Which Is More Popular: Lash Lift or Eyelash Extensions? Insights into Beauty Trends Across Balwyn, Doncaster and Mont Albert

Introduction

I have more than 11 years of experience in the beauty industry and have been running Lena Utmost Beauty in Balwyn for more than three and a half years. However, I had never really thought about beauty trends across different suburbs until my husband asked me a simple question about a month ago: Do clients from different suburbs actually prefer different beauty treatments? It was a simple question, but it made me think differently about the services we provide every day. The first thing that came to my mind was to examine our booking data. I immediately thought of two popular, and at the same time competing, service groups, namely, lash lift and eyelash extensions. Hence, I formulated a simple research question: Which treatment is more popular, Lash Lift or Eyelash Extensions?

Methodology

To answer this question, we decided to look at our own booking records rather than rely on assumptions or social media trends. We focused on the three suburbs from which we receive the highest number of clients: Balwyn, Doncaster and Mont Albert. We divided our booking records into two periods. Phase 1 covers 2023 to September 2024, while Phase 2 covers October 2024 to June 2026. We chose these two periods deliberately. During the second half of 2024, we began to notice a gradual increase in the popularity of lash lifts among our clients. Rather than analysing the entire period as one dataset, we separated it into two phases to determine whether this observation reflected a genuine change in client preferences over time or simply a short-term fluctuation. We compared the relative popularity of lash lifts and eyelash extensions within each suburb during both phases. This approach enabled us to observe changes in booking patterns while maintaining the confidentiality of our business data.

Results

In order to make the results more readable and understandable for the readers, we decided to use a table to compare the beauty trends across Balwyn, Doncaster and Mont Albert.

Suburb	Phase 1 (2023-Sep 2024)	Phase 2 (Oct 2024-Jun 2026)	Trend
Balwyn	Lash Extensions > Lash Lift	Lash Lift ≈ Lash Extensions	Growing demand for Lash Lift
Doncaster	Lash Extensions > Lash Lift	Lash Lift > Lash Extensions	Lash Lift became the leading service
Mont Albert	Lash Extensions > Lash Lift	Lash Extensions > Lash Lift	Lash Extensions remain dominant

Across the three suburbs, we observed a gradual increase in the popularity of lash lifts during Phase 2. While eyelash extensions remain one of our most requested services, more clients are choosing lash lifts.

Discussions: Potential reasons for this trend

Eyelash extensions are still dominant and based on my personal experience and conversations with the clients, first, they see it as a kind of added value; something has been added to their lashes. Second, they see it the fluffiness of eyelash extensions and they like it. Third, clients from Doncaster specifically appreciate the eyelashes because of their proximity to Westfield Doncaster and parties! Yes, they say they would like to attend parties fully fledged and go to shopping centre with a different look. Fourth, eyelash extensions can save time in the morning. Several clients have told me they want to have minimum hassle in the morning and eyelash extensions do a lot. Most of them were from Mont Albert area. On the contrary, eyelash lift is gaining momentum for its more natural appearance. It is lower maintenance and suitability for everyday wear. Finally, it is cheaper than eyelash extensions.

There is another interesting observation hidden within these findings. Beauty preferences do not appear to be identical across suburbs. Although these differences should not be exaggerated, they may reflect the small communities and local cultures in which we live. From my own academic background in literacy studies, I cannot help thinking about Homi Bhabha's concept of the Third Space and Claire Kramsch's work on intercultural identity. They remind us that identities are continuously negotiated rather than fixed. Perhaps beauty preferences are negotiated in much the same way, through our communities, lifestyles, workplaces and everyday interactions. This is precisely why every consultation should begin with the individual rather than assumptions based on trends.

Conclusions

Based on our booking records over the past three and a half years, eyelash extensions remain the more popular treatment overall. However, the gap has narrowed considerably, with lash lifts becoming increasingly popular among clients seeking a more natural, lower-maintenance look. Our observations also suggest that beauty trends may differ across suburbs, reinforcing the importance of personalised consultations rather than assuming that one treatment is suitable for everyone. Ultimately, trends can provide useful insights, but every client remains unique.

We are privileged to welcome clients from Balwyn, Balwyn North, Mont Albert, Mont Albert North, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Kew, Kew East, Deepdene, Surrey Hills, Camberwell, Box Hill and many surrounding suburbs. Every consultation at Lena Utmost Beauty is tailored to the individual, helping each client choose the treatment that best suits their natural lashes, lifestyle and personal preferences rather than simply following current trends.

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