And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming...

OK, ready for this?

Seriously, sit down. This is bizarre beyond all imagining.

I was watching "Kate & Leopold" on WEHD - I'm guessing that is the Women's channel in High Definition. And let's be honest - Hugh Jackman is not just attractive or good looking, he's a five course meal. And Meg Ryan is cute. But that is not at all the purpose of this post.

No. While skipping through the adverts (I luuuuuvvvv my TiVO) something weird showed up. It was an image of eyelashes growing in and getting bushy. If you are like me, you are thinking, "You mean 'eyebrows', don't you?" No. I mean eyelashes. Seriously.

And so I actually went back a bit to look at the whole advert.

I'm sorry to say that I have now found a whole new low for humanity. While we are a sad case of a country being owned by an industry, this will really underscore how much we are owned. A pharmaceutical manufacturer named Allergan is now making a drug called "Latisse", traded under the name Lumigan. This drug is for a "condition" called hypotrichosis. And what does this new drug do? It makes one's eyelashes grown in thicker and fuller.

Well. I know my eyelashes and the thickness of them keep me up at night.

Pharmaceutical companies. The new four letter word in America. I wonder if Europeans have stuff like this or if they are laughing openly at Americans for buying into this. I certainly hope so. I will tell you honestly that I would laugh except that this will sell like crazy to all the insane women who are so superficial that they have to take a drug to do what no one cares about.

Side effects (Wikipedia):

'Possible side effects of this medication are:
May cause blurred vision;
May cause eyelid redness;
May permanently darken eyelashes;
May cause eye discomfort;
May eventually cause permanent darkening of the iris to brown (heterochromia).
May cause a temporary burning sensation during use.
May cause thickening of the eyelashes.

On November 19, 2007 the FDA issued a warning during the seizure of a bimatoprost-containing cosmetic.[12] The warning stated that "the extra dose of bimatoprost may decrease the prescription drug's effectiveness. Damage to the optic nerve may lead to decreased vision and possibly blindness."'

But you know, hey, Brooke Shields (who I used to think was a better person) is selling this on the telly. Well, sign me up for that now! I know actors and actresses need to do work but I would not be able to do this. I would decline the honours rather than allow my name to be associated with this. But Brooke apparently has no sense whatsoever or is just that desparate to work - hard to know.

Personally, Brooke would be better off concentrating on waxing those eyebrows into something less bushy... but who am I to criticize? Then again, I looked at the first image and thought the eyelashes looked a little too thick and bushy.

The worst part is that women will line up for it. Not all women - some people have the good sense not to fall for fads or medically unsound ideas just to look better. But there are plenty of women who have so little confidence or faith in themselves that they will buy into this. I've met women who have had their eyelids stenciled surgically to have eyeliner; lips permanently made up; of course there are the more common surgeries like breast augmentation and liposuction; and plenty of drugs out there to fatten lips, add or subtract hair... the list is fairly long.

And the bottom crawlers of the world have gotten together to out this on the market.

Yup - I would chance blindness to thicken my eyelashes - how about you?