If I were to make an assumption about what issue consumes the minds of women based on the TV commercials during "Dancing with the Stars," "So You Think You Can Dance," and "What Not to Wear," that issue would have to be: how can I get my eyelashes longer, thicker, and fuller than ever before?

I suppose ever since the first cave woman smudged some charcoal on her lashes and realized that it drew attention away from her uni-brow and really made her eyes pop, that mascara - or some form of it - has been a very popular item of makeup.

But the focus on eyelashes has gotten so extreme recently, that it has gone into some unexpected territory. Check out some of the names of Maybelline's line of mascara: Curl Power, Unstoppable, Volum' Express Turbo Boost, Sky High Curves, and XXL Extensions. Are we talking about makeup or jet engines? And the scariest one of all, Lash Stiletto. I wonder if it comes with a warning. Careful, you'll put your eye out with that.

My daughter recently came home from the drugstore with Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara that promises 17X fuller, 70% curvier and 50% visibly longer lashes. Wow-that's really going to give her eyelids a workout.

As further proof of our obsession with eyelashes, I began seeing TV and newspaper ads for a prescription drug that enhances eyelash growth. Drug manufacturer Allergan discovered that one of the side effects of their glaucoma eye drops was thicker lashes. So they re-purposed the drug and this spring began marketing it under the name of Latisse. Brooke Shields who is already a celebrity spokesperson for Colgate, Coppertone, VW Routan, and milk, can now be seen batting her baby blues promoting Latisse.

Allergan wouldn't be spending millions of dollars marketing Latisse if they didn't believe that in spite of a recession there are a lot of women who are willing to pick up the phone and schedule a doctor's appointment, pay the insurance co-pay, and then spend $120 dollars a month to have "longer, fuller and darker lashes." And women who love the results they get with Latisse, better build that expense into their retirement budget because as soon as you quit using the product, your lashes will revert to the nubs they were before.

I love my mascara and it's worth every penny of the whopping $8.99 I spend on it. But if I had any extra money, it wouldn't be spent on a prescription to enhance my eyelashes. So why does Allergan predict that global sales of Latisse could exceed $500 million a year?

As I've been struggling with some of my perceptions about what makes a woman pretty, I have some thoughts about why we fixate on a particular feature of our appearance. I'll pick up from there next week.