What's Behind the Brand

When people ask me about my main mission with Mink Envy lashes, the answer is always simple. I want to give ALL women the confidence that lashes gave me. When I started my company, I loved the idea of providing luxe, glam lashes to women, minus the money spent on lash technicians and the time spent on installment in the chair. While I started by driving and delivering my lashes door to door with my husband, my brand now has over 100K Instagram followers, over 50,000 completed orders, a feature in Vogue, and 11 vending locations in malls along the East Coast. 

I started my career with a personal obsession with lashes. Always on the hunt for the best set for myself, I decided to create my own solution. At the time, I had been a school bus driver for 4 years. I had absolutely no prior business experience or formal business education–just a purpose and a passion. Within 3 short years, my passion project turned into a 7-figure beauty company. 

When Mink Envy launched in late 2018, my husband and I delivered my lashes to women ourselves in my hometown of Baltimore. My customers started referring to us as the “lash-uber.” We started delivering make-up bags filled with lashes and in no time, we had progressed to duffle bags filled with orders. Big things start small, and the most important thing is to trust your purpose and your vision. 

At first, I grew my brand through organic social media outreach. Less than a year later, I launched Mink Envy’s website. Pretty soon, our demand started to exceed what my husband and I could handle alone. I had to choose between my nine-to-five and my new hustle, and eventually, we even grew our team and brought another employee on to manage in-person sales. Fast forward to the end of 2020 and an easier method of delivering Mink Envy lashes to customers was born. 

Enter faux lash vending machines. Mink Envy Lashes and Accessories are the number 1 brand of lashes in my home state and they are now sold in vending machines in malls across Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. But just because our quantity has increased dramatically, doesn’t mean our quality has changed. I inspect every single set that sells to make sure it’s perfect. If it’s not, it doesn’t ship.

I love providing top quality lashes, as well as a sense of glamor and confidence, to women. But I also want to remind women of how much potential we have. I want women to recognize that they can do anything they set their mind to and to realize their biggest, wildest dreams. I started my company with nothing more than passion and a vision. I had no business education or prior experience. And I left a government job with comfortable benefits and a stable paycheck to try making it on my own. I never dreamt of being a CEO, so if I can do it, any woman can. 

But that’s certainly not to say it’s been an easy journey. The road to success is never easy, but recognizing that roadblocks and detours are often blessings in disguise is the real key to success. As long as you learn from your mistakes, keep pushing through the hard times, and never give up on your vision, you will come out stronger, better, and happier on the other side. Opportunity didn’t always come knocking on my door. Sometimes you have to create your own luck and pave your own path. 

While leaving my job 5 years ago was certainly a gamble, I’ve never looked back. Now I can focus on helping women find the confidence everyone deserves through the perfect lash for every eye shape, volume, and effect. On top of doing something I love, Mink Envy has also given my family and me so much freedom.

 

And that freedom is out there for anybody who is brave enough to chase it. I want every woman to know that they don’t have to be tied down to a job. That’s why I also offer guidance for other boss babes looking to grow their own eyelash empires. I love giving other femtrepreneurs my best tips, ideas, and resources (or even just a social media shout-out!)--everything I wish I would’ve known when I started Mink Envy! 

Mink Envy is all about confidence. The confidence that the perfect lash set can give you, and the inner confidence that empowers you to go for whatever you want–and get it.