Vanity of Age: My Eyes Are Naked

 

Eyes of Duran. New Mexico. July 2017. Credit: Mzuriana. 

I've never been one to wear a lot of make-up, but once I became a woman of a certain age, I religiously applied lipstick and an eyeliner pencil. And more recently, mascara. Every day. 

But now I've been diagnosed with blepharitis (and dry eye). 

So, I've been going out and about with naked eyes. 

I don't like this one bit. 

Lack of eye definition makes me look faded. Looking faded is looking older, more tired, more washed out, less alert, less crisp.  

Part of the issue, I'm coming to realize, is the thinning of my eyelash forest. 

Have I lost eyelashes? If yes, is it due to a non-reversible aging process? Or is it a function of previously undiagnosed blepharitis? Or a COVID consequence? If either of the latter two, will the lashes grow back at some point? 

In the meantime, I'm on the search for some work-arounds.