The December air already smells like cinnamon and pine needles. Last week a girl was sitting at my workbench, scrolling through Christmas makeup reference photos on her phone, when she suddenly looked up and asked me, “Which false lashes do you think would suit me?” I looked at her eye shape—inner double eyelids, with the outer corners slightly downturned—and the dense styles in those photos would have just weighed her eyes down. We ended up spending the whole afternoon trying on three pairs, and finally settled on a short-cluster mixed style that I’d modified by hand. She took more than a dozen selfies in the mirror before she left.

That’s where my custom service started: no single pair of false lashes suits everyone. Instead of leaving you to agonize in front of a shelf, I’d rather make them based on your eyes.

That’s especially true during Christmas season. You might have several parties to go to, with warm and cool lighting, heavy and light makeup, and photo angles you can’t control. Factory-made lashes are either too dramatic, like stage makeup, or they collapse after five hours. So this Christmas I’ve opened a dedicated custom slot. From measuring your eye shape to the final product, I handle everything myself from start to finish.

The process isn’t complicated, but I’m picky about every step:

First, we talk about your eyes. It’s not just about looking at photos. I’ll ask you to come bare-faced so I can see your eye length, eyelid thickness, and the natural direction of your lashes in person. Inner double eyelids and monolids need completely different curls. Some people’s inner-corner lashes grow downward, and factory lashes with a uniform curl will lift at the edge when applied—you can’t see these details in photos.

Then we decide on the style. For Christmas I usually recommend two directions: one is “soft under warm light,” using 0.07mm fine hairs in a fish-tail style, with the tips slightly spread out, so they have a fuzzy edge under the warm yellow lights of a restaurant. The other is a “photo-proof framework style,” with a few 0.1mm support hairs added in the middle so the curve holds up even under direct flash. Of course, you can also bring your Christmas makeup ideas, and I’ll adjust the hair material and arrangement on the spot.

Then I make them by hand. I use Korean imported PBT fiber hairs, with a 0.15mm soft cotton band—Christmas parties often last five or six hours, and a thick band will start to dig into your eyes halfway through. I’ll arrange each pair three or four times on the mannequin head, adjusting the curve to make sure that when they’re applied to your eyes, the inner corners won’t lift and the outer corners won’t droop. This process takes about two to three days, so I’d suggest booking at least a week in advance.

Finally, a try-on and adjustment. Once the lashes are ready, I’ll ask you to come back, apply them on the spot, and take a look. If anything feels uncomfortable—scratchy inner corners, a gap in the middle, pressure at the outer corners—I’ll fix it right there. To be honest, eight out of ten pairs need a little tweaking. That’s completely normal; no one’s eye shape is a standard template.

Last weekend I just delivered a pair to a regular client, Xiao Lin. She was going to her company’s Christmas dinner. Her left eye is a little rounder than her right, and store-bought lashes always felt off on one side. This time I gave her a shorter fan-shaped arrangement for the left eye and added two clusters of outer-corner extensions to the right. After trying them on, she blinked at the mirror for a while and said, “Finally, both sides look like the same pair of eyes.” That kind of feedback is pretty much why I insist on doing custom work.

I still have a few Christmas slots open from now until the 20th. If you’re also worrying about your party makeup, or you just want to see what it feels like to have a pair made “for your own eyes,” you’re welcome to come sit in my studio. Bring a photo of your Christmas makeup, or just come bare-faced and let me look at your eyes—we’ll make the lashes just right together.

After all, no matter how pretty the holiday lights are, you still need a pair of eyes that can hold the room.