A couple of weeks back I attended the Cosmoprof preview in New York, where a small portion of the brands from the upcoming July show setup shop. Many of the brands on display were founded by women who saw a hole in the beautysphere, change the way we see beauty, or just wanted to make beauty better.
This is Sirine Swed, founder of Battington Lashes, the first interview posting from this mini-series. She’s taken lashes and made them better – in structure, quality, and reusability.
How did the idea of Battington Lashes come about?
I have always loved lashes but didn’t love the way they felt. I wanted lashes that were lightweight, super comfortable, and could be used multiple times. Our lashes are handmade of 100% silk, so they blend in naturally with your own lashes.
Is your background in beauty?
I have always loved beauty, but prior to starting Battington I was a sales director for a pharmaceutical company.
What have you found to be the most difficult challenges and most comforting life lessons during the business conception process?
The most difficult challenges were wanting everything to be perfect before launching! Then I realized that I just needed to get started and it would all come together. The most comforting lesson has been that if you truly have a great product and believe in it, everything else falls into place
When developing Battington Lashes, what was it about other lashes that you wanted to make different or perfect in your own?
I wanted the lashes to be comfortable. I didn’t want to be focused on the lashes bothering me the entire time I wore them. I also wanted lashes that looked great and blended in well with my natural lashes. That’s where the 3D technology came from. Our band is made out of cotton and is super easy to apply. With the lashes being made out of 100% silk, it doesn’t get brittle or hard and can be used 25 times.
What is the most popular lash sold to date?
Most popular lashes are Monroe 3D silk lashes and our Kennedy silk lashes.
Battington released an app, can you tell us a bit about that?
We get questions all the time about what lashes would look best on a certain customer depending on their eye shape. We figured it would be so much easier to have an app that allows customers to virtually try on the lashes. We wanted the app to be super photorealistic, so that is why we teamed up with face cake. They do an amazing job and have allowed our customers to truly see what they would look like with our lashes on. Our app also has a filter on it for you to share photos with friends and family via text, email or social media. There’s a even a link that takes customers to a video on how to apply lashes. Once the lashes have been tried on the app allows customers to go directly to our site to purchase the lashes.
What is your number one tip or trick for applying lashes, having it last, or properly caring for them for multiple use?
Number one trick to applying lashes is sizing them to your eye before applying them. Also, it’s crucial to put only a thin layer of glue, then wait 30 seconds before applying them.
To prolong life of lashes, alway put your mascara on your natural lashes first, then apply lashes. When done for the night, simply pull them off gently, remove glue either with your fingers or with tweezers lightly, then place them back in the box.