Not everyone is feeling frugal these days, and New Yorkers seeking the most luxurious in fake eyelashes will soon be able to wrap their eyes in sable. Karina Freedman, who’s been extending lashes with synthetic fibers or mink, is arranging to import the pelts from Russia, where they have become the eye rage. “They look so lush and natural,” says Freedman, who will be gluing the hairs to lashes at salons like Frédéric Fekkai, Aida Bicaj, and Oscar Blandi. Angie Goris, the manager at Oscar Blandi, where sable extensions will cost $400 for initial installation, reports “countless requests” for them. But some are less enthused. “Women who need to wear sable on their lashes are like men who light cigars with $50 bills,” says PETA’s Dan Matthews.

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Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Beth Landman
• Table of Contents: Jan 5, 2009 issue of New York | Subscribe!