I learned a lot about lashes during the three hours I sat down with beauty expert and lash guru Lori Hamlin. The blonde sweetheart is abuzz with information on the bat-worthy lashes she meticulously applies. Hard to believe that just a few months ago she was focusing mostly on makeup; today, she's acquired a roster of celebrity clients and a secret Soho address to match. Despite the hype, her studio is so homey that you feel like she's an old friend who you just stopped by to visit.

Those are my lashes up there, before I had work done. I call it "work" because, like any worthwhile enhancement, it's unapologetically expensive and more time-consuming than you'd like. But the task is one of extreme detail--she takes a teeny tiny synthetic lash and glues it to one of your natural lashes, over and over and over again.