The Makeup Mole

At Makeup Mole HQ we’re always looking for the best of everything – let’s face it, life is too short to deal with poor pigmentation, nasty and outdated color selections and downright inferior glamorization products.

So when faced with the challenge of false lashes, what does every makeup artist I know reach for? Duo Surgical Adhesive. It’s a tiny tube of lash attaching goodness that comes in black or white (although the white dries clear). The latex is gentle enough to hold the most diva of lashes but sturdy enough to hold even the most cantilevered of lash canopies all day (or night). As an added bonus it can also affix rhinestones, crystals or whatever makeup madness takes your fancy to the face or body.

If you’ve been batting 1000 and finding yourself with two spiders mating on your cheeks, it’s time to get out of the drugstore and go to the hardcore – MAC, or a theatrical supply shop like Screenface or Charles Fox in London both stock it.

It’s quite simply the best lash glue on the market. Because repeat after me: the lashes can be any old cheap-ass tranny affair, but the glue must be DUO!

Even if you’re wearing diamond encrusted, fox fur numbers (don’t laugh, it’s been done before – ahem, Madonna), if they’re hanging off your eyelid it’s a lot less luxe and a lot more crazy homeless person. Simply apply to the lash (or lash cluster), and wave it around for about ten seconds whilst the glue gets tacky, then cuddle the lash into your lash line. Provided you’ve done it right they will stay until you peel ‘em off.

If you’ve been battling with those nasty little tubes of no-name eyelash adhesive and wondering why you’re so rubbish at false eyelashes, try some Duo, and come back to me. It’s not you, it’s the glue!

Oh how do I love thee, let me count the ways:

 1.    Your fat, squidgy brush snuggles against my lashline and oh so gently follows the curve of the lashes until, hark! All the lashes are evenly distributed with a dense, perfect pigment, and not in any way spiky, clumpy or Liza Minelli-esque. The brush itself is like Chanel Inimitable on steroids – it solves the problems of that brush by adding in an extra layer of bristles so you don’t get spiky prongs for lashes.

 2.    You don’t flake, smear or end up needing to be repaired halfway through a shoot (or a long day at work since I love you so much you are also in my personal makeup bag, which I might add is gradually improving since I shamed myself in a previous post with the sadness of my personal makeup collection).

 3.    You can be layered, for multiple coats that give full, glam lashes and not the crunchy ones that you can’t drag the wand through. (That is nasty!)

 4.    As well as brown and black you come in gorgeous colors with a hint of color, like Smoky Violine and my favourite, Smoky Marine which is amazing on blue eyes.  It’s not obvious that it’s a deep navy, it just makes blue eyes pop (fear not those who think this might be straying into Lady Di territory, it’s a deep, rich cobalt, not an electric Duran Duran turquoise).

 5.    Your packaging is exactly what we would expect in one of the greatest fashion brands ever – sleek, slick and iconic, and makes you feel like a rock star every time you pull it out.

 6.    Apparently it is an “intense volume and curl mascara”, which makes sense as thick, gorgeous lashes is what we’re all craving – it’s hard to bat your eyes seductively with a fringe that is stick straight and stumpy.

 7.    The ad, which can be viewed below is gorgeous enough to make me do pretty much anything this mascara asks. (Except maybe volunteer to talk to a clown at the circus, because I’m really scared of them).

 You really are Exceptionnel (Chanel that is)