Something Beginning With... A: Ardell Lashes ~ Squares

A little while ago, I was flicking through a magazine (can't remember which one now, but I will add it when I find it again), and I came across a rather intriguing A-Z feature. As a blogger, I'm always on the lookout for inspiration, and this really captured my attention. I thought it would be fun to translate the feature into a blogging series, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. This post marks the start of a collection of 26, in which I will pick a new topic every week to correspond with each letter of the alphabet. Whether that be a brand, a product, a makeup technique, or something else entirely, I thought it would be such an interesting concept to explore, as well as being a new challenge for me. A little disclaimer: as I've already stated, I came across this in a magazine and it was wholly through my own ideas that I've decided to start featuring it on the blog. I haven't seen it elsewhere in the blogging community, although I don't doubt that, through sheer probability of numbers, someone has done it before me. So I just wanted to say that if you have done this also, I apologise - I'm not trying to take credit for somebody else's creativity - I just thought it would make a fun little project.

So here goes - the first of my brand spanking new series. Although I think I might struggle when I get to letters like Q, it was a pretty easy to decide on a topic for the first letter of the alphabet. There are plenty to chose from; great brands like Alpha H, or soothing ingredients like Aloe Vera, but I've chosen to go for something I haven't yet covered on this little old blog of mine; false lashes - namely my favourite lash brand, Ardell.

Their Demi Wispies seem to get the most coverage on YouTube and, although I do have some, I find them a bit too 'wispy' for my liking. Every one loves long, feathery lashes, but on me, these look so long and feathery that it borders on ridiculous. Having slightly hooded eyes and quite long lashes naturally, I tend to favour falsies that give me a bit of extra volume, and for that I find myself reaching for two particular Ardell offerings again and again.

The first, and my absolute favourite, are the Babies lashes. The perfect faux lashes for giving your real ones a little oomph whilst still looking fairly natural, I find that I can wear these for pretty much any occasion. Day or night, these are natural enough that you almost look as though you're just blessed with that fluttery framework, but at the same time, they provide the a good amount of lift and really fill out the lash line. They give you that little something extra, without looking too fake, a quality I think we all desire in our falsies.

Still trying to work out how to make my camera pictures more true to life - they're a lot thicker looking than this really. P.S. I had a haircut! You like?

Secondly, I always have a pair of Demi Pixies to hand for when my glamorous night out look feels a little lacklustre. These are very much a statement lash when compared to the Babies, and I really feel like they help to take a makeup look from great to showstopping. They do add length, but the reason I reach for them so much is the thick, luscious feel they give to my eyelashes. They look a little odd in the packaging; thicker, choppy looking chunks of lash interspersed with more natural hairs, but when applied, this helps them to look less over the top and I think it's what keeps them from becoming too lengthy for me. They're the perfect lash for giving you that mesmerising gaze.

I've always found Ardell lashes easiest to apply. It's simply a matter of applying a small amount of adhesive, curling them around with your fingers a little, then resting them on the lashes with a pair of tweezers, manipulating them into the best position for your eye shape. Couldn't be simpler! Another pro is the invisible band, as I often like to wear falsies without eyeliner, particularly during the day, and this is something I absolutely couldn't get away with where other brands are concerned. I also find that having an invisible band means that you can reuse them more for some reason - I get about 4/5 uses out of a pair - fantastic value for money really! Just make sure to clean the band when you take them off, for ease of use the next time around.

And that completes the first of my 'Something Beginning With...' series. I hope you enjoyed it and I'm really looking forward to the next 25 posts!

Do you like the idea of a 'Something Beginning With...' feature? What would be your 'something beginning with A' be? Are you a fan of Ardell Lashes? Let me know!