She's Got The Look

by Kayla Perrin

"Don't hate me because I have long, luscious lashes."

This is what I imagine people were thinking much of this past year as I would croon over their long, beautiful lashes--the kind I did not have. At the bank, or at the grocery check out line, if I noticed someone with super long lashes, I wouldn't hesitate to say, "Wow, your lashes are so long! What do you do?"

I got sheepish smiles and the standard, "This is with mascara" line, but the truth was, I had begun to notice that even when I wore mascara, my eyelashes looked nowhere near as long as some women's (and some men's!). Call it vanity, but somewhere along the way, I began to obsess about my eyelash length.

I suppose it's not hard to see why. You can't turn on the television without seeing commercials with women with magnificent lashes, and even some TV shows. For example, on CRIMINAL MINDS, Paget Brewster, who plays Emily Prentiss, has some seriously long lashes. As much as I watch the show for its plot (and for Shemar Moore!), I found I began to check out Brewster's eyelashes at all times. I'm thinking they're real--or perhaps eyelash extensions. All I know is they look spectacular.

But it's the Eva Longorias and Megan Foxes of Hollywood who have us common girls suffering eyelash envy. And heck, even Oprah. That said, I started to get frustrated with the clearly false commercials. Obviously, Eva is wearing fake eyelashes in at least the latest Loreal ads and on the packaging. As is the woman on the Maybelline site promoting the new Pulse Perfection mascara. Apparently Penelope Cruz clashed with Loreal regarding the misleading advertising of one of their mascaras. She admitted she was wearing individually applied fake lashes (duh!!). Sure, the lashes in the photo of her below look fantastic--but is anyone naive enough to believe that they're real? Just look at the pic of Eva on the left without makeup. No eyelashes to speak of! Those Loreal ads are clearly bogus.

That said, I did buy into some of the hype of what these mascaras can do late this past summer. Before that, I'd maybe bought one or two cheap mascaras a year. But in the span of three weeks in September, I bought about four. One by Lancome that was supposed to build your lashes (to the tune of $30--ouch!). One by Loreal that claims it promotes thickness (Eva Longoria is the model for this one). And a couple from Avon (these have been inexpensive and pretty good--love the Super Shock one!).

Anyway, I wasn't completely satisfied. I didn't want to spend too much time in front of the mirror applying mascara. I wanted naturally better lashes. Funny, last year this time, I didn't think anything was wrong with my lashes!

When I was at the Romance Writers of America conference this past summer, I met a woman who had perfect, long lashes. She confided in me that she'd had eyelash extensions. But another of my writer friends--whose eyelashes I also commented on--told me her secret.

She was using an eyelash growth stimulator.

If you haven't heard of this, you're not alone. I knew nothing about this kind of stuff. Apparently those suffering from glaucoma discovered that with the treatment for their eyes came an unexpected positive result--seriously long lashes.

And a light bulb went off. Cosmetics companies the world over realized there would be gazillions of dollars to make from a product that helped a person's lashes to grow.

Companies like Latisse are using the active ingredient from the glaucoma medication in their products, and women are buying them in droves. (The pic on the left is a before and after of a woman who used Latisse--impressive!) When I came home from the conference, I decided to see what I could learn about such products on youtube. And lo and behold, I was introduced to a whole new world--the youtube video review.

There are countless beauty videos on youtube ranging from mascaras that women find effective, to how to apply fake eyelashes, to which lipsticks women like, to week-by-week reviews of various eyelash enhancement products. It is easy to spend an hour or more watching video after video.

Anyway, my writer friend had started off using Revitalash but had recently switched to Latisse, the product Brooke Shields has been endorsing. But at $120 a month for Latisse, I figured that was too much to spend. Eyelash extensions can cost over $200, and you have to get touch ups every few weeks. I wasn't interested in that--and thanks to youtube reviews, I heard all about the horror stories of eyelashes falling off with the glued on extensions. Though they look great (as in this pic on the right and the one at the top of this page).

After my research, I settled on LiLash--one that seemed to be highly favored by most youtube reviewers. It cost me $120 for a 6 month supply, and I began to use it on September 7th. And yes--I just uploaded my own youtube review! Click on the link to see all about my experiment--since I can't figure out how to embed it...

Check out the picture of my eyes on the left, taken yesterday!

I definitely have longer, fuller, and even curlier lashes! I am very satisfied!

At least I was satisfied--until I saw the picture of the woman on the right who used Revitalash! This picture was posted on Facebook, promoting the page for fans of Revitalash.

No fair!! She has longer lashes than I do! Oh, the horror! But at least I have curlier ones! Ha! :-)

Perhaps I'll only be happy when my lashes look like the picture on the left. Hey, I had to inject some humor to offset the vanity!

Seriously, though--if you're like me and don't want to wear fake lashes or get eyelash extensions, I can attest to the fact that these growth products for your lashes DO work.

So, what about you? Any of you ever used an eyelash growth stimulator? Come on, fess up! I just did! I want to hear all about it.

Until next time,

Kayla (furiously batting her long lashes...)