I Tried Ardell's Magnetic Liner & Lashes & Figured Out A Prime Hack For Easy Application

A wise person once said, "I love the look of thick, full, and super long lashes, but the road to falsies is usually a sticky one." It was me; I said that. I had tried everything to figure out how to apply falsies without the mess or the glue residue that lingered on my lashes for days after. Then, by some miracle, I found these drugstore magnetic lashes that eliminated eyelash glue from the equation entirely. Unfortunately, when I tried them, they weren't completely foolproof. So when the magnetic lash 2.0, a new-and-improved version, landed on my desk, I decided to do my own Ardell magnetic eyeliner and lashes review.

Before I get into the new version of Ardell's magnetic false lashes, let me sum up for you how the originals worked out. I reviewed the Ardell Magnetic Lashes last year. These lashes featured small magnets adhered to either end of the lash. You'd essentially have two layers of false lashes that snap together, sandwiching your real lashes in between. One strip is positioned under your natural lashes, and the other on top.

Although they're much more comfortable than they likely sound, the application process took some getting used to. The biggest issue I had with this method, was the lashes couldn't sit close enough to my lash line to look natural. They sort of floated away from my lid, a little less than midway through the ends of my lashes. However, the removal process was brilliant. You literally slide them off, no glue residue left behind.

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Now, lash powerhouse Ardell went back to the drawing board in search of a solution that A) sat closer to the lash line and B) did so without the use of actual glue. And it came back with the Magnetic Liner and Lash duo. The set comes complete with a magnetic black gel liner and a single set of lashes, which boast the tiniest trio of magnets you've ever seen hidden at the base. The idea is you can apply the liner as you normally would, but once you're done, you'll already have something for your lashes to stick to. It basically cuts out a step and removes the pesky floating lash debacle.

Ready to give these lashes a go, I sat at my vanity with my foundation done and my eye makeup on; the only step left was to apply my lashes. I cracked open the magnetic liner and saw that it looks like any other gel eyeliner pot. In an effort to get a super crisp cat eye, I ditched the included angled brush and swapped it for my favorite eyeliner brush. The formula felt really soft, and my brush sank right into it.

I brought the liner-covered brush up to my lash line and began applying, and I noticed that the formula skipped a bit — it definitely didn't go on as smooth as I'd hoped. It got clumpy and started to look pretty messy, as you can see in the video below. I tried a few different eyeliner brushes, tried to apply more liner, then tried less liner, but nothing was giving me a crisp cat eye, so I went for plan B. I busted out a liquid eyeliner instead and get to work cleaning up my messy first attempt.

Now that I had a clean base to work with, I gave the Ardell magnetic liner a second chance. I applied it over my eyeliner — somewhat like a glue, I guess — and waited before applying a second coat, as directed on the box. After the second coat (while it was still wet), I waved the lashes over my lash line, and they instantly fused to the liner. You could color me pretty impressed, because there was no glue residue stuck on my lashes, there weren't any sticky fingerprints on all my stuff, and I was still rocking a full flutter.

Next, to really put the magnetic power of this eyeliner to the test, I waved a second lash strip over my lash line, and that one stuck on top of the first. I was wearing two lash strips on one eye, and the base looked completely natural. There weren't any thick, clumpy spots and my bottom lashes didn't stick to the top. (Ugh, you know how that happens every time?)

The best part is, if you're not a pro at positioning lashes correctly on the first try, you're not doomed to wear a crooked strip of falsies all night. Because the lashes stick to magnets, rather than a sticky glue that dries on you, you can reposition them as many times as you need. Trust me. My left eye is always the hardest for me, and I was able to fumble around with the lash strip without messing up my eye makeup.

Finally, I'll say that this magnetic liner is bulletproof. (OK, it's technically just waterproof, but that's great, too!) I rubbed at a swatch on my hand furiously, and it didn't move or smudge. Of course, this means you'll need an oil-based remover to get it off, but the good news is, your lashes are there to stay. Overall, I'd say going back to the drawing board for a brand-new magnetic lash product worked in Ardell's favor.