NEW LASHES NÉW AT LOUNGE
Let your lashes get loud at NÉW LOUNGE in Shangri-La BGC at The Fort
Everyone wants what they don’t have, and in this case, what I don’t have are long eyelashes. My mom says I once had them in abundance, but due to my spontaneous nature, I decided, at the age of eight, in a fit of boredom to cut them off. No one noticed, until one particularly inquisitive aunt grabbed my chin and stuck her face close to mine, squinted her eyes and asked, “Did you cut your lashes off?”
They have since grown back, not in the same way but are there, visible and doing their job. I don’t particularly think of my lashes, how they look, how they would’ve looked if I hadn’t touched them, but when I have my makeup done, I always enjoy having falsies applied, and have been curious at the latest technology surrounding lashes: you can now get magnetized pieces, to stick on your real lashes! This is meant to be quicker than the traditional, professional way of having each false eyelash hair glued on your lids, which is still my preferred way of doing things (For what it’s worth, Make-up Artist Pamm Merrera is generally not a fan. “It’s hard to work on clients that have them on when they want to get all glammed up,” she says. “It gets in the way of applying eye shadow and at the same time it limits the looks you can do. Applying strip lashes on top of it might do the trick but will affect how the lash extensions look after you take the strip lashes off.”)
Mindful of Pamm’s warning, when I was offered a trial at NÉW Lounge's latest outpost at Shangri-La BGC The Fort, I jumped at the chance with a healthy sense of trepadation. NÉW Lounge is located opposite Kerry Sports, so you could, if you wanted, get a sweat session in and then get some lash touch-ups. I walked in for the appointment, and a technician explained the brand’s services. NÉW Lounge offers top-end anti-bacterial sable lashes that are “semi-permanent” and as soft as natural hair. With a range that goes from 0.04 mm to 0.07 mm with sizes from 8 mm to 14 mm, there is more than enough in their collection that will suit anyone looking to upgrade their lashes.
The types of lashes offered are the J Curl (natural), C Curl (midcurl) and Super Curl (hyper curls). Volume is divided into different styles: Natural Volume, Feather Volume, Signature Volume, Summer Volume, and they also offer lower-eyelid selections of Lower Lashes and Colored Lashes. All these services come in three sets: Petite, Natural, and Prominent.
Their latest offerings are the Brace Lashes and Spike Lashes. Brace Lashes are considered the next generation of lash lifts and is co-designed by a skin and eye doctor specifically made for Asians, a population with 80% naturally downward facing eyelashes. Continued touch-ups and reapplications will improve the original curl of the hair. Spike Lashes frames the eyes with thick and dense lashes, giving the effect of visible eyeliner,
Touch-ups are also available if you need your lashes topped up to maintain or increase their volume. They also sell what they call “Eyelash Essentials”: and Eyelash Shampoo Treatment and a Lash Doll Robe.
Sitting with the technician, I pondered at the many choices in front of me. The brand helpfully supplied me with a Japanese Brace Lash Expert, the head trainer of the rest of the girls working there. I asked for a look that “wasn’t obvious but also obvious,” which didn’t really make sense but she seemed to understand what I was looking for. We settled on the Signature Volume C-Curl. The entire process takes a while: the technician is carefully applying each eyelash, one by one. At some point, I fell asleep.
When the entire look was finished, I had a thick line of lashes on my lids. If I were to do the entire process again, I would probably ask for a more natural look, but on the whole, I was quite happy. Why not go for thick lashes on my first try?
In terms of comfort, they were not heavy, but I could definitely feel them there. The wear time lasted for an entire month. I wasn’t able to go back for touch-ups, because I went on a one-month trip abroad, which meant that I was in New York with beautifully lashed eyes. It made the trip even more enjoyable.