Opinion: Anna Taylor’s claim to fame is that, in 1911, this Canadian woman patented the very first glue-on false eyelashes.

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

You know who ought to have a commemorative Canadian postage stamp in her honour? In fact, I’m thinking a pair of commemorative stamps would be more fitting. Anna Taylor. Never heard of her, right? Well, Anna Taylor was a Canadian and an inventor. Given the phenomenon her invention is responsible for, I’d have thought she would be as famous as Laura Secord. Despite the impact of her invention, however, Anna Taylor is a mere footnote in history. Taylor’s claim to fame is that, in 1911, this Canadian woman patented the very first glue-on false eyelashes. After years of experimentation, Taylor had contrived to add snippets of human hair to a small, crescent-shaped strip of fabric which could then be glued onto the upper lash line. Yes, Anna Taylor is the Canadian responsible for, even a century later, women all over the world happily sporting what appear to be dead tarantulas on their faces.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Admittedly, Taylor’s invention isn’t in the realm of Banting and Best, but you see more evidence of her breakthrough than you do of the discovery of insulin. In fact, her invention can be downright distracting. Several times a week, I find myself pondering the face of some sweet, young thing with a thatch of synthetic palm fronds sweeping over her cheeks. Clearly, the intention isn’t to enhance the eyelashes. No, what a megaphone is to a whisper, these fake lashes are to natural lashes. A marine biologist I know says that false eyelashes constantly remind him of the baleen plate of a whale — giant filters capable of catching krill. For me, it’s garage doors. So many of these false eyelashes look and function like bulky garage doors.

So what are eyelashes, anyway. According to ophthalmologists, eyelashes have a job to do. They keep unwanted stuff, like dust, out of the eye. And similar to cat’s whiskers, they also provide a trigger warning and can protect the eye from objects getting perilously close. Britain’s Journal of the Royal Society’s Interface, a peer-reviewed journal that covers the interface between life sciences and physical sciences, has discovered that eyelashes also behave as an air filter for the eye and reduce evaporation by as much as 50 per cent. Ophthalmologists generally advise that we not muck about too much with our eyelashes. We risk all sorts of damage and infections. Be that as it may, long being touted as the window to the soul, we simply love mucking about with our eyes.

Egyptian women, as well as men, enhanced their eyes using “kohl”, a concoction that could include burnt cork, various minerals, fireplace soot, animal fat and antimony. Antimony is considered a “semi-metal” and exposure to it can cause heart and lung problems. Eye make-up was often central to spiritual practices and also very fashionable, so people were prepared to assume any risk.

As aesthetic adornment is a cultural universal, every culture dabbled in home-made enhancements of the eye employing everything from lampblack to berry juices. It wasn’t until the early 19th century that Eugene Rimmel created the first commercial mascara from his shop on Bond Street in London, England. His eyelash darkening formula was pretty straight forward: a simple concoction of coal dust and the newly discovered petroleum jelly. It wasn’t long after that, in America, Thomas Lyly Williams offered by mail order a similar product named after his sister, Mabel. The success of that product would spawn the cosmetics behemoth, Maybelline.

Fads come and go. Just as the American automobile once boasted exaggerated fins, hood ornaments, and elaborate paint jobs, cosmetic enhancement is the same. Both men and women are subjected to the vagaries of fashion, and we all wince when we........

© Vancouver Sun