For those of us with stumpy, stick-straight lashes, we’d do anything to fluff up, darken, and lend length to those strands. The problem is that pressing down on our lashes with eyelash curlers, or going for eyelash extensions and lash lifts, often leave our hairs more brittle and sparser than they were before.
Enter: eyelash serums, lash-lovin’ blends that lend to longer lashes over time. Applied to the lash line or the entire lash length, eyelash serums stimulate the hair follicles and condition the strands, so you reap lashes that are darker and with a wispier length – minus the damage after, of course.
How do eyelash serums work?
Nourish for healthier strands
For strands that have been through the battlefields of eyelash curlers, lash lifts, and extensions, eyelash serums can be especially helpful for granting your curls more volume and length.
By delivering a boost of deep hydration and nourishment, eyelash serums contribute to the repairing of brittle, damaged hairs. Naturally, healthier lashes appear darker, fluffier, and, at times, longer too.
Ingredients like glycerine and panthenol draw moisture to the hair shaft and bind it there, whereas peptides and biotin, for example, boost lash health by strengthening keratin, a key component of hair.
Stimulate hair growth
When it comes to stimulating hair growth from the roots, eyelash serums’ ingredients tend to be a little harder to put a finger on.
Prostaglandin, for instance, is a common hair-growth hormone, found in a number of eyelash serums, that’s known to cause side effects such as discolouration of the skin and iris. It can also result in fat atrophy, which is the loss of fatty tissue that causes the eyelids to appear sunken.
Are eyelash serums safe?
To steer clear of the side effects that come with hair growth hormones like prostaglandin, you can avoid formulas that include chemical compounds like isopropyl cloprostenate, bimatoprost, isopropanol phenyl-hydroxy-pentene, dihydroxy-cyclopentyl-heptanoate, dechloro dihydroxy difluoro, or ethylcloprostenolamide.
Instead, keep an eye out for nourishing ingredients like oils, vitamin E, and natural actives!
If you’re pregnant, nursing, have medical conditions, or just want to play it safe, consult your doctor or a dermatologist before you begin using an eyelash serum. As with any other over-the-counter formula, you also want to do a patch test before applying the eyelash serum onto your delicate lash line.
Read on, because we’ve rounded up the best eyelash serums in Malaysia for you to choose from.
Best eyelash serums in Malaysia
Cangro Long Lashes Eyelash Enhancer
Turn your stubby lashes into Bami-like ones safely and naturally with Cangro’s Long Lashes Eyelash Enhancer!
Common hair growth hormone prostaglandin is known to potentially cause side effects, which is why Cangro’s eyelash serum keeps this ingredient out of the mix.
Instead, the eyelash serum taps on a rich blend of peptides, vitamins, and antioxidants to stimulate the lash follicle and nourish the strands, so you see stronger and fuller eyelashes in as quickly as three weeks.
This cult-favourite eyelash serum has received rave reviews, with users praising it for really boosting the thickness and length of their lashes without causing irritation to the eyes.
Hormone-free, vegan, and cruelty-free – what’s not to love?
Cangro Long Lashes Eyelash Enhancer retails for S$89 (approximately RM288.09) on Beauty Closet. Shipping fees apply.
Sky Organics Organic Castor Oil Eyelash Serum
If we’re talking about clean formulas, then Sky Organics’ Organic Castor Oil Eyelash Serum is it. Made with just one ingredient, castor seed oil – and, one that’s certified organic by the USDA no less, it’s a truly safe serum to use around your sensitive eye area.
Castor oil has long been hailed as a hair growth wonder-worker; it increases blood flow at the roots so that the hair follicles receive more oxygen and nutrients and, thus, grow healthier strands. The same goes for the lashes too!
Sky Organic’s castor oil is extracted by cold-pressing instead of chemically, so it still brims with vitamins and antioxidants for the ultimate lash-lovin’.
Sky Organics Organic Castor Oil Eyelash Serum retails for RM108 on Shopee.
Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl Eye & Lash Concentrate
Talk about multitasking. The Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl Eye & Lash Concentrate isn’t just an eyelash serum, it also doubles up as an anti-ageing formula, which depuffs the under-eyes, brightens dark eye circles, and smooths out wrinkles too.
Plus points: this eyelash serum slash anti-ageing under-eye formula is uniquely designed with a massaging applicator. All you have to do is pump the serum onto the delicate skin around your eyes, and gently massage it in with the cool applicator.
You’ll enjoy a quick pampering session as well as better results!
Lancôme Advanced Génifique Yeux Light-Pearl Eye & Lash Concentrate retails for RM335 on Sephora.
Revitalash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner
Ophthalmologist-developed and dermatologist-verified, the Revitalash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner works to nourish the strands (rather than stimulate the hair follicles) so that your eyelashes can be restored to their wispy glory, even after damage.
Another pricey but mighty product, this eyelash serum is spiked with peptides, lipids, biotin, and panthenol-rich green tea extract.
It protects your lashes from environmental aggressors and repairs them, especially after you’ve used styling products or gone for lash services that have caused strands to break or become brittle.
Revitalash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner retails for RM191.25 (1 ml) on Shopee.
The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Lash and Brow Serum
The budget-friendly option for those looking to test out an eyelash serum for the first time, The Ordinary’s Multi-Peptide Lash and Brow Serum is designed to stimulate the hair follicles plus nourish the strand – it’s double the action for Bambi-like lash results.
Suitable to be used on both the eyelashes and the brows, this serum contains four peptide complexes alongside plenty of other active ingredients.
It also uses technologies like the SYMPEPTIDE XLASH® and Anargy® to condition strands, as well as REDENSYL™, which is known to target the follicle stem cells to boost hair growth.
The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Lash and Brow Serum retails for RM69.90 on Lazada.
Grande Cosmetics GrandeLASH-MD Lash Enhancing Serum
This cult-classic formula is one of the first that comes to mind when you think of eyelash serums. That’s because it really does turn your stubby strands into longer, darker wisps.
The (big) caveat is that users also report that this serum can be irritating and drying to the eyes – side effects that most would not deem worth for feathery strands. It’s also a formula to stay away from if you’re pregnant, nursing, prone to styes, or undergoing chemotherapy.
Grande Cosmetics GrandeLASH-MD Lash Enhancing Serum retails for RM49.88 on Shopee.
RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum
Whether you’ve got stumpy, thin, or brittle lashes, you’ll soon find that the RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum is worth a spot on your bathroom shelf.
The eyelash serum uses a unique Hexatein 1 Complex, which features a combination of lash-loving ingredients like peptides, biotin, amino acids, panthenol, soybean oil, and pumpkin seed extract.
Scroll through customer reviews online and you’ll discover visible differences in the before and after pictures.
But, be patient because, while RapidLash’s eyelash serum starts taking effect on the day you apply it onto your lash line, the results are only noticeable four to eight weeks after regular use.
RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum retails for RM179 on Shopee.
E.L.F. Enhancing Lash & Brow Serum
Cruelty-free and vegan, E.L.F.’s Enhancing Lash & Brow Serum is also free from these nasty chemicals that you don’t want in your formulas: phthalates, parabens, nonylphenol ethoxylates, triclosan, triclocarban, and hydroquinone.
What this eyelash serum does have is a nourishing blend of antioxidants, amino acids, and vitamins, which help to strengthen your strands and bump up their volume.
Surprisingly, users have seen their lashes improve in as quickly as one day. Whether one day or several weeks, you’ll see both your lashes and brows become fuller and fluffier!
E.L.F. Enhancing Lash & Brow Serum retails for RM38.69 on iHerb.
Benton Honest Eyelash Serum
Korean brand Benton’s Honest Eyelash Serum is a popular pick because it strengthens lashes and gives them a volume boost, whilst keeping over 20 harmful ingredients like alcohol or silicones out of its formula.
What’s unique about Honest Eyelash Serum is that it comes with a spoolie and ball-tip applicator – the soft tip allows you to gently spread the formula onto the lash line, whilst the spoolie lets you shimmy through from root to tip for extra nourishment to your lashes’ lengths.
It’s also brimming with 17 types of amino acids, peptides, and hyaluronic acid to deliver deep conditioning to your strands!
Benton Honest Eyelash Serum retails for RM70.71 on YesStyle.
Shiseido Professional Adenovital Eyelash Serum
Shiseido has formulated its Professional Adenovital Eyelash Serum using its uniquely-developed Ziziphus Jujuba fruit extract, aka jujube extract, which enhances the eyelashes starting at the follicles.
Infused with humectant glycerine, the serum also draws moisture to the strands and keeps them hydrated (and less prone to breakage) throughout the day!
The unique doe-foot applicator also makes applying the eyelash serum easier – you’ll be able to get right between those thin lashes without missing a spot.
Shiseido Professional Adenovital Eyelash Serum retails for RM94.09 on YesStyle.
TONYMOLY The Shocking Cara
If you love a chic tube that you can proudly whip out of your handbag, then K-beauty brand TONYMOLY’s The Shocking Cara is the perfect eyelash serum for you.
Housed in a futuristic, reflective capsule casing in metallic green, this eyelash serum makes a routine, twice-daily application stylish and ever-more worth the while.
Of course, The Shocking Cara also features good-for-lash ingredients like peptide complexes, biotin, and black rice extract, so you’ll see longer and curlier eyelashes over time!
TONYMOLY The Shocking Cara retails for RM58.17 on YesStyle.
Etude My Lash Serum Jumbo
Tired of refilling your lash serums because they run out fast? Etude’s My Lash Serum comes in jumbo size so that you won’t have to worry about restocking this eyelash essential all that soon.
Made with a strengthening blend that includes panthenol, dogwood berry extract, and biotin, Etude’s eyelash serum is designed to go over your lashes from root to tip to nourish and seal.
You can look forward to darker, thicker curls comin’ your way.
Etude My Lash Serum Jumbo retails for RM51.61 on YesStyle.
Isehan KissMe Heroine Make Watering Eyelash Serum
Photo source: The Blackmentos Beauty Box
Japanese brand Isehan’s KissMe Heroine Make Watering Eyelash Serum is an oil-free formulation that won’t get in the way of mascara or other lash products that come after.
Called the “Watering Eyelash Serum” perhaps for that very reason – it’s water-, not oil-based, this formula should be shimmied onto the entire length of your strands for lightweight conditioning.
Simply apply this eyelash serum to your lash line and along your strands, wait for it to dry, and then layer on with your favourite eyelash products after.
Isehan’s formula features glycerin, soluble collagen, and ginseng root extract, plus, it is free from artificial fragrances and colourants.
Isehan KissMe Heroine Make Watering Eyelash Serum retails for RM52.28 on iHerb.
Eveline Cosmetics Advance Volumiere
Another multi-tasker on our list, the Eveline Cosmetics Advance Volumiere is a repairing eyelash serum, hair growth activator, and mascara primer all in one.
The bio Restore Complex™ that stars in this three-in-one formula restores and protects the lash structure, giving you eyelashes that are healthier and stronger too.
Use the Advance Volumiere as a primer and your cute lash curls will stay lifted and mascara remain smudge-proof all day!
Eveline Cosmetics Advance Volumiere retails for RM30.29 on iHerb.
Featured image credit: @alexisd215/TikTok, Grande Cosmetics
