Gigi Hadid's makeup artist has the best tips for making fake lashes look legit

Fake lashes are pretty much every beauty junkie’s kryptonite – we love them and yet while they’re divine when done right, they’re also downright difficult, especially if you want to keep it on the DL that your full lashes are the work of falsies.

Yep, making them look anything other than ‘dance concert-esque’ is a tad tricky, but luckily for our lashes we’ve just picked up some top tips from Erin Parsons, the very makeup artist who helps everyone from Kendall Jenner to Gigi Hadid achieve natural and fluttery false lash looks.

So if you like a lot of lash, but would prefer people guess that you’re rocking extensions rather than be staring at the janky join of your poorly applied strips, here are Parsons’ hacks for making fake lashes look the opposite of fake.

Wondering what the results will look like? Here's a good idea of what to expect...

Step 1: Curl

“First step: eyelash curler,” says Parsons. “I always start at the tips of my lashes, do a little pinch and work my way back to the base.”

Step 2: Mascara

“I love using a waterproof mascara to keep the lashes up, and I’m going to really pack this on,” she shares of the second step.

Step 3: Comb

Make sure to keep those clumps away, though: “When your lashes start to stick together a little bit because you’re going to keep layering, take a lash comb and just comb through,” Parsons confirms.

Step 4: More mascara

“Continue to layer on your mascara,” she says, adding another generous coat. “[Building a lash look falsies can blend with is] really more about the mascara than it is the false lash, so just keep building.”

Step 5: Eyeshadow (and more mascara)

“Add a touch of darker eyeshadow right at the lashline, then comb through and add another coat of mascara,” Parsons advises.

Step 6: Liner

“I’ve built my lash up quite a bit, and now I’m going to add eyeliner on the upper lash rim,” she shares, edging liner along the upper waterline.

“It’s super ticklish so it might be easier if you lift the eye and just go really fast. [Adding liner makes] the lash line [appear] much deeper, and that’s going to make your lashes look much fuller [and allow the falsies some definition to blend in with].”

Step 7: Trim

“I have tons of mascara on top and bottom but you can see I have that lift on the outer corner of the eye and that’s where the false lash comes in,” says Parsons, pointing out the difference between her mascara-only eye and the one with falsies blended into the natural lashes.

“I love to do a half lash on the outer corner of the eye," she adds. "I have the Ardell Demi Wispies; it’s always the outer corner that I cut off, so I use up to four or five large clusters, and I cut it right there," she explains, using her tweezers to mark where she intends to chop the lash.

Step 8: Apply

“I use tweezers to help me apply them,” she says. “I’m using Duo Adhesive and I always use the dark one because I like that it actually enhances your lash line. I use a small amount of glue, take the lash with my tweezers, and [then while] looking down I’m just going to apply it right behind [the lashes], move it in place, and pull my eye out just to check if I have it on the actual lashline.”

Step 9: MORE mascara

“This is like coat 56,” she jokes, adding a final touch. “I want to connect my [natural] lashes [with the false ones] more at the outer corner, so I add a bit of mascara there and a little bit on the tips – it’s just so that you get that extra wing. I love this technique because I know most people are probably like “why don’t you just put on a big lash and call it a day?” but for me this looks more real. It just feels like “wow, her mascara’s amazing”, which it is, but adding that extra end part just really lifts the eyes and it doesn’t look as fake.”

Main image credit: @erinsparsonsmakeup

Looking to add to your lash stash? Here are our favourite falsh lash styles…