Next time you set aside a day to catch up on personal grooming, add a lash-extension appointment to the waxing/brow shaping/mani/pedi routine. Having trickled down to mainstream favor from the streets of Koreatown, eyelash extensions are fast becoming as commonplace...

Next time you set aside a day to catch up on personal grooming, add a lash-extension appointment to the waxing/brow shaping/mani/pedi routine. Having trickled down to mainstream favor from the streets of Koreatown, eyelash extensions are fast becoming as commonplace to salon service menus as blow-outs and polish changes. "My clients increase about 10 to 15 percent during summer," says Shu Uemura lash guru Soul Lee, adding that the painstaking process of gluing between 50 and 60 individual lashes into natural lash lines is hugely popular with brides, frequent beachgoers, and mascara junkies who can't be bothered to mix makeup and muggy weather. Lee, who's holding court at Barneys while the new Shu Uemura boutique is being built, says she does about three to four full extension sets a day, each of which takes approximately two hours to apply. A set costs about $400 (extensions last three weeks with optional maintenance ringing in at $150 per touch-up). According to Lee, the high price tag is a non-issue. "Once you get it done, it's like a drug. It's such a pick-me-up."—Celia Ellenberg

Photo: Courtesy of Shu Uemura



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