Changing Eyelashes

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great start of the year. Let's look forward to a better year, shall we? :)

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Before the 2013 ends, I wanted to do something for Alice. She is my first and favorite doll, but she is the least customized of my three. Looking at her face-up, she looks like she'll need  a new one soon - but I'm not yet ready to change her face. So one thing I can change for now is her eyelashes.

When Alice's original eyelashes started to fall off, I decided to try to replace her old lashes using human false eyelashes. After finding a pretty and cheap pair of falsies at a local department store, I decided to install them by cutting the lashes into small pieces and glue them in them one by one. This trial resulted in a very amateur output.

Here's a photo my first attempt to put on eyelashes on her:

The lashes were nice and thick. It was too long as expected, considering they are human eyelashes. They also looked pretty, but didn't look nice on her as my application was extremely shoddy. Aside from the odd positioning, I also managed to dab some glue on the lower half of the lashes which made them hard and straight. Alice looked elf-ish with them too, which was not her 'look'. But mostly, I was unhappy with it since the lashes cast a shadow on her eyes and made her look extra sleepy. I managed to tolerate this for a few months, until I found the right lashes to replace them. 

This is not a tutorial, but I figured I should share what I used and what I did. In case you need a guide, there are several video tutorials available online.

Materials (from L to R): gum eraser (for mild head clean-ups), small flat paintbrush (to apply glue), tweezers, stick eraser (for mild cleaning of tiny face spaces), white glue (water soluble), Tamiya gloss, human eyelashes, and scissors). Not shown are some tissue and some cotton buds (q-tips for some of you).

I got these pretty eyelashes from a local Daiso (Japanese store) for 88 pesos each (about $2). I bought this pair because the fibers are very fine and are soft. They feel like real human eyelashes.

These lashes also has a transparent base. This makes them look extra natural for humans, but doesn't do much for dolls.

On to the application!

To remove the existing eyelashes, I softened the glue of the by dabbing them with a wet cotton bud. Let it soak for a while then gently pull the lashes off. It may take a few wipes to soften the glue so be patient! Once the lashes are off, clean the remaining glue residue with a wet cotton bud.

Please note that it is possible to damage the gloss on the eyes. If ever you did, you can touch it up with Tamiya gloss. Just let the area dry first then apply the gloss. Use with caution!

Measure the lashes to see how much you'll need. Alice's eye only needed 2/3 of one eyelash, so the left-over went to Elie. I used the part of the falsies with the longer fibers on Alice.

Apply a small amount of glue on the eye line using your brush. Only use small amounts to prevent clumps of dry glue on the eyes. Using your tweezers, gently place the eyelash on. If you want shorter lashes, you can 'push in' the lashes while installing them. Once you're happy with the position, let it dry. You can also add a bit more glue on once the first layer of glue dries.

And the results!

I opted to keep most of the length of the eyelashes since they look nice and not overly-dramatic.

Alice does not look sleepy anymore. The lashes also made her look more elegant.

Elie looks extra cute now that she has eyelashes. It also kinda made her look like a pretty little lady.

For comparison:

What do you think about their new lashes?


Thanks for looking! <3