Lash Highlights: Not Just for Halloween!

Highlights for your hair are so commonplace that you can even do them yourself with home color kits from companies such as Garnier (opens in new tab), L'Oréal (opens in new tab), and Revlon (opens in new tab). But what about highlights for your eyelashes? If there's no bleach or peroxide required, would you try them?

When my lash guru Makeup Mandy (opens in new tab) first showed me this technicolor tray of falsies, I thought she was off her rocker. I mean, who would want red, orange, or yellow lash extensions — redheads or blondes? doubtful — let alone green, blue, or purple? I can understand experimenting with some crazy falsies (opens in new tab) for a night (Halloween, perhaps?), but lash extensions last up to a month — that's a serious commitment to your fun-color fringe.

However, these bright faux mink hairs aren't meant to be used all over the eye, according to Mandy. Instead, they're best as accent highlights to regular black lash extensions. Just like the popular colored mascaras (opens in new tab) that enhance your eye color, these tinted lash extensions are surprisingly subtle. The reason is that the accent extension is slightly shorter than the rest of the false fringe, so it blends in softly and can only be seen when they catch the light.

How do you pick your highlight hue? Think of the colors like shadow shades. Red, orange, and yellow will warm up your skin tone — just like highlights in your hair will give you a sun-kissed look — and if you're a redhead or blonde, blending in the lighter hairs will make your extensions seem more natural, like you're wearing brown mascara. As for the green, blue, and purple extensions, they help cancel out eye redness, making you appear more rested. Perfect for Halloween, and any day after...