Sometimes life is about necessities. Other times, it’s about pure desire. That’s how best I can describe women’s relationship to eyelash extensions. As someone with perfectly normal, average-length lashes, I didn’t need them. But the thought of super lush, semi-permanent fringe filled my head with dreams of mascara-free glamour and impossibly coquettish lash-batting. With the arrival of lash goddess Amy Presson’s salon Jett Makeup to 50th and France, it seemed the perfect time to finally turn my desire into reality.
Opened last fall, Jett offers a full lash bar, complete with a plethora of options from strip lashes to various forms of extensions, as well as an airbrush makeup studio. Presson brings to the new location a long resume of cosmetic expertise, originally founding Jett in 2007. When special event clients clamored for more than mascara or false lashes could provide, Presson became a certified lash extension professional. And as word spread about their services, it wasn’t just brides who were calling. “Active women preferred eyelash extensions since they could literally ‘get up and go’ in the morning without the inconvenience of their daily makeup routine,” Presson says.
While lash extensions might not be new, the way Presson and her team approach them is. “We’re the Twin Cities first eyelash bar, and we have perfected the art of applying eyelash extensions,” she says, referencing the serious lash dedication that comes from making longer the lashes of four to seven clients per day by each lash technician. “And,” she continues, “Our selection of products is unparalleled.” Extensions range from synthetic to silk to real mink fur, while the studio’s selection of lash strips varies from naturally enhanced lashes to dramatic feathered, bejeweled and colored varieties to fit all aesthetics and budgets.
Here’s how it works: While you lay on a heated bed in a light and airy studio, Presson applies individual, itty bitty lashes to each of your own individual lashes with a surgical grade adhesive (if you opt for the mink, this can mean up to 300 to 400 lashes per eye)—all catered to your desired outcome, be it natural or va-va-voom. The whole process is entirely painless and in fact, you may find yourself drifting off while your lash guru works her magic over the course of two hours. The lashes are ultimately set with a sealant, and voila! Extensions last throughout your lashes’ life cycle (four to six weeks), but if you want to keep them up, stop back for a fill every three to four weeks. Prices range from $250 to $450 for a full set and $100 to $150 for a fill.
“Our clients often mention how light and natural their eyelashes feel after their extensions,” Presson says. This beauty junkie, for one, couldn’t agree more. Several days after the treatment, and I was hooked on these dark and handsome new companions, so low-maintenance (not counting the price of maintenance, of course), these could be my new best friends.
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Jett Makeup, 3940 W. 50th St.; 651.373.1702
