The True Story About False Lashes

Whether you wear them for a night out, performance, work, or even just for fun, false lashes have been and continue to be a staple beauty trend many people partake in. They help elongate your natural lashes beyond what typical mascara can do, giving one’s eyes a larger and dominant appearance. The history of these lashes and eyelashes in general dates to ancient Egypt and has been gaining attention ever since!  

Ancient Egypt (anywhere from 3100 BCE to 30 BCE) 

Typically thought as a more-female dominant activity, when looking back at eyelash styling’s historical roots, it is quite the contrary! In Ancient Egypt both men and women would use Kohl (a black putty consisting of lead sulfide) to artificially color and lengthen their lashes. I learned that this process in addition to being a beauty trend was originally used to serve protection from infections since Kohl has antibacterial properties and help to divert airflow to protect the eye as mentioned here.  

Medieval Times (around 500 AD – 1500 AD)

Forget the fake lashes and natural eyelashes in general for that matter…no lashes at all were a look?? 

Now a days all everyone wants are long healthy lashes, but that wasn’t always the case. Believe it or not, during medieval times having no eyelashes was all the rage. Its origination was a ripple effect from the popular beauty standard at the time of having a large forehead. In attempt to emphasize this feature women would pluck out both their eyelashes and eyebrows…ouch!! This all changed, however, after Queen Elizabeth the first took the throne. Her uncommon fiery red hair gained lots of attention, resulting in many women dying their own hair and eyelashes with soot and crushed berries attempting to mimic her natural looks. 

False Eyelashes Hit the Silver Screen!  

Between Medieval Times and the early 1900s there were many innovations concerning eyelash products. This includes the making of the mascara by Eugène Rimmel (Queen Victoria’s perfumer) in addition to false lashes that had to be sewn into the skin! But the real false lashes we know of today came about when in 1916 while filming the silent film “Intolerance” American film director David W. Griffith asked makeup artists to use spirit gum and glue to create false lashes on actress Seena Owen. Within the next decade false lashes were worn all over by huge flapper girls. 

Maybelline Makes Mascara!  

In 1917 Mabel Williams, aka the founder of Maybelline, collaborated with a drug manufacturer in creating the “Lash-Brow-Ine”. It consisted of Vaseline and oils to make sheen. Fast forward to 1933 the term Mascara was introduced. Drugstores sold Maybelline packages that cost ten cents, equivalent to $2.34 in 2024. The product was a huge hit due to its innovative formula and “new name” but also because of its decent adorability. Given the time was right in the middle of the Great Depression, Maybelline 10 cent mascara allowed women to continue feeling glamours without hurting their already very budgeted wallets.  

Other Eyelash Milestones 

There are so many more trends and moments in eyelash history we could touch on but here are some of our top few… 

• With many inventors submitting patents back in the 1930s the original inventor of the eyelash curler is an unknown mystery to this day. The tool was super popular with its ability to make lashes look nice and curled and was included in mascara packages.  
• Revlon also made waves by becoming the first mascara that was in a tube form and a spiral wand in 1958.  
• And waterproof mascara’s formula was perfected and boomed around the 1960s!  

1980s-Modern day  

The eighties brought in bright fun colors, and this was included in eye make-up too! Colored mascara in shades like electric blue, pink and purple with dark black eyeliner was super popular. Moving to the 1990s the colorful shades faded, and simplicity of the classic black lashes was back in paired with a bolder red/brown lip and glittery eyeshadow. The smokey eye came in fast around the 2010 which included bold lashes and dark eyeshadows of grays and purples but coming to modern day 2020s it is all about the “no makeup make-up look”. Simplistic natural lashes that still make you stand out. A ripple effect of this cleaner look has resulted in many brands starting to make brown shaded mascara. It tends to create a more natural appearance for lighter haired individuals who may look to replicate the no-makeup makeup trend but find the typical black to be a little too harsh for that specific image. 

Unlike before when there were only a select few by the 1980s and now more than ever there were hundreds of brands to choose from in terms of picking mascara. Despite all these options many do still choose to pick up one of the OGs in the makeup game (Maybelline, Revlon, Covergirl etc.). False lashes have also started to be used for day-to-day wear as a substitute for mascara then just for performances or a night out like they were more previously in time.