The eyelash extension trend in Waterloo has quite frankly got people lashin’ out. This beauty trend is something that has allowed individuals to enhance their own beauty without using makeup to ultimately feel confident and beautiful.
Lindsay Stevenson, a third-year global studies student at Wilfrid Laurier University, runs her own eyelash extension business out of her apartment.
Instantly becoming hooked to the eyelash extension trend, Stevenson shares how she got started and what exactly eyelash extensions are.
“You use tweezers and you kind of look at the lashes and isolate them and you glue the eyelash extension to the real lash,” said Stevenson.
You lay down on a bed or flat surface as the specialist begins to place the extension lashes on the real lashes.
“The lashes are synthetic mink plastic. I don’t use the real ones because they are more expensive and there’s also silk ones but those are more expensive as well. There isn’t really too much of a difference except for the weight of them on your eyes,” said Stevenson.
Stevenson said that this new beauty trend has turned into a passion and business venture.
“I got [eyelash extensions] once for a vacation and they never came off. I was really interested to see if I could try and do them myself or for other people,” she said.
“I honestly never thought that I would be doing lashes. I follow this girl on Instagram and she was having a promo for September to do a training course, so I just said now or never, before school gets busy, I’ll try it out and see if I like it — I ended up really liking it,” said Stevenson.
Stevenson doesn’t just do eyelash extensions for the purpose of profit but actually wears them and believes that these extensions can save time in the morning.
“I’m not sure about why other people wear eyelashes but I like it for the purpose of time and my lashes are really straight and not curly at all so I just find that putting on mascara is so time consuming. I’d rather lay down once a month for an hour than put on mascara every day,” said Stevenson.
Stevenson said that there are many different ways to wear your eyelash extensions; lashes are easily customizable to her liking.
“I always love the D-Curl; those are the curliest ones that I like but obviously give people the options that they can do. The C-Curl is another kind that is also popular. My main motto, however, is ‘go big or go home’.”
Now for the moment that we have all been waiting for: how much do these babies cost?
Stevenson’s pricing is competitive for the Waterloo area as beauty salons and spas have rates up to $200 per fill.
“I do $80 for a full set, $40 for a 2 week fill and $50 for a 3 week fill,” said Stevenson.
I follow this girl on Instagram and she was having a promo for September to do a training course, so I just said now or never.
-Lindsay Stevenson, third-year global studies student
When asked if she was planning to build her eyelash extension business into an empire, Stevenson says she wants to continue practicing her passion but possibly pursue a different career path.
“I’m in third-year and I’m just trying to get my degree but this is something that I can see myself doing in the meantime. I really like school and I want to get my degree … I’m open to opening up my own place however, way in the future,” she said.