How To: Apply False Eyelashes

If you've got a special event coming up where you want to look your best, false eyelashes make a dramatic difference in enhancing your eyes and creating a sexy look that's part Bambi, part Kim Kardashian. But it's definitely a skill that takes practice. That's why we created this guide to applying your own falsies without the help of a professional, complete with product recommendations and mistakes to avoid.

Latina makeup pro Rebecca De Herrera depends on Make Up For Ever Eyelashes for her celebrity clients ($14, sephora.com). But she'll also use the drugstore brand Ardell Fashion Lashes ($3.49, drugstore.com). Most makeup junkies will vouch for Duo Eyelash Adhesive Dark Tone ($5.99, drugstore.com) as the glue of choice for applying lashes.

Begin with a finished face. All of your eye makeup should be applied and ready to go.

Roll the eyelash strip out with your thumbs.

Hold the eyelashes up to your own eyes to get a quick measurement. Cut accordingly.

Take a Q-tip and add a dab of glue to middle of the stick part (not the cotton swab part!). Using your fingers, rub off any glue that's attached to the false lashes.

Swipe a tiny amount of glue along the lash strip so it's evenly distributed. If there's too much in some spots, wipe it off with your finger tips so just the right amount is left.

Wait at least 45 seconds for the glue to become tacky.

Bend and wiggle the falsies so they become more pliable.

Working one section at a time, begin in the outer eye and apply the lashes to the base of the real lashes. DO NOT let them touch your real eyelashes, or else you'll be pulling out your real lashes at some point when you want to remove them. Work towards the middle.

Allow them to dry a bit.

Blend the falsies with your real lashes by curling them together with an eyelash curler.

Apply a light coat of mascara to further blend the falsies with your real ones. But you won't need too much at this point, because you'll already have a fabulous fringe framing your eyes.

Suerte!

—Serena Kim