Hannah Betts The real secret to looking younger — it’s all in the brows and lashes
WHEN people fret about looking old, they focus on a few obvious areas: wrinkles, damage and dullness, sagging and slump. And, yet, there is one striking aspect of getting on a bit we tend to ignore — the loss of luxuriance, or lusciously, lavish abundance of hair; locks that once flourished into heavy, lustrous teenage swathes.
I never understood why my midlife mother obsessed about the fineness, fragility and flatness of her hair: forever studying it, fussing over it, doing something. Then, one morning, you wake up and you are your mother. I only wish mine was still alive so I could tell her I finally understand this and so much more.
My eyebrows can diminish overnight. I now condition them every evening with eyelash growth treatment (see below).
I also colour them every few weeks with an Eylure Dybrow Eyebrow Dye Kit (€7.45, lookfantastic.ie) for extra oomph and morale.
Recently, I settled on my Favourite Ever Eyebrow Pencil: the Ilia In Full Micro-Tip Brow Pencil (€28, iliabeauty.com, or spacenk.com). When it boasts that it creates ‘hairlike strokes’, this is actually the case.
They’re sheer, shiny and subtly convincing, a fusion of pigment, powder and wax, entirely unblocky even in my soft black shade.
No wonder women shot in highdefinition are besotted with it — Emily Blunt and Miranda Kerr — or, indeed, 77-year-old fox Diane Von Furstenberg. For naturalistic gap-filling, it cannot be bettered.
Naturally, a brand spanking new product then immediately landed on my desk: Morphe Supreme Brow Sculpting and Shaping Wax (€9.45, lookfantastic.ie). It comes in five brownish shades and a clear one, accompanied by a special tool, the Morphe M625 3-in-1 Brow Sculpting Brush (€6). Even so, I found application tricky. It’s quite fluid, requiring Morphe’s mini paddle to spread it. And, boy, does it provide a big brow. The brand refers to this as a ‘laminated’ look. I’d say: adolescent Brooke Shields profusions.
I found it a tad much at first. And, yet, everyone else raved, telling me I looked fresh, well, stupendous but they weren’t exactly sure why. Such is the power of luxuriance.
Thanks to modern technology, these days I have lovely long lashes. And when I say tech, I mean RevitaLash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner (now €86.70 for six weeks supply, mcsharry pharmacy.ie), with its BioPeptin Complex, the fusion of lipids, peptides, biotin (vitamin B7) and panthenol that gives this wonder its potency. I’ve enjoyed other growth serums: Augustinus Bader, Anastasia Beverly Hills, UKlash, and — this (broke) new year — e.l.f. Enhancing Lash & Brow Serum (€9.12, feelunique. com). However, the fact that these all work is basically a tribute to RevitaLash, which was the first ever lash booster launched by an ophthalmologist back in 2006 in the US. One sells every 30 seconds (its brow equivalent — the same formula with a different brush — every 90), ensuring it is hugely emulated. The key is that you must use it every night, along the lash line, in the areas you crave maximum swoop (I focus on the middle and outer edges).I cannot be the only enthusiast to have Googled: ‘Can I use RevitaLash on my (receding) hairline?’ Indeed, I did so only last week. The very next morning the company’s new hair range arrived, in which its magic is deployed for puny locks.
Meet the RevitaLash Thickening Shampoo (now €28.80, down from €40), Conditioner (ditto) and Volume Enhancing Foam (now €108, down from €145). Or buy the trio for €130 (the usual price is €175, revitalash.co.uk).
The mousse contains the BioPeptin Complex. The shampoo and conditioner feature flax protein to fortify the cuticle and improve hair shaft thickness.
Many purchasers report boosted body, fewer strands in the plughole, tresses that require less washing, and a discernible impact on thinning locks.
The word ‘investment’ crops up repeatedly. After a mere one use, it’s an investment I shall also be making — often. Think young hair, bottled.