Hope — unlike youth — springs eternal when it comes to miracle-promising beauty products. If we can put a man on the moon, why can’t we grow our eyelashes longer, pump up our lips or erase fine lines and other intrusive signs of aging?
While wonder products certainly keep the cosmetics industry in business, do they actually work, or are women just flying on a wing and a prayer?
PHOTOS: MIRACLE BEAUTY PRODUCTS
A recent Mayo Clinic report said that nonprescription wrinkle creams resulted in only “slight to modest” improvements, in part because they’re classified as “cosmetics” by the FDA, and therefore not tested as thoroughly for their effectiveness and safety as drugs are. (Anti-wrinkle standby Retin-A and proven lash grower Latisse, for example, are only available by prescription.)
We tested out a handful of new, over-the-counter “miracle products,” from lash-growers and anti-aging creams to lip plumpers and tattoo concealers. So, did our guinea pigs see the light? The devil, indeed, is in the details.