5 Tips to Fake Long, Thick Eyelashes (Without Falsies)

Long, dark, thick eyelashes are the ultimate dream for most beauty lovers. They’re beautiful, they accentuate and frame your eyes, they help intensify any makeup look, and they wow everyone you meet. However, it is fairly rare to be born with naturally black, thick eyelashes that are long enough to touch your eyebrows. Those who were not lucky enough to have entered this world with eyelashes of their desired length and thickness often turn to false eyelashes in order to achieve the lashes they want.

Unfortunately, wearing false eyelashes every day can be expensive, time-consuming, and overall a grand hassle that most people would rather avoid. There are several ways to extend the length and increase the thickness of your eyelashes without applying false lashes, however. Read on the following tips to discover five ways to fake the appearance of long, thick eyelashes without using false lashes.

1. Curl Your Eyelashes Correctly

It is commonly known that curling your eyelashes can help them look longer, thicker, and more prominent. However, many makeup users remain unaware of how to correctly use an eyelash curler in order to maximize the increased length and thickness that you can achieve by curling your eyelashes.

In order to curl your eyelashes correctly, start with clean, dry lashes that you have not yet coated with mascara. Look downward and clamp the eyelash curler securely onto the base of your eyelashes as close as you can get to your eyelid without painfully clamping the skin. Make sure you clamp the base of your lashes in a straight line in order to achieve an even curl.

After you clamp the eyelash curler to the base of your lashes, hold it locked there for a full ten seconds before releasing to ensure that the curl will hold. Next, line up the eyelash curler with the middle of your lashes between the base and the tip. Clamp the curler and hold for another ten seconds before releasing. Finally, repeat this process with the very tips of your lashes.

Make sure that you line up the curler in a straight line each time before you clamp and hold each curl for a full ten seconds in order to ensure that your lashes end up with a natural-looking curve.

If your eyelashes usually have trouble holding a curl, you can help the curl last longer by heating the eyelash curler with a blowdryer before using it. Simply turn the blowdryer to its hottest setting and hold the dryer a few inches from the curler for fifteen to twenty seconds immediately before use.

2. Use Primer

Most people know to use primer before applying foundation or eyeshadow in order to increase the longevity of their makeup and keep it looking fresh all day. However, applying primer to your eyelashes before coating them with mascara to help them appear thicker and longer is a lesser-known beauty trick. Applying several coats of mascara to your eyelashes can make them look thicker and longer as well. However, if you apply too many coats of mascara, your lashes can end up looking caked, clumpy, and dry and your mascara is more likely to flake off throughout the day. Instead of applying multiple coats of mascara, you can achieve the same lengthening and thickening effects without the flakes or the clumps by using mascara primer.

Mascara primers come in packaging similar to that of mascara and are applied with the same type of brush. They even look similar to mascara, except that they are usually white and the formula is slightly thicker. To apply mascara primer for best results, simply apply one to two coats of the primer as you would apply your normal mascara. Wait a minute or so for the primer to dry before you continue with your regular mascara application routine. If you’re looking for a great mascara primer to try, Tarte Opening Act Lash Primer and Dior Diorshow Maximizer 3D Triple Volume Plumping Lash Primer are both top-quality choices. Mascara primer can be removed from your eyelashes with the same eye makeup remover you would use to remove your regular mascara.

3. Line Your Rims

Lining the upper and lower rims of your eyelids with eyeliner can help you easily fake the appearance of having thicker and darker eyelashes. Simply use a stick eyeliner that matches the color of your mascara (or is a few shades darker than your natural eyelashes if you don’t plan to wear mascara) and swipe it onto the upper rim of your eyelid and your lower waterline to make both your top and bottom lashes appear thicker.

Unfortunately, eyeliner can fade and melt quickly from your upper rim and waterline. To help the eyeliner stay put for a longer period of time, seal the liner onto your upper rim and waterline by applying eyeshadow in a matching shade over the liner after you apply it.

4. Use Enhancing Mascara

Although this post is here to help you fake the appearance of long, thick eyelashes, your focus should always be on enhancing what you have rather than trying to drum up something that isn’t there. One way you can do this is to choose a mascara color that enhances the natural color of your eyelashes rather than paints a different color on top of them. For example, if you have blond eyelashes, don’t buy a jet black mascara.

Wearing a mascara color that is too much darker than or is in a separate color family from your natural eyelashes can cause them to appear strange or unnatural. If you opt for a mascara color that is only a few shades darker than your natural eyelashes, your lashes will look darker and longer, but they will not appear unnaturally altered.

If you have blond eyelashes, use a medium brown mascara. For naturally brown or auburn eyelashes, try a dark brown mascara. If your eyelashes or hair color are a darker brown, you can use a true black mascara without looking unnatural.

5. Apply Baby Powder

Surprisingly, you can apply baby powder to your eyelashes in order to help increase their thickness and length. Before you put baby powder on your eyelashes, start with two coats of mascara primer in order to get your lashes wet and allow the baby powder to stick to them without falling into your eyes or onto your face. If the baby powder does get in your eyes, it will not harm them. If you experience discomfort, simply close your eyes for several seconds to allow the natural moisture in your eye to dilute the irritation from the baby powder and continue with your makeup routine.

To apply the baby powder, coat a q-tip in the powder and roll it on a paper towel to remove the excess powder. Then, while looking downward to prevent the baby powder from getting in you eyes, swipe the powder-coated q-tip onto your lashes from base to tip. Let the powder dry for about a minute and then apply one coat of mascara to your lashes until the powder has been completely covered by the color of your mascara.

If you can still see baby powder on your lashes after applying a thorough coat of mascara and letting it dry, apply another thin coat of mascara to sufficiently cover the powder. The baby powder on your eyelashes can be removed with the rest of your mascara and mascara primer with regular eye makeup remover.

Long, thick eyelashes are the epitome of glamorous beauty. However, for those who were not naturally born with the eyelashes they want, long, thick lashes can seem like an impossible dream. Fortunately, by taking advantage of the above tips by making them a simple additions to your daily eye makeup routine, you can make long, thick eyelashes a dream come true without using falsies. After trying these tips, whenever you get the inevitable “Are those lashes real?” question, you can truthfully answer “Yes!”.

Lovely glamorous neutral smokey eye featuring brown to define the crease, a nude on the lid, thick black eye liner, white on the lower lash line and long eyelashes to finish off the look.