Lashes to Dye For!

Long, thick, luxurious eyelashes can be the single most alluring component of a woman’s overall sex appeal. They not only draw attention to the eyes; they command it. Lids are lazily lowered for a sultry look or eyes opened wide for coquettish innocence. And of course, there’s the classic, playful, albeit somewhat campy, fluttering of the eyelashes.

Unfortunately, not all of us were blessed with luscious lashes. Mascara certainly helps, but it can only do so much. False eyelashes, once worn only by screen goddesses and sultry stars, are now easily available for all, offering a wide range of options for self-expression. Oprah gets her mink eyelashes custom-made at the Tokyo Lash Bar in Shu Uemura, which offers ready-made lashes for us mere mortals in a variety of shapes, colors, patterns, and materials—some adorned with crystals, jewels, and beads.

Despite all of these choices, some of us are still lacking in the lash department. I was born with naturally long eyelashes, but alas, as I am a blue-eyed redhead, my lashes are much too pale to stand out naturally.

For years, I made do with mascara, but that naked millimeter along the lash line always gave me away. I tried false eyelashes, but again, it was the odd little glimpse of blondish lash that kept my eyes from looking exactly right.

Then in 1999, I had an epiphany. While watching The Talented Mr. Ripley, I was contemplating Gwyneth Paltrow onscreen with that pale hair and eyebrows to match and I thought to myself, “She must get her eyelashes dyed!” You’d think it would have occurred to me earlier that people dyed their lashes, but this was before I became a spa treatment junkie. Needless to say, I immediately booked myself an appointment, just in time to ring in the new millennium with the eyelashes I’d always wanted. Since then, it’s become the one beauty treatment that I have done every month, like clockwork.

The very idea of eyelash tinting is incomprehensible to many. These skeptics can’t imagine why anyone would allow toxic chemicals to come so dangerously close to her eyes, simply for the sake of beauty. But the reality is that the dye is vegetable-based and it won’t cause any damage, even if it gets into your eyes, which, unfortunately, is quite possible.

If you have sensitive eyes, the lash tinting process may take some getting used to.