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There’s something about a generous set of long thick eyelashes that can make even the most bland faces pop, which is why many of us spend a good ten minutes in front of the mirror every morning, pulling funny faces and blinking into a gloop-filled brush.
And while some of us are more blessed than others in the lash department - walk into any chemist and you’ll find a vast array of mascaras that promise to lengthen, thicken, gloss, curl and primp our lashes to within an inch of their lives.
Now however, a new drug has been released which could have us binning our beloved mascara forever (well, almost)…
Latisse, the first and only FDA-approved prescription treatment for less-than-luxuriant lashes, was originally prescribed as a treatment for glaucoma, but users reported another desirable side effect - it made their lashes significantly thicker, longer and darker.
Latisse is thought to affect the growth phase of the eyelash hair cycle in two ways: first, it increases the length of the lash; and second, it ups the number of hairs produced in this growth phase, leaving you with lashes Bambi would be proud of after about eight weeks.
You apply Latisse to the base of the eyelashes once a day (a bit like mascara then) and sit back and wait for the magic to happen.
The upsides to using Latisse are plentiful: no more gloopy caked together lashes, no more black stained pillow; no more tracks down the face after a weepy film. You can go to sleep at night with a luxuriant set of lashes and wake up in the morning with them still in place; you can go out for the evening safe in the knowledge your eyelashes will look as stunning as when you left the house (unlike with false ones which can end up looking like a face full of spiders after a few hours), the list goes on.
Sounds like a dream alternative doesn't it? But, unfortunately, some of the side effects sound pretty nasty too, including: darkening of the skin pigment around the eyes, red, itchy eyes, inflammation of skin - and permanent change in eye colour. It has even been reported that Latisse can cause hair to grow in any area it touches (I instantly picture myself with hairy cheeks and fingertips, Teenwolf-style).
At $120 (around £70) for a 30-day supply, Latisse is hardly cheap - and as far as I’m aware, the effects aren’t permanent. If you stop using the drug your eyelashes will eventually turn back to normal, a bit like Cinderella at midnight.
I have to admit, I’m curious to see how luxuriant my lashes could be with a little helping hand, but fear of having hairy knuckles prevents me from trying. So, I think for now, I’ll stick to my trusty magic mascara wand and just steer clear of weepy films.
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