All of the reasons you should try this legendary lash-lengthening serum, stat

I like my eyelashes to feel like actual butterflies sitting on my eyeballs, protecting them from crap in the air while making my eyes look pretty and feminine. With lots and lots of length. Some people get annoyed by eyelashes that they can literally feel open and close and hit your under-eye area with every blink, but not me.

While I’ve used everything from lash-lengthening mascaras to heated eyelash curlers (and hell, even a lash lift), my favorite lash booster is the cult-favorite Grandelash MD Lash Enhancing Serum ($65). It’s beloved by lash lovers everywhere (and has 60,000 loves on Sephora) for a reason. Nothing else has made such a visible change in my lashes as this serum.

Shirley Chi, MD, a California-based dermatologist, isn’t surprised by the popularity of Grandelash serum. “It has a lot of amino acids and peptides in it, which creates a good environment for hair to grow,” she tells me. “If you have a good environment, then the hairs are more likely to grow longer.” Of course, this doesn’t actually mean you’ll have more hair follicles; she points out that it simply means your lash strands are going to be more nourished, so they’ll give you that fuller butterfly look. “Your lashes will look thicker, not only because of the conditioners that are in the product—which do make your hair look more voluminous—but because the proteins and plant extracts make a good ambiance for your hair to grow longer,” she says.

And that’s exactly what the serum’s done for a whopping 97 percent of happy customers who noticed fuller lashes after a month, according to Sephora’s stats on the product. “It’s popular because a majority of people see satisfactory results, usually after about a month or so,” says Veronica Tran, brow expert and founder of Pretty in the City. Her advice? If you’re going to try it for yourself, less is more. “Apply once a day, in the evening after cleansing,” she says. “Apply one stroke along the lash line for each eye. If you apply too much, it doesn’t work any faster and you may end up finding a buildup of gooey gel-like substance stuck in your lash line.”

Some people I know are already hooked on the Grandelash—but it has made their eyes get a little red. Dr. Chi suggests this is because the serum got into their eyes, which would lead to irritation. Also, Tran recommends dipping the serum brush into the container once, and swipe only once on each side for the best results. So be strategic with your application. But once you nail it, you’ll be well on your way to butterfly lashes in about a month.

Also to help with those lashes are these amazing drugstore mascaras. Or you can also opt to try these drugstore lash serums that don’t cost more than $15.