Like hemlines and cocktails, facial features go in and out of fashion, and right now, eyelashes are where it’s at. Five years ago, we may have wanted a plump, pillowy Angelina Jolie mouth, suffering through stinging lip glosses and shots of collagen for it. But these days the focus has shifted to a fat, feathery eye fringe (ask the Kardashians).
“The goal is drag-queen lashes,” said Amber Katz, 30, a writer, describing the look she wants on Saturday nights. “Veering into ‘I sweat glitter’ territory.”
For her, and the rest of us craving disco-ready lashes without using falsies, there is an ever-growing arsenal of tools: over-the-counter lash-enhancing serums, semipermanent mascaras that last up to six weeks and more-traditional formulas that claim to impart tarantula-like spikes.
Photo: Reuters
Latisse, the first federally approved prescription drug for growing longer, lusher lashes, was introduced in 2009, and a wave of similar but less potent over-the-counter serums has followed. There are at least 10, all introduced in the last year, that claim to make lashes look lengthier and fuller, from brands like L’Oreal and Peter Thomas Roth, ranging from US$15 to US$125.
The products work on the lashes in two ways. First, they contain a molecule similar to the bimatoprost in Latisse, which prolongs the hair growth cycle so that your lashes don’t fall out as often.
“It’s not entirely understood why or how this type of molecule prolongs the growth phase of the cycle, but scientists know that it does,” said David Colbert, a dermatologist. “And because it does, your eyelashes are in your face longer, so they grow thicker, and there are more of them.”
The over-the-counter serums also purport to strengthen lashes by moisturizing them with ingredients like pro-vitamin B5 and humectants. “It’s really about conditioning and giving the lash TLC,” Colbert said. “If you moisturize anything, it’s going to look better.”
To be effective, the serums should be applied twice a day to the base of the lashes. Recently, DuWop Cosmetics co-founder Laura LaRocca and makeup artist Dawn Watts created the first lash-boosting formula with pigment in it so it can be used as an eyeliner. Called Line N Grow, it comes in black, olive and midnight blue, among other shades. “I thought: You put it on like eyeliner. Why don’t we make it one?” Watts said. “It was one of those aha moments.”
It won’t stand alone for long. Physicians Formula is introducing a similar product, called Eye Booster 2-in-1-Lash Boosting Eyeliner (PLUS) Serum, in March.
But it takes about four to six weeks of twice-a-day use of lash enhancers to see actual growth, and soon after you stop using them, your lashes will revert to their original, sparser state. Established side effects of Latisse include itching, irritation, redness and increased brown pigmentation of the iris; the over-the-counter products, which are not government regulated, are also a gamble.
According to Colbert, the over-the-counter lash boosters contain a weaker derivative of bimatoprost or a similar molecule. “Most people won’t experience any side effects from the over-the-counter products,” he said, “but I’d never want to go on the record as saying 100 percent of people won’t.” Colbert tried Line N Grow on his right eye every morning for two weeks and noticed that his lashes looked thicker, but said: “A couple of times it stung a tiny bit, but it went away in seconds.”
Amy Newburger, the founder of Dermatology Consultants of Westchester, is concerned that these products aren’t undergoing the appropriate scrutiny. “Because they make a cosmetic claim that they ‘appear to lengthen eyelashes’ or ‘enhance looks’ they don’t have to undergo the same testing as drugs,” she said. “But it’s just splitting hairs. I think it’s a very audacious and dishonest thing and it puts the population at some risk.”
A less threatening solution might be LashDip, semipermanent mascara that lasts for up to six weeks. It was created by a makeup artist, Jessica Harley, and a hairstylist, Gina Mondragon, in Chicago. “No-chip nail polish was a huge inspiration for LashDip,” Harley said. “We thought, How come we can have semipermanent anything now but not mascara?”
Their invention, which is two years old and now available in about 50 salons in the US, is a gel made of black pigment, acetone and stearic acid that’s painted onto the eye fringe. The LashDip application is a three-step process. First, the lashes are cleaned with a sodium-and-aloe soap. Then the gel is daubed on by a cosmetologist or makeup artist to darken and shape the lashes. Finally, it’s dried and sealed with a glycol- and alcohol-based finishing solution. The procedure takes 45 minutes for both the top and bottom lashes and costs about US$200.
Courtney Akai, an eyelash extension specialist who owns the Courtney Akai Lash Boutique, was one of the first makeup artists in Manhattan trained to apply LashDip. She heard about the product from one of her extension clients. “As soon as I saw the first demonstration, my heart was racing,” Akai said. “I just knew this was the missing piece.”
Not everyone sees a reason to toss their wands yet, though. Jenn Falik, who hosts Beauty BFF on MSN, prefers regular old mascara to any of the new high-tech options. “I love that ritual of applying black lacquer to my lashes and seeing the difference different formulas can make,” she said. “Adding a lash enhancer would feel like cheating.”
For those like her, there’s the new MAC Haute & Naughty Lash, for US$18, with a dual brush that lets you create either defined, combed lashes or thicker, more product-loaded ones, depending on your mood. Ultraflesh Panthera (US$26) is made from natural waxes that will keep your lashes soft and has a comb to help give a cat’s-eye look. And Lorac’s Multiplex 3D Lashes (US$22), which supposedly triples your lash volume, will be out in the spring.
Of course, by then you may be ready to move on to, say, hot-pink cheeks.
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist