L & M Curl

L & M Curl


Although they have been around for quite a while in Russia, L and M Curl are gaining in Popularity around the World. These curls will give your clients a sophisticated, dramatic, and very chic look.

What styles can you achieve with L & M Curls?

The Original name of the Style achieved with M & L Curl, is “The Russian Cat Eye”. Now also referred as, depending in what Country you are in, as Eye-Liner Effect, Extreme Cat Eye, Fox Effect… I have been in absolutely Love with these Styles and Working these Curls for a while now, and our clients are absolutely hooked. However, you can also use these Curls for your Classics, Dolly, Squirrel, Open Eye and Cat Eye.

The difference between L & M Curl

L Curl has a sharper angle of 90 degrees, and a longer flat base. Depending on the brand your using, between 2-3mm. M Curl has more of a curved angle, less sharp, usually between 100-110 degrees. Also has a bit of a curvature at the tip. L Curl Ideal for clients with downturned straight lashes. Avoid using L Curl on clients with Curly Lashes, it will not look good, will look very unnatural, and it will be impossible to perform proper placement, perfect “wrap”, resulting in terrible retention.

M Curl
The base of M Curl lashes is more or less straight depending on the brand, but not too long, and finishes in a strong curve without a rough transition. In contrast to eyelashes like L , LC, LD or L +.M Curl is also often used to cover hooded eyelids, lift droopy eyes, give lifting effect on deep-set eyes, small eyes, Asian eyes, and give Close-set eyes the illusion of wide-set eyes.

L & M Curl and retention
L & M Curl have more surface area at the base, this will result in a greater surface of attachment then when working with other Curls, resulting in even better retention. I have witness that my clients, that I have used L or M Curl on, have a week extra in retention.

What Tweezers work best for fanning L & M Curl Lashes

It might be intimidating to start working with M and L Curl, as they are very different from the C, CC, and D curl most Lash Artists are used to. Yes, it’s stepping out of your comfort zone, but give it a chance. I personally fan right off the strip, and discovered, that by using my Star Lashes World Inner Corner Tweezer, L & M Curl Lashes would fan like butter. I now use those tweezers throughout the whole set.
For Lash Artists using the Lonely Fan Technique, I recommend a Boot Tweezer, Swan, or 90-degree Tweezer. I do want to put the emphasis again in choosing quality products, use Superior Quality Fiber Volume Lashes, they might be hard to find, more expensive, but fanning them will be a breeze, and they outcome of your set will reflect quality.

Achieving Extreme Cat Eye Effect

Start with very short lengths in inner corner. I would recommend a 5mm, if your tray only starts at 6mm, here is a little trick, cut off 1mm of your 6mm at the base, using a scissor or an exact, and there you have it, you now have a 5mm. Keep it very short though-out 5-6-7-8-9-10 till the outer corner, only use your longer lengths for the tail 11-12-13-12-11. Change your direction when applying the tail. Majority of Lash Artists working these styles, that you have seen on Instagram use 0.07, I myself almost exclusively use 0.05, I just cannot get enough of the softness and sophisticated look of the outcome. Of course, how many d’s you put in the fan, will depend on your clients’ natural lashes, and the desired result. I however do not recommend going to intense. Keep it nice and clean. Especially on clients with lots of layers and lashes, or it will come out very messy looking.

Use narrow fans, or closed fans, if looking for wet effect. Direction is always more important when doing Russian Volume, but when working with L and M, make an extra effort to aim for perfection. No room for error. Fans must be parallel, not crisscrossed, at a 90-degree angle from the lid, until you get to the tail, then, start tilting those more and more. Mixing L & M with other curls.

You might also need to mix and use other curls when working with L& M Curls. Sometimes using a B or C Curl in inner corner will be needed.

On clients with 3 layers of Natural Lashes, when working with M Curl, I like to use M Curl in the 2 bottom layers, going down 1mm, and for the Top Layer, I like to use a soft C Curl, but dropping 2mm compared to my second layer. Working in L Curl on 3 layers on Natural Lashes, I would go 1mm shorter as I go up in my layers, keeping nice, crisp and angled.

Tapping your layers will help you achieving this to perfection. Mixing curls and advanced stylization is an art, I do recommend attending a good class to be able to master all this easily.

Why offer these trendy styles? The more styles you can master, means, the more styles you can offer your clientele. Stand out from other salons. Attract New Clients. Don’t be afraid to diversify your styles. Take pictures, show the world your talent.

Pricing
Once you Master this style to absolute perfection, I would recommend charging nothing under $300.00 Do not underestimate your value. Do not have clients take advantage of you. Eyelash Extensions is a Luxury. Russian Volume is an Art. Please always keep this in mind.

L & M Trainings
For those of you interested in learning more on these styles, and all our Techniques, tips and tricks in person, our trainings are available Worldwide, Live, or Virtually. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out.