Class Action Lawsuit Claims LiLash, LiBrow Serums Contain Unsafe Drug Ingredient

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that Cosmetic Alchemy’s LiLash Purified Eyelash Serum and LiBrow Purified Eyebrow Serum are falsely advertised as safe, natural cosmetics even though the products contain a hair-growing ingredient known to have possibly serious adverse side effects.

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According to the 34-page lawsuit, the LiLash and LiBrow serums contain dehydrolatanoprost, a prostaglandin analog (PGA) in the same class as prescription products approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only under the supervision of a physician. Per the case, dehydrolatanoprost can improve eyelash and eyebrow growth yet is known to cause “serious adverse effects” to the eye and the structure around the eye, including chronic dry eye, discoloration, blepharitis, Meibomian gland dysfunction, and more.

The class action lawsuit alleges that Cosmetic Alchemy failed to disclose any of the potential side effects associated with the serums. To the contrary, the suit says, the company has falsely implied that the products “naturally” improve the appearance of eyelashes and eyebrows, despite containing a synthetic substance.

“In this manner, Cosmetic Alchemy has sold dangerous Enhancements [sic] Serums to thousands of consumers at approximately $90-$150 each, without fully disclosing all of the risks and material information about the Enhancement Serums,” the complaint summarizes.

The filing goes on to note that the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety has flagged PGAs for “potential carcinogenicity” and “reproductive and developmental toxicity,” ultimately concluding that there is “insufficient data” to conclude that PGAs, including dehydrolatanoprost, are safe for use in cosmetic products.   

One product, Latisse, which contains the PGA bimatoprost, was approved by FDA as a prescription-only ophthalmic drug for the treatment of eyelash hypotrichosis, but Cosmetic Alchemy has never applied for or obtained any FDA approval for its PGA-containing products, the lawsuit says. Instead, Cosmetic Alchemy has knowingly chosen to sell its eyelash and brow serums without adequate warnings regarding potential risks or PGA content, even advertising that its serums are “safe for sensitive skin,” the case contends.

Further, the suit claims that Cosmetic Alchemy hides dehydrolatanoprost at the bottom of the products’ ingredients lists and makes no disclosure that it is a PGA, or that it could have harmful side effects.

Additionally, prior to the filing of the lawsuit, Cosmetic Alchemy, the complaint alleges, expressly claimed on its website that its products were safe, attesting that they were “a physician-formulated serum that has been ophthalmologist tested, making it safe for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.”

The suit alleges that while the statement may have been removed and that a notice about dehydrolatanoprost was potentially added, this may have been done after the plaintiff’s counsel served a pre-suit notice letter to Cosmetic Alchemy and apparently spent months attempting to resolve the issue without litigation.

The suit contends that these post-notice alterations to claims on the defendant’s website are “tantamount to tacit admissions that Cosmetic Alchemy’s disclosures were inadequate,” and that these changes are still potentially misleading due to alleged misrepresentations and omissions regarding PGAs, including omitting that PGAs can cause various health issues, can cause excess hair growth outside the treatment area, and can sometimes cause hair loss instead of hair growth.

The Cosmetic Alchemy lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in the United States and its territories who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, bought any of the Cosmetic Alchemy enhancement serums for personal, family or household use.

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