Both of my daughters have outrageously long and thick eyelashes. Strangers stop us frequently to comment on how beautiful their eyes are. And then the inevitable happens: they look at my eyelashes to see if they got their “falsies” from their mama.

And then they realize that NOPE, they didn’t! Their eyelashes are a gift from their daddy (his are outrageous…so unfair!).

Now, I wouldn’t consider my eyelashes to be short. I’d say they are solidly medium. And if I get the right mascara, they can even look slightly long. At least for a few hours!

photo credit: Kalexanderson via photopin cc

Attempt #1 to Grow Long Eyelashes

Back in 2003 I spent a lot of money on an eyelash serum on a whim just to see if my eyelashes would actually grow. Well, it was a waste of $65, and I felt so silly about it because that was when I was in graduate school in Boston, and Tim and I lived in a 400 square foot apartment and budgeted within an inch of our lives because money was so tight. It was such a foolish purchase! It would have been foolish even if it had worked because we were so cash-strapped, and so the fact that it didn’t just made it that much more ridiculous. So understandably, as I’ve seen other eyelash growth serums hit the market over the last decade, I’ve written them off as hype.

Attempt #2 to Grow Long Eyelashes

When the company at Xlash.net reached out to me to see if I was interested in being an affiliate of their program, I immediately raised an eyebrow and then checked out their site. I’ll admit, I was really impressed to read that they have over 110,000 happy customers, and I was glad to hear that the formula is developed in Sweden, which has regulations on ingredients that are leaps and bounds better than what we have in the United States.

Still, I was highly skeptical. And I also don’t promote products that I haven’t personally tried, so I asked them to send me the product to try out for a month, since they report that results are seen in 4-6 weeks.

Xlash Eyelash Serum is meant to be applied to the roots of your clean lashes, ideally at night before you go to bed. The end result should be longer, thicker eyelashes. Here are my before and after shots, and I apologize for the orange-y lighting throughout. My living room is a terrible place to snap photos.

Here are two photos of my eyelashes, taken at the very beginning of the process. I’m an idiot and didn’t take a picture of my “before” lashes with mascara. Sorry. 🙁

 

And here are my eyelashes today, 4 full weeks after starting to use the serum and without mascara.

 

I think the sideways photo is the one where you can really tell the difference in the before and after.

And here’s my “after” shot with mascara. I didn’t apply any makeup to my face or my eyes other than mascara.

I will say, in the last week and a half I have started to notice the difference. Not so much when my eyelashes are bare, but definitely when I apply my mascara (I have very intentionally kept wearing the exact same mascara for the past month so that any differences in appearance wouldn’t potentially be due to mascara). They do seem to reach a bit further! Tim, who was blissfully unaware of what I had been applying to my eyelashes for the past month (even though he took my “before” shots! He never asked what they were for, I guess!), said to me earlier this week that my mascara was looking particularly nice. That’s when I told him that it was actually not the mascara that deserved the credit, but my longer eyelashes! I was really excited to hear that he noticed the difference completely on his own.

I don’t think the serum makes you look like you have a brand new set of eyelashes, nor do I think that if you have really short eyelashes that 6 weeks later you will have eyelashes to rival Twiggy and her falsies. But I do think, based on my experience, that the serum will enhance what you have and extend the reach of your lashes.

Money Back Guarantee

Xlash does offer a full refund to customers who aren’t happy. They do this because they have over 110,000 who ARE happy, so they are betting that you will be, too! The serum costs $59 (note that this price is $6 cheaper than what I paid for some junk that didn’t work 10 years ago!). If you use code “Xlash2013” at checkout, you’ll also get a $10 discount. Score!!!

Xlash Eyelash Serum gets my stamp of approval! And maybe, just maybe, the next stranger who sees my girls’ eyelashes and then looks at mine will note the resemblance!