Magnetic Lashes Are An Absolute Boon For Falsie Newbs

When it comes to falsies, I'll admit that for years I sat the trend out — as a beauty accessory, they felt a little too glammy and high-may for the more natural, modern approach that I prefer when making up my face. That was, until more recently, when more sophisticated, bespoke styles in a variety of lengths (and hair colors!) entered the fold. Another niche within the false-lash world that's been confidently picking up steam over the past few years: Magnetic lashes.

The idea behind magnetic lashes is that in lieu of glue, teeny-tiny magnets sandwich your natural lashes to bind two bands of falsies together. Other types of magnetic lash technology use magnetic liquid eyeliner (applied as you normally would to the upper lash line) to create a surface onto which a strip or cluster of magnetic lashes can grip to. It's pretty nifty stuff. Glamnetic specializes in the latter and offers a veritable library of lash styles ranging from subtle to traffic-stopping.

Thanks to my lash-endowed parents, I have naturally long, dark lashes that usually require a bit of mascara and not much else. That said, I myself have discovered the joy of false lashes, especially in an above-the-mask world. There's nothing like a little eyelid boost to make me feel more glam and put-together. With that in mind, I gravitated towards three shorter-length Glamnetic styles: Livin', Honey, and (shocker, for this September-born writer) Virgo. The “my-lashes-but-better” look is very much my style, and these definitely fit the bill while offering a hint of drama.

If the idea of magnets millimeters away from your eyeballs sounds scary, not to fret! As long as you follow the instructions and proper care, magnetic lashes are very safe to use. "I don't think there is an increased risk in magnetic false lashes in particular, however, false eyelashes, in general, can increase the occurrence of blepharitis — a condition on the eyelashes where there is a buildup of oil, bacteria, and debris on the lash line that can irritate the eye and ocular surface," explains board-certified ophthalmologist Dr. Jennifer Loh, MD. "When a person is wearing false eyelashes, blepharitis has a tendency to build up along the base of the eyelash and is difficult to clean and remove." Her suggestion for false lash lovers: Be sure to thoroughly clean your eyelid post-use to show buildup the door. (A pre-moistened eyelid wipe like Ocusoft is great for this.)

For the purposes of this review, Glamnetic sent me three pairs of lashes, an applicator tool, plus versions of the magnetic liquid liner: A felt tip pen and a brush-tip. While I consider myself more than capable with liquid liner, I definitely thrive in the land of felt-tip for control and ease of application. I went with that one first and applied it close to my lash line as I normally would and let it get mostly dry. Then I wielded the Glamnetic Lash Grab to pick up and position the lash near my eyes. (You can probably use tweezers to do this, but the elongated shape and tapered end of the Lash Grab definitely helped a lot.)

For my first lash try-on, I went with Livin'. From looking at the box, it was the most subtle of the three, and I was putting these on mostly to look cute on Zoom. My first step with false lashes of any kind: Trim them to fit your unique eye shape! Unless you're working with individuals or clusters, a strip lash will almost always be improved in terms of both fit and appearance by getting a little haircut. Another option: Trying a demi- or half-lash, which are actually my favorite shape of false lashes. (I loved Glamnetic's Honey style, which created a cat-eye effect since they're applied on the outer half of the eye.)

Since this was my first time trying magnetic lashes, I kind of expected it to not work. To my surprise and delight, they gripped right on without a hitch. Since falsies are very hard to nail on the first go, a little adjusting is totally normal — and magnetic lashes make this step super easy. Once applied, you can easily remove or nudge them along your lash line without having to start from scratch. Honestly, it's a total game-changer — and the best thing about magnetic lashes, IMO. Since the ends of the lashes can have the tendency to curl up, Glamnetic includes magnetic anchors (which look like an individual lash with a magnetized base) to sandwich the lash at each end.

For the rest of the day, I'm not gonna lie — I felt pretty cute! The lashes didn't feel like too much for a day of WFH and running errands, but definitely added definition to my eyes. They didn't scream, "Hi world, I'm wearing false lashes RN!" but instead looked more like my favorite Instagram beauty filter.

Next up, I tried the Virgo lash on a day I was wearing glasses. (In my first try-on, I was wearing contacts.) In the interest of switching things up, I tried the brush-on liquid liner to see if there was a noticeable difference in wearability and ease of removal. The brush-on formula definitely requires a steadier hand, so keep that in mind if you're not a whiz with liquid liner. (It was, however, significantly easier to remove — which gets many extra points in my book.) But back to the main event: While the Livin' lashes gave more of a subtle, wispy effect, Virgo was more of a round strip, which creates an overall appearance of more voluminous lashes. TBH, I thought they were a little much at first (for me, not in general), but with my glasses on? Fully obsessed. Last up, I tried the Honey half lashes. These were by far the most subtle of the group, which I loved. Not to mention, they were slightly easier to apply since I only had to fit them onto the outer half of my eye. With all three styles, I probably wore them for around five hours, but Glamnetic says the lash-and-liner combo can hold up to 10 hours.

I was fully expecting to not love magnetic lashes, but I'd be lying if I weren't impressed. My only cons are that they're not as subtle as conventional lashes (especially ones with an invisible strip) and that these are significantly more expensive than entry-level falsies. (According to Glamnetic's site, their pairs can be worn up to 30 times with proper care, which includes cleaning off eyeliner residue post-use.) However, the ease and sheer fun factor of magnetic lashes can't be denied, either. For that reason, I can't wait to make them a more frequent addition to my glam game.

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