Long Live Latisse!: Tip-of-the-Day #281

I started using Latisse, the only FDA approved product designed to lengthen and darken one's eyelashes, about a year ago. Not usually one for products of this kind (side effects include spots in the eye and blindness), a colleague of mine was using it with great success. She literally walked in the office one day with eyes that resembled a new born doe. Long, lustrous, eye framing lashes that would make Kim Kardashian jealous. When I found out that she was using Latisse, a prescription product that I could easily get my hands on courtesy of my bf's parents (both docs), I was sold.

After a couple of months of use, I too had eye catching lashes. People noticed. And, asked about it. I wasn't witnessing any side effects and was recognizing the full benefit of the product. Success!

Here's the only drawback. In my experience the little vial (pictured above) doesn't come with nearly enough applicators. I always run out much sooner than I run out of solution. Add to that, my ophthalmologist told me that she too uses the product and you can recognize the exact same benefit if you use it every other night versus every night. That just doubled the life of my bottle! (And, by bottle, it's the size of a Barbie bottle).

So, here's what I did. I went to Walgreen's and found some one-time-use "flocked applicators" probably designed for lipstick or eyeshadow or something. When I ran out of my Latisse applicators, I started using my new throw-away applicators and it worked! All I needed was a vehicle to carry the solution to my eyelid and this did the trick perfectly.

Now I have a product that lasts two times longer than expected and a set of applicators to help extend the life.

Not saying Latisse is for everyone but if you're already using it, you can use it less often and with alternate applicators and save yourself a nice chunk of change. (It runs around $120 a bottle).