For the Love of Long Lashes

All my life, I’ve had itty-bitty little eye lashes. Growing up, I probably tried every kind of mascara out there from Lancome to Maybelline in an attempt to enhance them. After a lot of trial and a whole lot of error, I discovered that taking off my mascara would often cause my lashes to fall out! Instead of putting up with it, I just decided to never use mascara. At the beginning of the year, I decided to give Latisse a try (new year, new you, right?). Here’s my ‘before’ shot so you can see just how puny my lashes were.

I updated my Facebook status to read, “Just started using Latisse. Can’t wait to start throwing my lashes over my shoulder.” To my amazement and delight, it only took about two weeks to start seeing results, and it only took about a month for friends, family and co-workers to start fawning over my long lashes. The big joke was that I could give butterfly kisses from across the room. :) Another great bonus I discovered was that my lash roots became much ‘stronger,’ so my lashes don’t fall out very often. Hello mascara, my long lost friend! Today I’m wearing Stila Glamoureyes mascara with the big teddy bear brush. And taking off mascara is no problem at all since I discovered La Fresh eyes & lips makeup remover wipes this year. They’re so gentle, they work quickly and easily to remove even tough mascara without a lot of lash fall out.

Here’s a snap of my lashes today. Can you see the diff?

The Longer Lashes Trend

There’s one cosmetic women just can’t do without, and that is mascara. Because the way dark, long lashes emphasize the eyes is unique.

Luckily enough we live in a longer-lash addicted era. That means, more and more lash-enhancing cosmetics are produced. Almost each month a new product is launched with new, exciting promises.

Last January, Allergan Inc., maker of Botox, launched Latisse, a prescription-only lash growth product. Latisse, fronted by actress Brooke Shields, is the first FDA-approved treatment for hypotrichosis (a condition of no hair growth).

Latisse caused quite a stir, but because it needs a prescription, and so it does not have the same impulse buying appeal of OTC products.

Since Allergan debuted on the market last January, it has drawn attention to all things lash related — eyelash conditioners, curl-inducing treatments and false eyelashes.

RapidLash Eyelash Renewal Serum ($49.95) and Peter Thomas Roth Lashes To Die For ($125.00) are seeing an upward trend every week, according to research.

A recently launched product, Fusion Beauty StimuLashFusion ($89.00) left Roslyn Griner, a senior vice president at Fusion Beauty, surprised: “It was unbelievable, we launched and, within in month, it became the number-two in our lineup.” (source WWD)

Of Lashes To Die For Thomas Roth said, “It has been amazing. It is the top seller at all my retailers. We have had people from Brazil buy six at a time.”

But with all the newness in the category — from colored mascaras by Benefit Cosmetics, to vibrating mascara wands, mascara sales haven’t petered out in the least: it’s always one of the top 3 sellers in every beauty store.