L'Oreal's Double Extend with Lash Boosting Serum works! And it won't make you blind.

Jan Marini's late, lamented, and very naughty lash growth serum

Like a lot of other idiots, when Jan Marini came out with her original Age Intervention eyelash growing serum, I bought a tube of the stuff. Even though it cost--wait for it--$160. The shame! It burns.

There was some science blather that didn't really interest me about how it worked--I knew it started as glaucoma medication, contained prostaglandin, and worked by arresting the eyelashes' growth/shedding cycle. The main thing was that it worked.

But then my gorgeous friend Liz saw an article saying that using this miracle lash growing potion was a really bad idea. It mentioned scary things like iris color change and blindness and whatnot. And Jan Marini recalled the product. So I stopped using it, and my eyelashes devolved to their original wispy, pathetic state.

Then, the other day, I spotted L'Oreal's Double Extend mascara. I've been using L'Oreal's Double Extend mascaras for years, so I was intrigued. Because this formula included lash boosting serum.

You're familiar with these two-ended mascaras, right? One end is color, and the other is usually primer. To the eyelash-challenged, these formulas are a godsend, and well worth taking a little extra time to apply.

L'Oreal's Double Extend (with lash boosting serum!) works just like the usual two-step mascara. I curl my lashes, apply one coat of primer (with lash boosting serum!) and then top with the color coat. As with other two-step mascaras, I find I have to apply the color coat very lightly to prevent clumping.

The result? Long, dark, thick lashes that don't smear, flake, or give me morning-after raccoon eyes.

And I swear my lashes are looking longer. And I've only been using it once or twice a week. What with summer road trips, the house being full of painters, and Chicago being struck by heavy rains followed by flooding in my basement, I just haven't really been in the mood to slap on a lot of spackle.

At any rate, two enthusiastic thumbs up for L'Oreal's Double Extend (with lash boosting serum!) It works as well as their usual mascaras, and it seems to be doing something to beef up my feeble fringe.