Lavilash

They are closing and moving — «We would like to inform you that we will move to another place by the 29^th of July 2013.»
New Location:
Sharifa Threading Salon (2^nd floor)
876 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, NY 10 001 (6av /​31^st)
646−474−5756

Let me keep this short and sweet…
1) Creepy and mysterious building, as mentioned in other reviews. You will think you’re in the wrong place until the last minute of a long, scary journey.
2) Awkward reception with minimal information provided about the procedure. In their defense, I didn’t ask for more information because I thought it would be forthcoming once the procedure began. However they knew it was my first time getting an eyelash perm, and if someone is planning on gluing my eyelids open, I expect to be given a heads up.
3) With your eyes closed (which they must be), the loud, bizarre conversations spearheaded by the English speaking receptionist will make you believe you’re laying in the inpatient unit at Bellevue. I overheard things that just made me think «WTF WTF WTF» over and over again. Definitely not relaxing. I wanted to clutch my purse and run out so badly.
4) Worst of all, the chemicals burned my eyes and eyelids which might be worth it except that the results are totally unimpressive. Other people seem to have had a different experience but I was majorly disappointed… my lashes look the same. thankfully I only paid the groupon price!
I would not recommend! I love lash treatments but this wasn’t worth it in any way.

I have really sensitive eyes and haven’t worn mascara in forever. Within an hour of applying, I am twisting and pulling the mascara off my lashes. I’ve tried every kind of mascara known to woman. No luck. As a result, my makeup never really looks complete.
I purchased a Groupon for an eyelash perm, figuring I would give it a whirl. I think it was like $ 20 or $ 25, so it was worth a try.
I LOVE IT! It’s just enough to make my lashes noticeable, really completing a natural eye look. And really, my make up style is always more natural. I’m not one to apply my makeup with a spackel. LOL.
Anyway, I really do love it. Regular price is $ 50 and it last 5 – 6 weeks, so not too terrible. But right now, they’re offering a special of 2 treatments for $ 70. Woop woop! I will definitely be back!

I’m a newbie to the eyelash perming experience so I did not know what to expect. First off, I have to say that Gigi does an AMAZING job at perming eyelashes and she manages the time very well so she does not contribute to the low rating of this place.
It was a VERY frustrating experience for me overall because of the noise level and the receptionist’s inability to control the noise level (instead, she was a contributor). During my session, there was a very rowdy group of people who came in exclaiming in loud voices to one another because they hadn’t seen one another in a long time, etc. It went on for quite a while before Gigi said that she had to get back to her customers. That was incredibly annoying. Then after they were shooed out of the small room, the receptionist attempts to make small talk with Gigi (who seemed to be trying hard to not respond as she was working on the clients).
The building is on the very far right once you get off the rickety elevator on the 16^th Floor. You will pass multiple jewelry spots and then Lavilash is at the very end across the way from the freight elevator. I knocked on the door and was told to go in for my appointment. There were a few beds lined up next to one another and a small curtain sectioning off the waiting/​receptionist area from the beds. Gigi greeted me and asked me to sit down to begin filling out paperwork, and then I was laying down while she permed away. She is very gentle, patient and careful in shaping and perming the lashes. For the most part, I did not experience any discomfort with the eyes. They did sting minimally towards the end and Gigi was quick to help me rinse with eyedrops which soothed the stinging right away.
I’m now 3-​weeks post-​perm session and my eyelashes look better now than any other time I’ve ever swiped mascara through them. I’m hesitant to make a return trip because of the unpleasant noise level I experienced, but Gigi does such an amazing job that I probably will return at least one more time to give ‘em another chance.

It’s now been about 2 weeks since I got the perm and overall I’m very satisfied. I haven’t touched mascara in that time which saves time in the morning and saves time in the evening when I don’t have to remove it.
Gigi did my treatment and was gentle. I got the «I» curl but would probably try the «c» next time as the «i» is more of a stand straight up curl.
The receptionist is very nice and helpful. It’s a small echoey space so it can get loud. The woman next to me was on her cellphone as well which was distracting.
Online booking didn’t work for me but I was able to get through on the phone after calling a couple of times.
Overall would recommend!

I recently went back for another eyelash perm. Two new things to update:
1. A friendly fluent English-​speaking receptionist who’s got the most amazing eyelashes ever! Apparently she was (and still is) a frequent customer here herself before starting to work here.
2. My eyelashes were set super fast and gentle this time. It used to take them at least 3 – 4 minutes each eye to place each lashes on the curling pad with a tweezer (?). There was none of that this time. I barely felt any tugging during the set. Once the curling solution was applies, she put a plastic wrap on top of each eye.
Result: Perfect I-​curl that I requested! Even my troublesome hard-​to-​curl right eyelashes were PERFECT this time! It is really nice to see them getting even more refined with their techniques.
Current promotion: Two perm sessions for $ 70 (instead of $ 100) + $ 5 off the $ 25 eyelash conditioner. Of course I bought it :)

they burned a good portion of my right eyelid. My eyelid has been burning in pain for a day and counting.
After the procedure I asked them if this was normal and they said yes. Would rather curl my own lashes than get burned in the future.
Go at your own risk.

Let me preface this by saying that i am no eyelash perm novice. I used to get them done years ago and loved them but i was lazy and stopped.
Let me sum it up, after discovering this place with the groupon voucher I was extremely excited! It was such great value!
The first time was perfect, i did the curliest curl as i have long straight lashes (thus the 2 stars). The only thing is I couldn’t wear mascara as it curled them even more — this I thought was great as they looked nice without the hassle of applying mascara. It lasted for a while (2 – 3 weeks i think) then once your new lashes come through and the perm starts to grow out your lashes look crinkly. Didn’t matter, I just went in to get them redone after 4 – 5 weeks, maybe this was too early? I opted for the middle curl this time so i could wear mascara but she didn’t do a good job. I blamed it on not letting it grow out but then I didn’t want awful lashes for another 2 weeks.
The 3^rd time I waited 8 weeks, no crinkles left, just plain old long straight lashes. I opted for the curliest one again to get the perfect one like the first time. This was 2 days prior to flying overseas to get married, I wanted them perfect. Still wet I left the salon as they were amazing. The next day as the cream on my lashes had gone, my lashes became dry and started to curl even more — to the point that they were getting caught in my eye fold! I thought it was just nothing, i washed my face and they went back to normal pretty lashes. It reached the stage that on the plane my now husband thought I had cut my lashes as they were so curly that it looked really bad! I tried creams — nothing!
Now, 9 weeks on I can still see the really bad permed lashes but thankfully my new lashes are growing back. I don’t think I will ever get them done.

What the heck happened?! I bought a GroupOn to this place, 3 for $ 50, and they did a half horrible job. Seeing as I have TWO eyes and TWO sets of eyelashes, I expect them to work on both of them. My technician worked on my left eye and finished setting it and then walked away to work on someone else! It must have been 5 – 7 minutes before she worked on my right eye. On top of that, when the timer was up, she took the treatment off my right eye first! My left eye looks fabulous (got the C curl) but my right eye looks like nothing! Might have to wear an eyepatch for a few weeks now. Jeez!
Guess the place is hit or miss with service. First time was wonderful. Second time made me a semi-​pirate.

When you’re walking down that cold, sterile hallway to where you think Lavilash might be and you’re starting to worry that you may have just bought a groupon to sell yourself into the sex trafficking trade, don’t worry. We’ve all had those same thoughts, but it’s actually a legit business. A little sketch looking, but definitely a real business.
I received my eyelash perm on Oct. 20^th. I’ve been waiting to review it, because I wanted to get a feel for how long my lashes stayed curled. They are still extremely curled at the moment (sans mascara).
I made my appointment online, got there 10 minutes early, filled out a waiver (that was a little scary) and then laid down on a cushioned table to prepare for my perm.
There was one point in the middle of the process where I could hear people near me getting up and rustling around, and being a paranoid NYer, I started to worry about my purse.
I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on, but my eyes were glued shut! I started to panic a little, like, «OMG! What if I’m not out of the clear and they’re still planning on selling me into sex traffic slavery and this is how they keep you from running away! And they’ll take my purse too!!» OK, my paranoia may run a little off-​kilter. But you know you’d be thinking the same thing.
Anyway, I can say, very proudly that they did not kidnap me and sell me into sex slavery and I now have some very perky eyelashes. Yay! Win-​win for everyone, or maybe just me. But still, Yay!

Since coming here, I did find a location in DC (where I live) that actually did an amazing job. And is better in price compared to this place without the Groupon deal. While I still like this place and would come back if I was in the area, and ran into another Groupon deal — my only complaint is that now I know the awful burning sensation I had was NOT normal. I think she was rushing to get us in and out in time for the other appointments, that she actually got it IN my eye.
Only thing I would suggest to them is to pay attention and NOT rush your clients. I mean even if the chemicals CAN’T damage our eyes, it wouldn’t hurt to take your time to ensure the clients don’t feel severe pain!
Last, I left with my eyelashes being greasy and told I wasn’t allowed to wear mascara for the entire day which was a disappointment since I had plans to go out that night. The place I go to now does not result in greasy eyelashes and not being able to wear mascara. Interesting!

$ 50 for eyelash perms (if you buy a package, it’s cheaper if you’re willing to commit)
Up the elevator to the 16^th floor and walk all the way down the hallway
— go with Gigi (not talkative but does a good job!)
— no frills kinda place
— great results with the I-​curl (with and without mascara!)
— book by calling or by going online
ps. beware of any groupon/​livingsocial deals you buy. Most of them are for NEW CLIENTS only and they will no honor it if you’ve been before.

I heard a personal horror story about a friend not being happy with her eyelash curl at Lavilash before I actually came here. She said that the treatment was uncomfortable and the i-​curl was overdone on her eye. I was actually really scared to come, but my other friend gave me a free session for my bday, why should it go to waste? So, I cautiously made a reservation at Lavilash and crossed my fingers.
I walked onto the sketchy 16^th Floor of the building and sort of had the feeling I was walking into a horror movie. There was no one to be seen (it was 6:45pm so all the other businesses were closed) and I almost turned around. However, once I reached the Lavilash studio and opened the door, I felt a lot more relaxed. It was a bright and airy, cutely decorated room. Gigi immediately greeted me at the door and suggested I pick the C curl for my face shape and eye shape.
The procedure stared and I was indeed a little uncomfortable. There are 4 pink massage-​tables laid at angles next to each other and 1 customer per table. Somehow I thought that there would be private rooms — so I was again a little freaked out. Once I laid down, Gigi came over and wiped off my existing makeup. She gently applied the treatments accordingly and, 30 min later — I came out with pretty, curled eyelashes! That easy!
During the treatment I was a little anxious because basically the place is tiny and I didn’t like the feeling of having to keep my eyes closed the whole time. I would call it «the price of beauty.» But honestly, you can’t expect this procedure to be COMFORTABLE, right? Someone is perming your eyelashes on your eyelids. It’s intimidating. For what it is worth, Gigi did a great job of making everything comfortable and gentle. The end result is fabulous. I often am too lazy to curl my lashes but now, I don’t have to worry about it. I will be back!

I’ve been a loyal customer of Lavilash for more than a year now, consistently getting perms every two months, and I’m sad that I need to look for new options for eyelash perming/​extensions. The quality of the perms have been on a steady decline ever since Kiki handed off the business to the girls who now run the place. With Kiki, my lashes used to come out exactly how I request (between the I-​curl and C-​curl). Now, more often then not they come out a little off. My lashes have come out fried before; they’ve come out a different curl than I requested before; and the worst — they’ve come out with one eye’s lashes more curly than the other before.
It’s great that they offer to fix your lashes for free if they mess up, but seeing as how their success rate isn’t very high anymore it’s annoying that I expect to go in multiple times for something that should take them one time to get right. I will say that the one time I got Momo, she did a great job and my lashes came out exactly how I wanted. (5 stars for Momo!) Unfortunately, Lavilash does not allow you to book specific stylists when making appointments. Until they do, I probably won’t be back.
For those of you that are new to the eyelash perming process, take a look at my previous review for the specifics on Lavilash’s process. I don’t think it’s worth it at full price ($ 50/​perm before tip), but if you manage to snag a deal it’s definitely worth a try.

I first discovered eyelash perming and this little eyelash parlor from Amy S and upon my first visit last year, it was a quant kitschy little room with a few girls working in it. I arrived promptly for my appointment and got the results I wanted and was even given a care card. I liked it and was happy with my permanent curly eyelashes. I vowed to return and become a frequent customer.
Months past and I saw several coupons for this place on numerous websites. It brought in more clientele and each time I arrived for my appointment, the wait became longer. The lines of girls waiting for appointments quickly filled up their tiny waiting table and the crowd would continue outside the hallway.
I even felt the quality and time spent on each client was getting worse and worse. I noticed kinks in my lashes and they weren’t even on both eyes. When I would try and say something, they’d tell me to return a week later only to wait in a long line.
I decided to no longer return as I weighed out the time spent waiting for a mediocre perm on my lashes that would last 2.5 months or so. Perhaps if they expand their business then I may change my mind. But for now I feel as if they can’t handle the numerous appointments and clientele. I felt that I spent more time waiting than on the actual process itself.

I came here for an eyelash perm. I was a first time customer and a first time eyelash perm recipient.
This is tiny place on some floor of a building so I was already sketched out that I was going into some small place in a random building to have them put chemicals on my eyes. When it comes to stuff dealing with people touching near my eyeballs, there’s always a little fear that you might go blind, but whatever, I took the chance anyway.
Well I found that the place was seemingly clean and I laid down. I wasn’t told anything about what was happening to me and the lady doing my perm seemed annoyed that I had so many questions to ask. When she was done, my perm was uneven :(my right lashes had more curve than my left so it made me look like I had one squinty eye!
At the end, I wanted to tip her, but she didn’t have change for a $ 20! She wasn’t willing to go out and get change and I had to go back to work so she didn’t get a tip and I had to live with one googly set of eyelashes for a few weeks.
Save your money and go get eyelash extensions if you have short lashes like me. I didn’t think that the perm made that much of a difference anyway. I hate to give this two stars because the truth is I haven’t «experienced better» because this placed turned me off to ever getting an eyelash perm again.

Oh man. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such a place with mixed reviews. But I just checked– lashes both even and curly, and not pink eye or blindness. I’m good.
I’ll start off by saying I purchased the $ 25 option for 1 perm from Bloomspot. Very glad I didn’t chose the 3 for $ 58 (great deal as one is $ 50) though because I’m going to update this review in 6 weeks to see how things pan out. I’ll start off my saying this disclaimer: despite whatever they tell you on the site, perms do still wreck your lashes. I mean, it’s chemically changing your hair, not unlike the perms you get for your head hair (which I’ve gotten twice, and cried for the years that followed), so you can’t expect to emerge from years of doing this without loss of lashes and then some. For that reason, I’m not making a habit of doing this– only for special occasions (in this case, NYE).
And trust me. Boy would I love to– I’m Asian, which as many of you reading this may know, means I have very fine, barely there, 1 cm long and SHORT lashes that go down. I’ve learned my lesson from extensions (which I haven’t gotten recently– see that I reviewed Ebenezar, in which I diss perms haha– the irony) — both individually put on and the ones you do yourself (well, the others I’ve had are the ‘flares’ — the 3 lash pieces) and trust– it all ruins your lashes. My lashes were weakened after only doing 1 – 2 times of extensions, but eventually re-​grew after I give it rest. And I’d rather have the crappy natural ones I have now rather than perm damage, so sparse perm it is.
The end result is that I don’t LOVE perming as much as I do extensions. Perming is a product of the what God gave you so if you already have ok-​decent lashes, you might be fine with perming and not risking the damage that ensues from extensions. If you’re stuck with stubbers like me, expect that you’ll get the best of what’s possible with perming. WIth the I curl (their rec for me), I have the lashes that go straight up and are curly. But are they short and stubby but straight up. Yes. But am I happy with such a result because it’s still much better than nothing? Yes.
A note on décor and service. Ok the décor doesn’t bother me– yes it’s in a crappy small room. Oh wells. Asian beauty services are about the price point– expect nothing else. I’ll give you an example. Booking. The service was NOT great about this. Stupid, usually uninformed me hadn’t realized Bloomspot reccomends to book online (which seems to be what most people prefer here). Indeed, I’d say so. Because they suck at the phone. I called 1 – 2 days in advance, and left voicemails to make an appointment. No one returned my call. Then, when I called that morning of– of course, all the desirable times were taken (after 5pm, I work you know). I was very annoyed.
We settled on 4:30. But then, the stylist on the phone kept nagging «Don’t be late,» times 100. I mean, I’m a punctual person but we’re living in the society of customer rights. Shit happens and people run late. If that was the case, I’d like to know that if I informed them (and if they answered the phone, I’d still have my appointment. I was even more enraged to find out (after much sweating and running to their location) that some girl came in after me and said she had a 4:30– by this time, I was half way through my procedure. They still took her with no problem. So much for them harping on punctuality.
Another annoying policy is the fact that you can’t request stylists. WTF. Didn’t know anything about Kiki since I didn’t usually research Unilocal that thoroughly as I normally do, but I gather she wasn’t there. I asked who my stylish was and she told me she was Momo, which is good news such some people seem to like her here.
I liked her too. She did not get solution around my eye, and seemed careful and detailed oriented. Yes there was poking and prodding, which was uncomfortable (may be hard to keep your eyes shut as you really need to do), but it wasn’t painful. The extension process is more relaxing.
Momo was the least chatty with the other stylists, BUT she was the least chatty with me too. Which was not the best because I was a bit in the dark about the procedure and thought she’d give me the spiel. She didn’t ask me if it was my first time, and they did’t ask me to sign the waiver (I didn’t). I had to ask the basics about when I could shower (whenever), when I could swim/​sauna (in 24 hours), when I could use a curler (never). Her business card (as the rest of them) have instructions on the back so be sure to take one.
I’ll have to see how curly my lashes remain in 6 weeks. Knowing the fine-​ness of my hair, I’d say it has worked successful as much as it can, for me. So I do recommend at least trying it (but not making a habit, for reasons stated above). But then again, others seemed to have a really horrific experience so I’m not sure what to think.
They say the procedure lasted 45 min and they were right– on the dot.
I left a $ 7 tip in cash

This is my first eyelash perm experience and to be honest I don’t know what to expect. First of all, the building itself is scary enough. I have to walk through a very long walkway to make it to the office.
I was greeted by Gigi. She instructed me to sit down and started the procedure right away. It was quite a long process. I could feel and smell the chemicals she put on, brushed, pulled and adjusted throughout the whole time. It was kind of stingy and painful at times but mostly I was resting.
The result was quite amazing. My eyelash is very curled and apparently it lasts for about 6 weeks. I am about 1 week after the treatment and it still looks amazing!
The regular price is $ 50 but thanks to Unilocal,I got it for $ 25!

I got mixed reviews. I got there at 4:30 which is when my appointment was and ran into another customer complaining that she was about to do the procedure but got kicked off because she was too early. Yikes.
I wish there was an option to book Kiki, the owner I assume? because the girl who did my procedure, Lala was (really) sloppy. I let her choose what curl she thought would suit me the best. When the procedure started, she put some liquid on my eyelid and it was about to drip into my eyes. She pulled my lids pretty hard also when she started placing my lashes on the rod, I’m pretty sure she pulled some lashes off, because i felt several pinches near the corner of my eyes.
During the whole procedure I was uncomfortable because my eyes were half opened and the liquids they were putting was getting into my eyes (causing a slight burn).
The assistants were also busy talking to each other. Finally! I’m sure the assistant messed up because half way in, she took off the rod on my right eye and touched my lashes and mumbled something to other assistant. The other assistant came over and mumbled some more. Lala quickly put another rod on, so. what happened? I would never know because several minutes later. She said ok you’re done, gave me a mirror and then completely went to the side and started talking again.
The final results:
Left eye– some lashes look messed up, but overall pretty curly.
Right eye– slight to no curl; what the heck?!
They are uneven! =(
I’m really disappointed, I wished they were more professional. Before the procedure I really thought about buying a package deal, but with the results, i am weary about their «satisfaction guaranteed.»

I was contemplating getting eyelash extensions and was doing a search of potential places on Unilocal when Lavilash popped up on my search results. Thank goodness it did!
I have gone to Lavilash three times to get my eyelash permed, and am very happy with the results everytime. I have long, thick, and stubbornly straight eyelashes that refuse to curl even with an expensive eyelash curler. I get the C-​curl, and it makes my eyes look bigger and lashes fuller. I am attaching a (slightly blurry) photo of how my lashes look after today’s appointment.
At $ 25 with Tippr voucher, it’s a bargain! And compared to expensive eyelash extensions that damage your own eyelashes, the perm is perfectly safe and gentle. My friend has ditched doing eyelash extensions after seeing my eyelash perm results (A little side note: for those of you who are contemplating on switching from doing extensions, you have to wait a few weeks after your extensions fall out to let your own lashes grow back.) In addition, unlike extensions that require care when washing faces, swimming, etc., you can do whatever you want afterwards.
While the building is in a busy area of garment district, the 16^th floor suite itself is quiet and it feels like you are at someone’s apartment. I always doze off during the session, which lasts about 45 minutes.
A few tips for first timers: Do not wear mascara the day of your appointment. I show up with no eye make-​up as your eyelids will be wiped clean of the solutions after the perm is done.