Lashings of glamour as false lashes are back

Jun 20 2009 by Liz Lamb, The Journal

They epitomise glamour and now false eyelashes are enjoying their biggest resurgence since the 60s. Liz Lamb finds out more.

EVERYONE from Michelle Obama to Nicole Kidman, Victoria Beckham and Kylie are stepping out in false eyelashes.

Thanks to their popularity among celebrities, faking it in the lash department is fast becoming the must-have beauty essential of 2009 and even Girls Aloud are getting in on the act.

Eyelure has brought out Girls Aloud lashes promoted by the band members which have gone down a storm with women of all ages.

Tesco stocks the brand and says latest figures reveal Cheryl and co have helped inspire the biggest boom in false eyelashes since the 60s.

In the past year sales of false eyelashes have doubled at Tesco stores around the country and they have now become one of the most in-demand fashion accessories.

The company also reported that the recession has also helped boost sales as women ditch high-end fashion buys for more affordable cosmetic ranges.

Tesco health and beauty category director Mark Tyldesley explains: “Cheryl Cole is doing for false eyelashes now what Dusty Springfield did for them in the 60s – sales are going through the roof.

“She’s a modern icon so it’s not surprising so many young women are influenced by her style.

“In the beauty retail business we know that because of the credit crunch women are trading out of designer handbags and shoes into cosmetics as the ‘luxury’ items of today. This is a good example of that current trend.”

In the swinging 60s false eyelashes were as de rigueur for young women as mascara and beehive hairdos.

Perhaps the most famous star associated with false eyelashes was pop singer Dusty Springfield who made a career out of wearing them as well as heaps of mascara, earning her the nickname Panda Eyes.

Other famous 60s celebrities who were noted for wearing them were Twiggy, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Jean Shrimpton and, Marianne Faithfull.

Mark adds: “Right now we are nearly selling twice as many as we did a year ago and our weekly sales show there are no signs of the trend slowing down.

“The trend is quickly becoming known in the beauty business as the Cheryl Cole factor.”

New make-up brand Illamasqua, which recently opened a concession in Fenwick, in Newcastle, has also seen a surge in sales of false eyelashes and they are fast becoming one of their biggest sellers.