Latisse: In Case You're Tired of the Whole Green Thing

I first want to say Hello to any new readers of the blog! I would also like to alert you to my latest accomplishment in Blog Technology (Blognology?) - on the right there you can now subscribe to The Nob Blog and have every new post delivered directly to your Inbox. It may sound like a simple thing, but I had to solicit the help of blog-savvy Stancie Wilson to make it happen (thanks, Stancie). So please, reward my efforts and sign up!

OK, on to tonight's topic. Latisse. Have you read about it? Here's a nice article from the NY Times to fill you in, if you're not yet in the know. In short, it's a chemical treatment for lengthening eyelashes. For just $120/month, you too can have long, thick, dark lashes.



Let's discuss this piece of progress in aesthetic technology. Being surrounded by natural and organic beauty products, books, magazines, and blogs, it's easy for me to think that everyone is heading in a more chemical-free direction. Then I hear a story about Latisse while listening to BBC World, featuring an interview with the former editor-in-chief of British Cosmo, and reality hit me right between my mineral-decorated eyes. Apparently, it's a given that many women will line up to drop $120 every month for the opportunity to have longer, thicker lashes. The Cosmo editor said matter-of-factly that women will do whatever it takes to increase their chances of attracting a bloke (her word), since research shows a man decides whether he fancies a women in about 7 seconds.

And yet, a couple of questions come to mind. First of all, if anyone can get their hands on Latisse, how does that put you at an advantage? It's like boob jobs. If every woman can amplify her breasts, doesn't that make big breasts just another day at the beach?

But more importantly, this bar for beauty standards and "performance" of beauty products just keeps getting higher. And is it just me, or is that standard becoming an increasingly bizarre exaggeration of femaleness? Huge breasts, fat lips, labiaplasty (don't even get me started), and now crazy long eyelashes. What's next, the resurgence of foot binding and rib removal? Corsets anyone? Am I the only one who finds this to be a disturbing trend? What exactly are we using to determine what the ideal is when it comes to skin, lips, boobs and eyelashes, and why does it keep heading in an impossible-to-achieve-without-chemicals direction? Furthermore, do we really believe that men give a sh*t if our eye lashes are 1/4 inch longer, or are pharmaceutical companies just trying to convince us we need to give them more millions of dollars to be pretty?

Now let me segue to an observation I made after switching to natural mascara. I noticed it one night while removing my eye makeup: my eyelashes have gotten a LOT longer. Probably close to 1/4 inch, as a matter of fact. Then I thought about it, and it kind of makes sense. Isn't it possible that petroleum and other waterproof/synthetic ingredients could cause breakage of the lashes and/or prevent them from growing to their fullest potential? I have to think if I coated my hair with the same stuff, my hair wouldn't be very healthy, right? Anyway, I'd love to hear if you have had a similar experience since switching to natural mascara. A study with 1 subject isn't very compelling.

And what is your opinion on Latisse? I'd really love to hear your thoughts.