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It’s been a minute since I’ve piled on the fake eyelashes. Long gone are the days of elaborate parties or GNO’s worth (possibly) poking my eyes out for. I’ve gone au naturale — perhaps a little too au naturale if you ask my colleagues who see me on the morning zoom calls.
However, pre-pandemic I was applying falsies nearly every weekend. No one warns you that a majority of your twenties will be spent attending weddings. The more friends you have the more money that goes into purchasing Always Pans off of registries, cocktail dresses, and endless packs of false lashes.
The worst part is that I am objectively bad at applying false lashes. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve yelled “who knows how to do lashes!” in a room full of girls getting ready I’d be as rich as Kylie Jenner. So why do I carry on through the struggle? False lashes have the ability to alter, enhance, and magnify your entire look. No amount of mascara could ever top the put-togetherness of a false lash situation. And while lash extensions are lifts are an option, they’re often too expensive, damaging, and high-maintenance. I had come to terms with the fact that I would never be someone who enjoys wearing false lashes regularly, a space that was occupied by women at the top of the food chain, until I came across LoveSeen, a line of faux lashes designed for everyday wear.
The Idea
Jenna Lyon, who once served as J.Crew’s former President and Executive Creative Director, launched LoveSeen with Troi Ollivierre, the former J.Crew makeup artist and founder of Troi Ollivierre Beauty, in September of 2020 — a pandemic baby if you will. Lyons suffers from incontinentia pigmenti, a genetic disorder that left her with very few lashes of her own. Frustrated by the lack of options on the market for people like her, Lyons was inspired to start her own line. After 3 years of research and development, Lyon and Ollivierre launched their DTC collection of luxury false eyelashes with women of all eye shapes and sizes, from hooded eyes to monolids, in mind. Currently, LoveSeen’swebsite offers 10 different lash styles, five of which are offered in multiple colorways.
What separates LoveSeen from the competitors is that their lashes look more natural thanks to thin brown or clear bands and irregularly distributed hairs. No more chunky black bands that can be seen from miles away or unnaturally long/even sets of hair. The LoveSeen lash lineup includes Jack, Troi, Levi, Axel, Cate, Romy, Noor, Inez, and Luca. The sets range from $20 to $24 and can be found on their website.
I Feel Seen
I wanted to try LoveSeen lashes after an ad touted that they were lashes for the “no-makeup makeup girls.” Before I placed my order, I virtually tried on the different lash styles through their Instagram filters, a neat feature the brand offers. It sounded gimmicky at first, like a bad glasses website in 2004, but you could distinctly tell the lash styles apart and it was actually very helpful. I decided that Iris was definitely not for me and that I needed Inez and Troi (I also saved the filters on my phone for future selfies). There’s also a lash quiz on the website that you can take to help you find the perfect lash by asking you questions about your coloring, your eye shape (almond, downturned, round, hooded, monolid, upturned), and if you’re going for natural-ish, somewhere in the middle, or full glam.
Shortly after my order came in, a man asked me out on a FaceTime date, and while my initial response was “that sounds like a nightmare and a half,” I eventually warmed up to the idea and thought it was a great opportunity to pull out the LoveSeen lashes for a little kitten fishing™ (not as intense as catfishing).
I wear contacts, so most lash brands are heavy on my eyes and lead to irritation, but LoveSeen’s lashes are featherlight. I’m pretty inept at applying lashes so I watched the video tutorials on their website to get a feel for the process. The brand was also kind enough to send me their lash tool — imagine a tweezer and a lash curler had a baby, the modern-day bird and the bees.
I decided to run with the Noor lash because they were bold, yet I could have woken up looking that good. Plus my sister’s name is Noor and we have never found any of our names on souvenir cups and keychains, so bonus points for representation.
Make sure to order the Duo lash glue with your lashes, as there’s nothing worse than sitting down to apply lashes only to realize you forgot to purchase glue. Rumor has it that LoveSeen is working on their own latex and formaldehyde-free glue, but for now, you get Duo. I struggled a little bit and missed my eye the first time (it happens), but everything felt easier with the lash tool in hand. Eventually, I succeeded and was surprised at how lovely I looked in the mirror. There’s no thick band so you don’t need to over rim your eyes with thick black eyeliner to cover anything up and everything looks more natural overall.
While I haven’t had anywhere to go recently I played around with some of their other lashes in my room. The Inez lash is staggered in length so it mimics natural lashes and is perfect for the days you need to dress up at work or dinner without people asking if you’ve gotten anything done. Similarly, the Cate lash is also great for someone who's never worn false lashes before looking to dip their pedicured toes into the space. The Troi lash is a bit fuller but perfect for date night as it’s dual-tier and really wakes your eyes up. The Axel lash is as dramatic as the girl who wore high heels to the fifth period when you were younger. It’s the perfect lash for nights on the town and wedding season, as the fullness is towards the center of the eye.
Sustainability
LoveSeen’s lashes are cruelty-free, made from nylon or P.E.T, and assembled by the brand’s partners in Indonesia. The packaging is 98% plastic-free and made of post-consumer-recycled cardboard and uncoated paper printed with soy-based ink. Each set comes in a biodegradable tray made from unbleached molded sugarcane pulp. You can also purchase a beautiful gold brass reusable tray on the website for $34.
If you treat your lashes properly you can get up to 10 wears out of them. Just make sure to wipe them clean after each use with micellar water or oil-free makeup remover, and gently place them back into your tray.
Final Thoughts
For years, women have put up with painful beauty items and routines while silently listening to “beauty is pain” propaganda. But as more female-founded companies arise and receive funding, we no longer have to settle, rather we get products that put our comfort at the forefront. Brands like Love Okko, Skims, and LoveSeen are proof that just because “it’s always been this way” doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for innovation and disruption. Here’s to more brands revolutionizing the way we see the world.
5 More Reasons To Love LoveSeen
- There are a few kits on the site that allow you to save even more money
- Free shipping on orders over $25 and free returns all day, every day
- The website offers a ton of makeup tutorials and beauty looks that are easy to replicate
- LoveSeen went through 34 sample rounds before deciding on the lashes we see today
- The brand considers itself an "equal opportunity" lash provider -- designing lashes that amplify beauty rather than manipulating it
