Compared

False lashes vs lengthening mascara

Mascara for the days you are not thinking about it, strips for the evenings that get photographed. The thing worth knowing before choosing is that a strip lash is a technique, not a purchase: the glue needs a minute to go tacky, the band needs trimming to your eye, and the first three attempts are bad ones. If the event is tonight and you have not done it before, wear the mascara.

Ardell

Demi Wispies false lashes, four pairs

An evening with photographs in it, on someone who has practised at least once

Pros

Four pairs in a set, which is what makes practising before the night possible
A criss-cross wispie band rather than a solid one, so it reads as lashes and not as a line
Reusable several times if the glue is peeled off the band rather than pulled

Cons

Glue, drying time and a steady hand — it is a skill, and the first attempts show it
The band must be trimmed to your eye or the outer corner lifts by the second hour
Nothing about it is quick, and it cannot be fixed discreetly once you are out

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Ilia

Limitless Lash mascara

Every other day, and anyone who wants their own lashes to look like more

Pros

Fifteen seconds, no technique, and no drying time before you can open your eye
A lengthening formula rather than a volumising one, so it separates rather than clumps
Removable with a cleanser, which strips and their glue are not

Cons

Cannot add what is not there — length is relative to your own lash
Wears through a long evening, and touching it up over old mascara is what makes it flake
Under a camera flash it reads as lashes, not as drama, which is sometimes the point and sometimes not

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Side by side

	Ardell	Ilia
Time to apply	Ten to fifteen minutes, with practice.	Fifteen seconds.
Skill	A real one. Practise before the night.	None.
What it changes	The shape of the eye, not only the lash.	The lash you already have, made darker and longer.
Removal	Peel the band, dissolve the glue.	Cleanser.
The tell you want this one	There will be photographs and you have half an hour.	It is Tuesday.

Everything above is about what these products are, not about tests we ran — we do not test products, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. Prices live on Amazon, where they change hourly, so we never quote one.

The mistake that ruins strip lashes

Applying the glue and pressing them on immediately. It needs thirty to sixty seconds to go tacky first, and a wet band slides — which is why the outer corner lifts an hour later and why most people conclude they cannot wear them. The other half of it is trimming: a band made for an average eye is longer than most eyes, and the excess is exactly where it peels.

They are not either-or on the night

Mascara first, on your own lashes, then the strip over it. The mascara is what stops your lashes reading as a separate, paler layer underneath the band. What does not work is the reverse — mascara over a strip glues the two together and ends the strip's second life.

Your turn

What should we dress next?

An occasion you cannot find anything for, or a product you want us to look at properly.