one found in Glamour. I don’t read this magazine for their articles on orgasms and the nitty-gritty details of how to get there, but for their often-hilarious their Do’s and Don’t section. You know, the section at the back of the magazine with pictures showing what clothing looks bad on a woman and what looks good.

Skirts and T-shirts that are so short or skimpy skin is popping out all over, and often rolls of skin hanging out.

High heels that are little more then stilts with the wearers barely able to stand up more or less walk.

And then they show the women who look put together. Clothing that matches, blouses and pants that fit, and accessories that don’t look out of place. Stuff like that. I love it.

While the clothing analysis is always great, what I wish they would include are makeup critiques. I would like to see that. I always wonder why women leave the house with their makeup looking as if they applied it without looking in the mirror even once. Don’t women notice that their mascara and liner is smeared all over the place, their eyebrows are etched on like a stripe of grease or a press-on decal resembling anything but brow hair, their foundation is so thick and mottled they look like they spackled on their makeup, or that their lipstick is so greasy it has traveled deep into the lines around their mouth. And then there’s the one we’ve all seen before: the dark lip line around the lips with a lighter color painted inside the line. Does anyone (including men) think that lip look is remotely attractive? Apparently, yes—I still see this today, in cities large and small.

Okay, I know I’m critical and perhaps my thinking a bit schizophrenic: on one hand I know none of this matters in the scheme of things, but I really do notice, and given how much time most of us spend getting dressed day in and day out, shouldn’t we be vested in getting it done right? Actually, I’d settle for presentable if “right” is too hard to achieve on some mornings!

I just finished an interview with a reporter from Glamour magazine. While I do hundreds of media interviews a year (including Oprah and The View) fashion magazines never call so I’m always a bit surprised when they do. I’ve sold more then 2 million books on skin care and beauty issues, which fashion magazines routinely ignore.

The Glamour reporter was very young and very polite and very honest. She kept saying, “Well I know they won’t let me print that” or, “maybe we can frame it a way that won’t upset our advertisers.” Her honesty was appreciated, but frustrating and maddening at the same time. It’s not that I haven’t heard it before. I’ve met dozens of fashion reporters who all echo the same sentiment: they can’t print what I write about despite the published research I have documenting the facts. It’s just so close to the New Year, I was hoping for something, well, new.

Maybe a fashion magazine would risk pissing off their advertisers to give women real objective information on beauty and skin care. Sigh. It isn’t going to happen, any more than fashion magazines are going to inform us about garment industry-run sweat shops or how high heels are killing women’s feet and knees. It isn’t going to happen, no how, no way. Fiction and fantasy is far more fashionable then facts.