Rapid Lash - Does the 2010 most talked about eyelash serum really work?

When the Rapidlash Eyelash Enhancing Serum hit the shelves at Boots on July 14, there was a big buzz for the product with a waiting list in excess of 1000. Boots have exclusivity for the sale of the nourishing, lash-plumping mascara and serum that people are raving about – so much so that it has its own Facebook page.

So does it work?

Clinical trials conducted by Rapidlash shows that it gives up to 50 per cent longer-looking lashes, so long as you use it daily for eight weeks. For the past few years, eyelashes have been the key focal point of the face. Volumising mascaras are huge sellers, as are fake eyelashes. Almost inevitably, eyelash-boosting serums have become the hot new products. 

Since it was noticed that eye drops designed to treat the condition glaucoma had the side-effect of making lashes longer, there has been a scramble to develop a product that delivered these results. 

But Rapidlash is not, strictly speaking, a lash growth promoter so much as a treatment that conditions the lashes. It contains no drug-derived growth enhancers. 

But because lashes are, apparently, subject to so much 'aggression' - rubbing your eyes, using eyelash curlers - the theory runs that by dosing the lashes with unguents, you can enhance their size. 

Rapidlash is by no means the first enhancer to hit the market, and surely it’s just a matter of time before Latisse, the prescription-only lash-lengthening product from Allergan (the people who gave us Botox), is available in the UK.

Top make-up artist Pat McGrath says: ‘Women love longer lashes because they give you instantly bigger, sexier eyes. They’re a simple way to add drama and impact without a lot of fuss.’

Growth serums like rapid lash cannot create the same effect of semi permanent eyelash extensions. It can however be used with extensions to strengthen the natural lashes during extensions.

Read more: daily mail