After arriving at Envious Lashes, I learned all about how mermaid lashes come to life. "Think of it as balayage or ombre highlights for your lashes," Richardson said, going on to explain that colors are selected specifically to accentuate a client's eye color. "For example, purple makes green eyes appear much more intense and also works well on brown eyes to create the illusion of bigger eyes. Green works best paired with hazel eyes for a beautiful wash of color, while blue helps blue-eyed girls make a bigger impact and also brings out the natural beauty of brown eyes." (A blend of purple, blue and green was selected to accentuate my mahogany eyes.) A mix of different widths, lengths and curvatures are used to make the lashes appear as natural as possible — apart from being all mermaid-y and such.

Once the colors, widths, lengths and curvatures are selected, the application is personalized based on what the client wants their mermaid lashes to look like — an ombre effect, rainbow blend or just one color evenly placed throughout the entire lash line. If you've never gotten lash extensions (which I had not), you may be surprised to know that the process can take upwards of one and a half hours to create (mine took more than two). The precision it takes to individually glue lashes to your lash lines is well worth letting your lash stylist take their time. And hey, if you're like me, you may even get a nice little snooze out of it, only to wake up to the dreamiest set of lashes you've ever had.

Image via Envious Lashes

After two hours of lash magic, prepare to want to live in your mermaid glory forever. Unfortunately, colored lash extensions last only up to six weeks. "As the weeks progress, the extensions will slowly shed until you are back to your natural lashes. You can have extensions indefinitely with touchups/refills every two to three weeks, but if you wait too long, your eyelash extensions will fall out and you will require a full set," Richardson said.

Since your natural eyelashes fall off every 45 to 60 days due to the natural growth cycle, you'll begin to realize how often this happens when paired with colorful silk lashes. Don't worry that you're somehow not taking care of your mermaid extensions as well as you should be, it's totally normal. It's also recommended that you not get them wet for 48 hours post-application. (Warning: do not watch the Super Bowl episode of "This Is Us" less than 24 hours after application as I did.)

Despite the inevitable fallout, there are ways to help keep your mermaid lashes looking fresh for longer. First, hands off! Rubbing and picking at your new lashes will (obviously) make them fall out. Another thing you want to steer clear of is excess moisture and steam. By no means does this mean you shouldn't wash your face, simply be sure to dry your lashes immediately so as to not loosen the glue. Lastly, you may need to rethink your sleeping position. If you sleep face down, it can irritate your lash extensions and cause them to fall out sooner than you'd like.

Book, book, book! Seriously, I have never gotten so many compliments — and that's without makeup! As someone who loves going barefaced, having a gorgeous colored set of lashes really took my no-makeup look to the next level. The colors are actually pretty subtle unless viewed in direct sunlight or up close and personal. In other words, they'll stand out at all the right times without overwhelming your look.

Mermaid lashes cost $135 - $450 depending on the style selected (think: natural-looking vs. glam). Looking like a mermaid IRL before putting on any other makeup? Priceless.