Want naturally full lashes for the summer? Lash technician Camilla Kirk-Reynolds, who has counted Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Renée Zellweger, Lara Stone, Elle Macpherson, and royals among her clients, says that her specialist LED application delivers naturally full lashes with an extra-long wear time. Now taking private appointments during her limited residency for Tru & Beyond, the celebrity lash expert also known as Camilla Lashes promises less damage to your natural lashes as well as longer-lasting extensions. “I use a new technology, that uses LED light to cure a gel-based adhesive that then connects the extension to the natural lash. Unlike regular lash adhesives which cure over time with any excess hydrogen in the air and dries to a very hard and brittle finish – hence needing to keep them dry for a certain amount of time after your appointment – the gel-based adhesive is cured instantly upon the LED light being turned on. This then creates a strong yet flexible finish to the bond which lasts significantly longer than anything else on the market,” she explains.
The results can last a significantly longer time than your standard eyelash extensions. “With regular adhesive, you can expect infills between the two to three and a half week mark, and for them to look okay for up to four weeks approximately. With the longer lasting Lynk-Gel adhesive, you can expect infills at the six to seven-week mark and for the lashes to look good for anything up to ten and a half weeks with the correct aftercare and your lash cycles working in your favor.” While based in London, Kirk-Reynolds plans to visit Dubai for lash extensions refill appointments every four to six weeks, a testament to the expected wear time of her lashes.
Thanks to the LED-curing technique, some of the usual extensions rules no longer apply. Most notably, clients are able to wash their face and get their lash extensions wet immediately after their session. However to ensure a long lifecycle, Kirk-Reynolds emphasizes that it’s best to continue treating your lashes with care. “The less you can do to the lashes will increase their longevity, as the biggest reason these extensions shed is wear and tear. This includes applying and removing makeup, rubbing your eyes, excess brushing of the lashes, sleeping directly on the lashes, and excessive swimming without goggles. Another thing you should avoid is also lint, so this includes no cotton wool, no cotton wool buds, no face wipes, and no flannels as they have the potential to pull the extensions out and damage your lashes,” she warns.
Originally working as a Hollywood makeup artist, it was on the set of The Other Boleyn Girl”, starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, and Kristen Scott Thomas, that Kirk-Reynolds first started investigating lash extensions. “This was the first period feature film to be shot in HD, and whilst filming I learnt that Natalie Portman, who was playing Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, and was wearing mascara. Yet Scarlett Johansson was only having her eyelashes tinted. Kristen Scott Thomas, who was playing their mother, was wearing strip lashes that were made by hand with real human hair, and thrown away after each use,” she recalls. “I felt like Natalie, who is already so gorgeous, didn’t need as much to her lashes as mascara. Scarlett could have done with more ‘umph’, and Kristen could have done with something less wasteful and expensive. I asked the makeup artists on the film if there was anything else out there. After all, if Hollywood doesn’t know a certain trick, then it’s generally not worth knowing! I couldn’t believe there was nothing in between mascara, tinting and strip lashes in 2006. I had no idea what I was looking for, but I knew there had to be something out there.” After visiting trade shows and building her reputation for elegant extensions with her A-lister clients, Kirk-Reynolds now champions the LED application technique as the best way to get long-lasting, naturally beautiful lashes.
While the Middle East is famous for larger-than-life eyelashes, new season beauty trend, like the ‘quiet luxury’ trend, place an emphasis on beauty elements which look natural and intuitive, yet well-crafted. “One of the things I’m known for, and I would consider my speciality, is making lashes look ‘real’,” shares Kirk-Reynolds. “I think that the word ‘natural’ is used a lot in the lash world and I have often heard people saying that they want ‘natural’ looking lashes. But over time I have learnt that this just means neat or tidy work, not messy or twisting lashes.” The lash expert says that her priority is combining lashes that look beautiful, but also protect the natural lash from damage. “I will never apply anything to a client’s lashes which is going to damage them, especially because at the end of the day, the better your natural lashes the easier it is for me to apply a good set of lashes. There will always be a market for people who prefer a slightly more sophisticated, subtle look, that purely enhances their natural beauty rather than something that is screamingly obvious and takes over your entire look, I am here to offer that to clients.”
Camilla Lashes is available by private appointment with Tru & Beyond, Dubai, with availability from June 26-27 2023.
