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TWO savvy mums sick of forking out £60-a-month for salon lashes have taken matters into their own hands – launching a DIY brand with a twist.
Best pals Marie McCrory, 43, and Sianmarie Lee, 38, are devoted beauty lovers who have worn hundreds of different lashes over the years.
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The pair – pals for 12 years – have both worked in the beauty industry with mum-of-one Sianmarie, from Edinburgh, even qualified as a lash technician.
They spotted a gap in the market for pre-cut lashes applied in a different way and plunged their wages into launching their own firm.
Marie, from West Lothian, told the Scottish Sun Online: “I was paying £60 a month for lash extension infills and it was too much and took up so much time.
“So I started cutting up strip lashes and applying them under the lash or trying sets from Amazon but they were too thick and uncomfortable.
“I knew other people must have been looking for something decent the same way I was.”
The friends agreed to go into business together in February and officially launched Lashed With Love, their premier DIY lash company, on April 7.
All of their lashes are pre-cut to save clients time, with eight different styles and prices starting from £10.50.
Marie explained: “It’s actually evolved from what it was when we first started.
“The lashes used to come in one long strip and the customer would have to cut them to size.
“But a lot of people struggled knowing what size they should cut so now we pay extra to get them all pre-cut so there’s no second guessing and 5 minutes quicker to apply.
“You apply the pre-cut segments under your lashes, the band is super thin so very comfortable to wear.
“Once you get used to this type of application it will literally take 5/10 minutes to apply and they last around 5/7 days and look just like lash extensions that would cost you £50-£60 for a fraction of the cost.”
Sianmarie added: “Everyone is so used to applying their lashes on top of the eyelids but with our you can apply them underneath.
“They feel more comfortable and look more natural. A lot of people struggle to put lashes on top.
“Also as our lashes are pre-cut it saves so much time with little effort.”
The determined mums sold some of their kids’ old belongings to buy their first round of stock.
Marie, who used to work in recruitment, now runs the lash firm full-time while Sianmarie still works in finance and devotes her free time to the business.
Sianmarie, from Edinburgh, said: “Me and Marie have always wanted to run our own beauty business and this was the perfect opportunity.
“It’s an amazing feeling to know that this is our product and have our own company name.
“We first asked our supplier for samples to see what the styles we could sell and discussed prices etc.
“We just knew it was going to be worth putting a bit of money into to it even if it meant selling some of the kids old things and most of my salary for the first two months.”
Marie – mum to Shannon 21, Liam 17 and Evie 3 – added: “I actually sold my daughter’s big pram that she no longer used and her cot as she was almost three.
“We started with a small order as we weren’t sure how much we’d sell at first but ended up selling out within 5/6 weeks.
“We did think it would be a success but you always have the worry at the back of your mind that it would flop and no one would buy them.
“There were definitely a few sleepless nights just before we launched.”
The best pal duo have worked closely with some of Scotland’s most popular TikTok influencers to promote their lashes – and business is booming.
Sianmarie, currently pregnant with baby number two, said: “Us being both mums we know what people are looking for, and we knew other mums would love our product too.
“Business is going really well, better than we could ever imagined.
“We love how we’re helping busy mums and saving people money and also making them look amazing.
“We also have customers that have had chemotherapy and our little company is making them feel beautiful again.”
- Lashed With Love will be hosting a pop-up shop at Blond salon in Glasgow’s southside on September 24
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