"I've always wanted to move here," said Cespedes. She opened Lash Addict
Studio in January 2016 and her business grew so fast she had to move to
a bigger place almost immediately. In the last year and a half, she has
brought on more lash technicians, who are "always booked and busy."
Women have wanted full lashes since the dawn of time. Mascara and
falsies have been the go-to quick fix. Now you can walk into a lash
studio and leave with lusciously long lashes that last for a few weeks
at a time. Lash extensions look a little more natural, because a stylist
glues individual synthetic lashes onto your real ones, and the whole
process can take up to two hours. But it'll certainly make getting ready
each morning that much easier.
Natali Cespedes poses for a portrait at Lash Addict Studio in St.
Petersburg. Lash Addict Studio does applications for clients in its
space off of First Avenue N.We sat down with Cespedes, a licensed lash
expert, outside her new studio next to the popular burger joint Engine
No. 9 in downtown St. Petersburg.
What's your beauty secret?
Lashes. Seriously, that's all I do. When I got it done the first time, I
was like, "Oh my god" because I never liked wearing makeup, or putting
anything on my face at all. When you have lashes on, it feels like
you're wearing makeup. When I don't have them, I feel like I look sick
or depressed or something. I'm so used to seeing myself wearing them.
What beauty trend do you hate?
When people overdo their lips, it looks really weird. Though I don't see
it so much here. People are more natural. Some (women) get their lips
done all the time, and I'm like, "Your lips look like they're about to
explode!" But that's what happens. You get used to (the look), and you
want more. It's hard to create a balance. They look too fake.
There are lots of looks. Some people really like a natural look, and
some people want it to look fake. Sometimes it's really hard to know
because people will come in and say they want them to look long. But
then they're like, "They are way too long!" Well, you asked for long!
What are the different kinds of extensions?
There are different curls and thicknesses. There are really curly
lashes, or more natural-looking. Thick ones, thin ones. It depends on
the look you're going for.
What material are these made out of?
Most of them are synthetic, but there is one that is real mink hair. A
lot of people say that they have it, but they really don't. They're so
expensive to get. And the other thing that's not good is that they're
using animals for that. Second, it doesn't keep the curl. When they get
wet, they get super straight and spiky and it doesn't look good. We have
a mink imitation at the studio, and it keeps the curl.
.jpg)
