I paid a visit to Sisters Beauty Lounge in Dubai Mall yesterday to try out their latest treatment; express eyelash extensions. Before I get into this review it’s important to note that I have never had eyelash extensions of any kind – and before today, the thought of someone poking around with metal bits that close to my eyeballs filled me with terror.

As a result, when I arrived for my treatment I was feeling moderately terrified. On a terror scale of 1-10 I’d say I was about 27. I relaxed somewhat when I was guided through the salon to sit at the coffee bar and sip on some delicious green tea as really, you can’t not relax when you’re in this particular branch of Sisters. It’s super spacious, stylishly decorated and has a very calming atmosphere, plus the staff are really smiley and friendly.  As I sat at the bar sipping on my tea I was approached by Chloe, the beautician who would be doing the extensions. She asked me whether I’d had extensions before and gave me a consent form to fill in with a convenient tear away take-home section at the bottom all about care and maintenance of the lashes.

When I finished my tea Chloe brought me in to the treatment room, sat me down and explained what was going to happen. Naturally, this came after we’d had a good ol’ natter about when she moved to Dubai (she’s from Huddersfield in the UK), how many years she’s been a beautician (a long time, she even has her own salon back at home) and her Irish relatives, who funnily enough are from the same town as me, ha! Anyways, I digress… She started off by brushing through my lashes with a mascara wand. Usually, she’d begin my removing any traces of mascara but because I’m a A+ student and had removed mine in advance she didn’t have to. Before actually applying the lashes she explained that I would need to keep my eyes open during the treatment and look downwards. The glue used is about half the strength of the one used for semi-permanent lashes and it’s also odourless so it was quick and easy to use, safe for my eyes and didn’t irritate. She stuck some bands of lashes to the back of her hand, put a ring with the glue inside on one of her fingers (clever!) and proceeded to place them on top of my own lashes.

At this point it’s important to note that I felt absolutely nothing. The lashes were light as air and Chloe was, unsurprisingly – extremely skilled at applying them. She applied 30-40 lashes per eye and in total it took about 30 minutes. Once they were all on she brushed a sealer over my lashes and I was good to go. To say I was a little shocked by the experience and the lack of drama involved would be an understatement. It was pleasant, super fast, not in the least bit uncomfortable and the results were really really good.

I’d recommend this treatment for anyone who hasn’t had lash extensions before and wants to try them, anyone who can’t be bothered to sit still for two hours to get semi-permanent extensions done or anyone who just fancies a nice beauty treatment on their lunch break and has 30 minutes to kill! They last 2-3 weeks and once that time period has passed another appointment must be made to have them removed (so they don’t damage your own lashes) and this takes about 10 minutes in total.

La La Express Eyelash Extensions cost Dhs200 for regular volume or Dhs300 for full volume (I got this one). You can book by contacting Sisters Beauty Lounge on their website or through their Facebook page. And if you do go to have it done, ask for Chloe and tell her I said hi!