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Your Stylist: Get ready for dramatic, intense and spider-like eyelashes

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When it comes to eye lashes, the mantra has always been ‘the bigger the better,’ but beauty brands aren’t stopping at full and lush, they’re taking it to the extreme with products that offer intense and almost spider-webby lashes that fall somewhere between a 1960s Twiggy and, well, a 1980s Tammy Faye Bakker.

The look was all over the fall runways -– seen at Lanvin, Miu Miu and Chloe -– but beauty products offering heavy and dramatic lashes are hitting shelves now, meaning you can start sporting your spidery eyes now or try learning how to perfect the technique so that you don’t end up looking like a mascara wand attacked your face.

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Celebrity makeup artist Patrick DeFontbrune, who works on flawless-face women such as Brooklyn Decker, Jenna Ushkowitz and Heather Morris, gave us a tutorial on how to do doll-like lashes so the effect is flattering and not unfortunate.

He offers that the key to getting long, thick and intense lashes is all in the building up of the product, and that it does take several steps before lashes are both long and thick but still separated.

‘Start by curling the lashes; they will always look fuller and longer,’ DeFontbrune said. ‘Sweep on a lengthening mascara, applying it from the bottom of lashes. Let that dry and brush through the lashes with a clean eyelash brush. Then apply a volumizing mascara. Feel free to use as many layers as you want, trying to keep lashes clean and separate. Use an eyelash comb (a metal one, not plastic) and brush through again.’

He recommends just adding more mascara until you hit the level of intensity you desire. And should you sweep any across the bottom lashes to achieve this doll-like lash trend, use a waterproof mascara and blot the under eye area with a loose powder, so there’s less chance of the product transferring onto the face.

‘Using a loose powder on the eye lid and under-eye area is also a good thing for getting thicker lashes, because some residual powder will fall onto lashes and it provides a nice base for building the mascara,’ he said.

The building process combined with several new mascaras designed specifically for the spider-lash look should produce heavily defined eyes that are best when worn with relatively little to no other makeup. A wash of cheek color and neutral lip will keep the eyes standing out and the overall effect pretty and balanced.

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And as far as mascaras promising a dramatic, femme fatale result, there’s everything from a lacquer to a doll-like formula hitting shelves now and in the next month.

We reviewed a new lash lacquer from Hourglass Cosmetics in a previous post. The product is designed to go over mascara like a top coat and add a patent-leather-like shine and even more intense shade of black to lashes.

Lancome has just launched its Hypnose Doll Lashes mascara that is meant to deliver doll-like lashes and make the eyes appear bigger and more defined. The cone-shaped brush is supposed to get into the hard-to-reach areas around the eyelid, while keeping lashes separated and ultra dark.

Also offering some intense eye makeup is L’Oreal Paris with its new Voluminous Million Lash Mascara in Carbon Black -– a hue that is apparently twice the intensity of its black mascara.

And a company known for its heavily pigmented products and intense effects is MAC Cosmetics, which has a mascara called Opulash Optimum that has a super saturated black color and gives lashes extra volume. It supposedly resists smudging, flaking and the effects of humidity and lasts up to 15 hours without wimping out.

And this season eyes are obviously anything but wimpy-looking.

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-- Melissa Magsaysay

Top photo: The beauty look from the Lanvin fall 2011 runway. Credit: Luca Cannoneiri, gorunway.com

Second photo: Hourglass Cosmetics Film Noir Lash Lacquer, $28 at www.hourglasscosmetics.com. Credit: Hourglass Cosmetics

Third photo: Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes mascara, $25 at www.dillards.com. Credit: Lancome

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Fourth photo: Loreal Paris Voluminous Million Lash Mascara, $8.95, available in October at drugstores nationwide. Credit: Loreal Paris

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