F.Lashes: Interactive LED Eyelashes

Glowing wristbands. Neon sneakers. RGB shades. Blinking cat ears. Fiber optic braids. Just when we thought we’ve seen all there was to light-up wearables, we bumped into Arduino designer Tien Pham at Maker Faire Bay Area, who showed off his latest creation with hardware engineer Davey Taylor: F.Lashes.

As its name would suggest, F.Lashes are lightweight, interactive false LED eyelashes with various modes that can be changed at the press of a button: liquid pour, twilight sparkle, hyper burst, endless winks, and even one inspired by Knight Rider’s KITT. Currently, the rave-ready accessory comes in pink, red, blue, light blue, white, yellow, and green, though more colors are likely in the future.

What’s neat is that different effects are activated by different motions. Some light up as you jump, some increase in speed as you tilt or nod, and others get brighter as you dance.

F.Lashes can be applied using standard, store-bought eyelash adhesive in under a minute. Thin yet barely visible wires then connect each eyelash to a custom PCB and a 3V coin cell battery (which lasts about four hours) attached to the back of your head by hair clips.

Contrary to what it might seem, F.Lashes aren’t blinding to wear. “In fact, I often can’t tell I have them turned on,” Pham tell us. “I have to cup my hand over my eye to see the light. You might see a bit of light when you’re in a dark room, but it’s not much.”

While we were able to get a sneak peek in San Mateo, the hype has only begun. Pham plans on launching a Kickstarter campaign for F.Lashes early this summer* and selling to the public. Safe to say, it’s only a matter of time before you find these LED eyelashes throughout concert venues, nightclubs, Halloween stores, and even Burning Man.

*UPDATE: F.Lashes are now live on Kickstarter! Currently available for $40, with an early bird price of $30.