How to Apply Individual Lashes

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Lash application and applying individual lashes takes patience, perseverance, and practice. Once you have nailed the technique, individual lashes can be a quick and easy alternative to traditional strip lashes.

Manufacturers have designed individual false lashes to provide a much softer, more natural enhancement and finish.

Not only that, individual fake eyelashes last much longer than standard strip lashes, making them perfect for long weekends or holidays when you want to look glam and wide-eyed at all times.

This blog will guide you through the complete individual lash application process. We promise you’ll be a pro in no time.

How to apply Classic Individual False Lashes: What you Need

Individual lash Adhesive

First, select the right adhesive, and don’t get a strip lash adhesive by mistake. Strip lash adhesive won’t offer the same results. We only recommend individual glues that have a long-lasting hold.

Our favourite is the Salon System Black Individual Lash Adhesive or Kiss Individual Lash Clear Adhesive.

Tweezers

Pointed tweezers are the best as they have a more delicate tip that is perfect for precisely picking up each lash cluster when removing them from the tray and applying them later.

We recommend the Eye Candy London tweezer collection or the Elegant Touch Professional Slanted Tweezer.

It’s essential to have the best tools possible. View all our accessory collection.

Which Individual False Lashes Should You Choose?

Any pack of individual cluster lashes will work well. If you are a beginner, we suggest a short length lash. An Ardell Starter Kit is always a great shout. Kiss individual lashes are also good quality individual lashes.

Because we have so many quality individual lash kits to choose from, here are our top five:

Sweed x Nikki Makeup (no lash-lash)
Salon System Individual Lashes Medium Black (extra value pack)
Kiss Lash Couture Faux Extensions (Venus)
Ardell Individual Duralash Med Black (multi-pack)
Eylure Pro-lash Individuals

A Good Size Mirror is an Essential Piece of Kit

A good-sized vanity mirror is perfect for accurate application. Make sure the mirror sits securely on a surface, in line with your face and eyes.

A Spoolie Brush/Mascara Wand

Comb the lashes into place and blend the individual lashes with your natural lashes.

Selecting your Individual lashes

Before applying individual lashes, you must select the style that best suits your face shape and style — every product we sell lists the specific eye shape that the product suits.

Bulb-free Individual Lashes

Bulb-free lashes are the best choice for achieving an ultra-natural appearance, as they don’t have a little ‘knot’ at the base of each cluster. Instead, they mimic the look of real lashes that sit naturally in your lash line.

Bulb-free individual lashes may be slightly more difficult to apply if you are a beginner, but they are an excellent option for more experienced wearers of individual eyelashes that require a softer finish from their look.

Stock up on the Ardell Duralash Individual Medium Black Multipack because it is the perfect product to ensure knot-free lashes.

Trio Individual Lashes

Trio Individual Lashes are a great in-between option if you don’t like a full strip lash but want a quicker and easier alternative to standard individual cluster lashes.

Trio lashes are three flares formed together to achieve a more extensive cluster in comparison to just one individual flare you’d get in a standard pack. Trio lashes can speed up the application process and allow a fuller and more polished effect.

The Kiss Haute Couture Trio Lashes Medium Combo is a fabulous choice if you want to try trio lashes.

Double Individual Lashes

If you want a more dramatic look and a little extra volume, then doubled up individuals are the perfect pick. They offer twice as much density as standard individual lashes, so they are ideal for achieving a more defined finish that stands out.

Ardell Double Up Individual Lashes in Medium are popular; however, you don’t need to limit your choice.

Cluster Lashes

Cluster lashes are a great choice if you’re in a hurry. They are a variation of the individual lash, but as the name suggests, they come in clusters. Cluster lashes are bonded together to get an immediate full effect.

The answer is to follow the same procedure as an individual lash application to understand how to apply cluster lashes. However, the result will come closer to applying a full artificial eyelash to your eyelid all in one go.

We love Ardell Wispies, either Cluster Black 603 or the full-on glamour of the Cluster Black 600. We get so much great feedback about these lashes; you should check out the entire page of cluster lashes.

Before we can tell you how to apply individual false lashes, we need to talk about patch testing or sensitivity testing - it’s important stuff, so no scrolling.

Adhesive Patch Test

Before applying any professional individual lashes, you must carry out a patch test to reduce the risk of a reaction. To carry out the patch test, follow these steps:

Apply a small amount of adhesive to a small area on the skin, such as behind the ear, using a cotton bud.
Allow for the glue to dry and leave untouched/uncovered for at least 48 hours.
You will unlikely react to a complete lash treatment if no reaction or irritation occurs at this point. However, this is never guaranteed.
If you suffer from any irritation or reaction, no matter how minor, immediately wash the affected area thoroughly and stop using the product.

Once you have carried out the patch test and haven’t suffered from a reaction, you should be okay to proceed with the complete individual lash application.

How to Prime Lashes for Extensions

It is important to prime your lashes to ensure that they are ready to apply your extensions. Follow the steps below to make sure you prime your lashes correctly.

Read the step-by-step guide below:

Step One: Mascara First

Cleanse your eyes and eyelashes using a non-oily makeup remover to ensure the lashes are clean, eliminating any leftover makeup residue. Use a clean mascara wand or spoolie brush to brush your natural lashes into place gently.

Apply a double coating of mascara, we know this sounds crazy, but it’s a great tip. Using mascara as a base coat will give your individual or cluster lash a more substantial base to fix onto and provide some camouflage.

Using mascara after you’ve applied the lashes can lift the clusters or knock the individuals out of place - no one wants that, do they?

Step Two: Glue at the Ready

Pour a couple of drops of adhesive into a glue dish or the plastic pack that stores your lashes. You don’t need to pour too much out, as a little goes a long way.

Count to 30 or even 60 (if you’re feeling brave), so the adhesive is sticky or tacky. The glue is ready to use when the colour changes and a thicker outer layer appears more opaque.

Tacky adhesive will ensure the lash bonds instantly, saving time and money. Runny glue won’t stick your lashes in place. The lashes will move, so be brave and wait for the opaqueness to appear.

Step Three: Face Up and Tweezer Carefully

Make sure your face is in the correct position. Looking up will expose your lash line. Using tweezers, lift an individual lash cluster from the tray, and be careful not to damage or misshape the lashes.

Step Four: Adhesive at the Ready

Gently sweep the tip or bulb of the individual lash or cluster lash through the individual lash adhesive, ensuring to pick up just a tiny amount of adhesive. If the glue is the right consistency and tacky enough, you can drop the lash in place effortlessly.

Step Five: Positioning is Key

Position the individual lash directly on your natural lashes, as close to the lash line as possible, without touching the eyelid. Start at the outside of the eye and work inwards to the centre.

Remember to hold the cluster in place for approximately 20 seconds so that the glue can form a strong bond.

Step Six: Build and Create

Continue the previous steps, adding as many or as few lashes as you like along the lash line to build up the required volume.

We recommend using a mixture of short and medium lashes, positioning the medium clusters towards the outer edge, and the individual false lashes towards the middle and inner edge, creating an effortless elongated effect.

Step Seven: Blending for a Natural Look

Once you have completed the application and added the lashes, use a mascara wand brush to gently comb through them, blending them into your natural lashes and neatening them up.

By completing step one, using mascara as a primer, you will notice that the lashes stick to your real lashes easily and blend invisibly into your natural lash line. If things don’t go to plan, you might want to read the following…

How to Remove Individual Lashes

Okay, so you’ve read up on how to apply individual lashes on yourself for beginners, and things went a bit sideways, not quite to plan. Don’t worry; you can remove your lashes by following these few steps:

Put a cotton wool pad soaked in an oil-based cleanser or professional eyelash-removing solution over the lashes to loosen them.
Swipe outwards. The lashes should come away quickly.
If there are some stubborn lashes still in place, go over your lashline with some individual adhesive remover. Hold some tissue under your lower lashline to collect the loose lashes.
If the lashes are still in place, you may need to repeat these steps.

Still not sure? Read more about individual lash removal.

Some answers to regularly asked questions

Do you put individual lashes on the top or bottom of your eye?

You can apply individual lashes to the top or bottom of your eye. It’s up to you and your style.

When applying individual lashes, you can apply the lashes on top of your natural lashes on both the top and bottom of your eye.

How to apply false lashes on myself as a beginner?

How to apply individual false eyelashes is easy; read the step-by-step instructions, and you can’t go wrong. But just in case, here’s a summary.

Apply your mascara first; use mascara as a base coat, giving the lashes a fixing and camouflage point.

Get your glue and tweezers ready. The glue should be tacky before applying it to the lash bulb.

Position your lashes for the best effect. Start at the outside of the eye and go inwards.

Keep going until you have the perfect set. Brush the lash through with a clean mascara brush, so they blend with your natural lashes perfectly.

How do I apply cluster lashes?

The art of applying cluster lashes is almost the same as fixing individual lashes, but a cluster is what it says on the packets, a bunch of lashes put together to create a fan or cluster.

Apply cluster lashes as above, using as little or as many as your taste or style requires.

How to apply fake individual lashes

Applying your fake individual lashes is easy - simply apply your mascara as a base coat, use your tweezers and apply the glue once it is tacky. Start on the outside of the eye and move inwards as you apply each individual lash.

How to apply individual lashes on a client

Applying individual lashes for a client is usually easier than applying your own. If you want to know how to apply individual lashes to someone else, either a friend or if you are applying lashes for a client, we recommend watching a training video and reading our detailed steps listed above.