We have the golden age of Hollywood to thank for our obsession with long, fluttery lashes.
As Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Rita Hayworth batted their dramatic eye looks on the silver screen, the beauty world took note and XXL lengthening has been the state of play ever since.
The desire for eyelash extensions dates back far further than the silver screen – all the way to 3500 B.C. The Ancient Egyptians were said to have layered-up lotions and potions to achieve more voluminous lashes, while both men and women coated on darkening residues – but this was for a far more practical reason; to shield their eyes from the sun.
Fast forward to 753 B.C. when the Romans associated short lashes with ageing, while long lashes symbolised morality and virginity. Over the years, lengthened cilium has come and gone in the circular way that trends do. Mascara was brought to market in the mid-1880s, while artificial eyelashes began to be glued on following the first patent in 1911, but it wasn’t till the aforementioned stars donned enhanced lashes that it hit the mainstream – and changed the way we look at lashes forever.
Our bid to achieve skyscraper lashes has taken us to some weird and wonderful places, from advances in mascara formulation to false lashes becoming easier and easier to apply. There are professional treatments like LVL lash lift, a perm-like for your cilium. Yet it can weaken the hair and cause breakage. So, what if there was a way to encourage growth by nourishing and conditioning your natural hair? Enter lash serums.
Much like serums to enhance your skin, lash serums work by coating with the likes of vitamin E, hyaluronic acid and proteins. It’s no surprise that these formulas are so popular and constantly trending on TikTok – but do they work? And how? We called on Claire Larsen, Global Master Educator at RevitaLash, a brand that counts Meghan Markle, Olivia Wilde and Kim Kardashian among its extensive fan base, to find out more.
Do lash serums work?
“A consistent routine is the key to achieving optimal results”, stresses Larsen. “For best results, we recommend applying once each day or night. You will want to carefully adhere to the directions and apply a thin line directly to your clean, dry eyelashes, above the lash line”.
She cautions that “Results will vary depending on the individual, but can often be seen almost immediately and will increase over time. With RevitaLash Advanced, we conducted an independent consumer study with 63 participants. After six weeks of daily directed use, 98 per cent reported improved lash appearance and 98 per cent reported healthier-looking lashes.
What does lash serum do?
“Eyelash serums include cosmetic ingredients to condition, strengthen and enhance your natural lashes”, she explains. “The ingredients help to defend against harmful free radicals that can cause our lashes to become brittle and make them more prone to breakage, all while making them look more shiny and healthy”.
How do lash serums work?
Larsen explains, “Formulas full of lash-loving ingredients are applied directly to the lashes. Similar to a hair conditioner, they hydrate the hair with conditioning ingredients for shine and flexibility. This also prevents brittleness and breakage by strengthening the hair with ingredients rich in vitamins and strengthening peptides. They protect the health of the hair with free-radical fighting antioxidants and they enhance the overall beauty of the lashes for a healthier-looking lash”.
How to best apply lash serum?
“Remember to use it every day to see the best results!”, she emphasises. However, it’s important to note, “Using it more than once a day won’t yield “better” or faster results”.
The expert continues “Using the fine brush intended for this delicate area, apply your lash serum directly to your upper eyelashes above the lash line only, avoiding lower lash application. It’s imperative to start with a clean, oil-free eye area and let the product dry for at least two minutes before applying the next step in your AM or PM routine. And just to note, because our lash care products are oil-free, they are safe and beautifully compatible with eyelash extensions”.
Are lash serums safe?
For a brand like RevitaLash, safety is of the utmost importance. Larsen reveals “All of our products undergo safety tests that are then reviewed further by ophthalmologists and/or dermatologists. We work with top chemists in the cosmetics industry to ensure excellence in formulation, and we guide responsible development by always using the best available ingredients which meet our highest standards for health and safety. In addition to clinical testing, we also conduct in-house product testing and external consumer product review and benchmarking for third-party validation of product performance”.
Shop the best lash serums below
RevitaLash Advanced 3.5ml
Packed with botanicals and a roster of scientifically-backed ingredients, RevitaLash is one of the biggest and best in the business, giving sparse eyelashes their sexy back. Simply use the fine brush attached to the lid to gently lace your lashline with the formula nightly. You can even apply it in the morning before your usual makeup - just give it time to dry first. Religious use should give you the results you’re after in a few weeks and each 3.5ml tube should be enough for six months.
Buy now £99.00, Space NK
Augustinus Bader The Eyebrow and Lash Enhancing Serum
Professor Augustinus Bader launched his eponymous collection to bring to market products that encourage the body’s own process of healing. This is through his skincare which is beloved by the likes of Victoria Beckham and Kim Kardashian to his haircare. Within the latter category is a reparative gem, the Eyebrow & Lash Enhancing Serum.
This is another luxury product, and its mission is to bring fullness to the hair above your eyes as well as leave you with luscious lashes. The heavily researched, science-backed formula contains the brand’s patented TFC8, a Trigger Factor Complex that was created to combat damaging environmental stress. This, combined with a cocktail of stimulating actives, has made this product clinically proven to add density to brows and lashes. It imparts crucial nutrients like biotin that supercharge your own repair process as well as winter algae, peptide-rich turmeric and hyaluronic acid to prevent shedding and act as a protective moisture barrier.
Buy now £120.00, Cult Beauty
RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum
In tests with 102 people over 56 days, 86 per cent reported fuller and longer-looking lashes from using RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum. Even if you’ve not got a head for figures, you can’t argue with numbers like that.
The hair growth formula is packed with nourishing proteins, vitamins and other ingredients, working to help you get that killer wink. Use the applicator to trace a thin line over your lashline being careful to avoid contact with your eyes. The brand recommends two months of use before you see results. For makeup that does more, check out the brand’s RapidGlam eyelash enhancing mascserum (£32), which has also been infused with the serum.
Buy now £39.99, lookfantastic
KOSAS GrowPotion Fluffy Lash + Brow Boosting Serum
You may recognise this brand from ‘What’s in my makeup bag?’ videos by Hailey Bieber. The model and beauty entrepreneur is a fan, specifically of the concealer, and no doubt due to the brand’s easy-to-apply makeup-skincare hybrids that have clean compositions. The GrowPotion is no different, slipping seamlessly into your routine and containing 97 per cent naturally derived ingredients.
The product has hyaluronic acid at its heart that is set alongside vegan keratin and a trio of peptides that are conditioning for not only the brows but the lashes too. You can use this before bed or in place of your current brow gel as a setting formula to lock brows in place.
Buy now £40.00, Sephora
The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Lash and Brow Serum
Brow and lash serums are remarkably expensive but if you’re on the hunt for a formula that will work without breaking the bank, you can always rely on The Ordinary whether we’re talking skin, hair or in this case, brows. The nourishing composition is designed to multitask and encourage density at both the brows and lashes with a trio of hard-to-pronounce, trademarked ingredients.
While these complexes are not familiar, they work to encourage a fuller appearance by encasing the individual hairs in reparative coatings to make them thicker, healthier and stronger.
Buy now £14.20, lookfantastic
UKLASH Eyelash Serum 3ml
Encourage healthy hair growth with this serum, packed full with essential vitamins, extracts and peptides all uniting to transform your peepers. Consistency is key: apply nightly after your cleansing routine and avoid double dipping - once is enough for both eyelashes.
Buy now £32.30, Boots
Lancôme Cils Booster Lash Revitalising Serum
Whether you’ve overdone it with the eyelash extensions or you want to add some va va vroom to your peepers, Lancôme is here to save the day with its Cils Booster Lash Revitalising Serum. It helps condition and strengthen lashes using a Kerasolution Complex made up of four amino acids found in hair as well as hydrating hyaluronic acid and skin-soothing cica to cut irritation.
Apply this from the root to tip, taking care to ensure your lashes are dry before continuing with your normal makeup. The results are stronger, glossier lashes with less fallout.
Buy now £37.55, Sephora
Rodial Lash & Brow Booster Serum
Skincare hero Rodial can transform your complexion, and with this serum, your lashes too. The high-performance eyelash and eyebrow serum uses vitamin B5, castor oil, hyaluronic acid and a complex of proteins to condition hair and build strength and shine to such an extent it claims you can forgo extensions completely. A comparatively low investment for an eyelash extension obsessive. Use nightly.
Buy now £35.00, lookfantastic
Shiseido Full Lash Serum
Give brows and lashes a helping hand with Shiseido’s Full Lash Serum which repairs and restores eyelashes to a full, doll-like appearance. The formula is light and absorbs quickly while encouraging rapid growth with arginine and jujuba fruit on the ingredients list. Not only do lashes appear longer, but they’ll look denser too with regular use.
Buy now £48.00, Space NK
