If you read any US beauty blogs or watch American beauty youtubers, you'll probably have heard of ESQIDO false eyelashes already. They're Tati's favourite (glam life guru on youtube) and I love her, so I desperately wanted to try the lashes she raves about! They're now available to us in the UK, and I have two pairs of their luxury, cruelty free mink lashes to try out.
I know some people will be against using these lashes because they're mink and not synthetic, but my understanding of cruelty free mink is that the furry little coats are brushed to release loose hairs which are then used for the lashes, so the animals aren't harmed.
The mink gives some seriously silky, beautiful looking, fluttery lashes. They're attached to quite a thick and sturdy band, and the lashes are actually re-usable up to around 25 times. That's just as well, because being luxury lashes, they cost around £24 for each pair of lashes. Pricey I know, but if you can get that much use from them, then around £1 a wear is fine with me!
These are the BFF lashes, which give a really full and long but delicate result. They're one of the medium volume styles, but compared to my normal, stumpy, little lashes on the right, they still look very different and rather dramatic. I love the effect, and the thicker band means I don't need to add my usual trademark liquid liner.
There is a huge range of styles to choose from, and they all come in this sleek rose gold and white packaging, which is also good for popping the lashes back in and storing them safely for the next time you wear them. I found the lashes to be pretty long width-wise for my eyes, as I usually do with false lashes, so I carefully trimmed the band on each end. The best way I've found to do this is with nail clippers, to get a nice precise and even edge.
The second pair that I have are one of the bolder styles for some serious impact. These ones are called Unforgettable, and whereas I might wear the BFF lashes during the day if I was feeling fancy, the Unforgettable lashes are definitely more suited to a night out. They're very similar in style and shape, graduating in length towards the outer edge for a winged effect, they just pack in a lot more lashes for a real look-at-me volumised result.
The lashes don't come with any glue, so you use your own preferred brand that you've got with some other lashes in the past, or you could buy a full size tube of lash glue - I've been using the DUO lash adhesive in dark, and I noticed DUO is actually the brand ESQIDO recommends in their lash care guide. This also has lots of tips for caring for the lashes when you apply and remove and helping them to last.
I really love the look of these lashes, but I wouldn't recommend them for beginners. If you've never applied false lashes before, or are bad at it, then I'd say keep practising with some cheaper lashes until you've got the process down. Personally I'm not the best at applying lashes, although I'm a lot better than I used to be, and I did struggle with these a bit. The thick band makes the lashes fairly robust and helps when you pick them up, but I found that it was slightly more difficult for me to get them in position and to flex to the shape of my eye than with flimsier lashes I've used, if you see what I mean. Also, you do have to really treat the lashes with care to avoid any of the individual lashes shedding away from the band - I lost a few by accidentally holding the lashes and not the band during one unsuccessful application, so don't do that!
If you're a pro at applying your lashes then I think you'll really love these - the quality and the finished look when these are on if phenomenal. I'm going to be taking great care of these lashes from now on, just getting them out for special occasions and applying with plenty of time and patience!
You can order ESQIDO false eyelashes direct from Esqido.com - the prices are shown in US Dollars, but they'll be shipped to you directly from their UK distribution centre, so no need to worry about customs charges. The lashes I tried are the BFF - $38 / £24 and Unforgettable - $36 / £23.
Have you heard of ESQIDO lashes before? What do you think of them?
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