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Once the province of well-heeled celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, and Madonna, mink-fur eyelash extensions are now sweeping through both sides of the Atlantic, according to the Daily Mail. Until recently, a single rollout could cost upwards of $7,000. Now that a single application averages at $500, mink eyelashes are becoming accessible to a growing number of disposable incomes. Their absurdity aside, the hairy accessories are also being touted as cruelty-free. “They don’t kill the animals,” Janice Vance of Designer Lashes London, which offers 100 percent Siberian mink eyelashes, tells the gossip rag. “They brush the minks and then collect the fur by hand.”

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture isn’t exactly known for its bleeding-edge fashion, but don’t count the federal agency out just yet. Researchers from the Agricultural Research Service are investigating safer and less expensive ways of using silver nanoparticles to inhibit odor-causing bacteria in cotton. Although nanosilver is gaining traction in everything from clothing to plastic food containers, synthetic methods of production have long relied on toxic agents and organic solvents, according to Brian Condon, a team leader at the Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans.

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Lady Gaga hammed it up at a recent concert in Tokyo wearing a second meat dress. On Monday, the controversy-courting singer tweeted a photo of herself—photographed by famed lensman Terry Richardson, no less—belting out “Americano” while standing between twin flanks of prop meat. While Gaga remained mum about the provenance of the sweetheart-necked frock, her original MTV Video Music Awards getup featured actual cuts of sirloin and rump roast. Let’s hope the bubble-skirted ensemble was a meat-inspired homage rather than the real deal. Given Gaga’s affection for shock tactics, however, we can’t say we’d be surprised either way.

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Caught a whiff of that? Researchers have developed an electronic “nose” that could someday result in chemical-detecting clothing. Peratech, a technology company in the United Kingdom, has produced a sensor capable of sniffing out volatile organic compounds and other potentially harmful emissions. Based on the company’s Quantum Tunneling Composite technology, the device comprises tiny particles that change electrical resistance when force is applied. The polymer also swells in the presence of VOCs, even at levels as low as 10 parts per million.

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If you’ve longed to make your own beauty products but don’t care for the hassle of hunting down pages of ingredients, Herban Crafts will do the legwork for you. The Washington, D.C.-based company plans to launch its inaugural range of DIY kits in June, but it still requires additional seed money to kick production into gear. Currently raising money through IndieGoGo, Herban Crafts is clear about its mission. Besides eschewing chemical-laden dyes, fragrances, and preservatives in favor of organic and fair-trade botanicals, the business will also employ undeserved women in the D.C. area, providing jobs training to help them reenter the work force at a later date.

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