Cash Lash Cosmetics is a new yet quickly growing lash company founded in Montreal by Amy Wang and Taeyanne Collins. Cash Lash has quickly gained popularity for what can be a number of reasons, from their visually stunning Instagram feed to the undeniable quality of their products. This inseparable duo has in a short time established themselves as successful business owners and have no plans on letting up. The Cash Lash Cosmetics brand strives for inclusivity and acceptance regardless of gender expression, race, or body type. Not only that, but they’re also into activism and do not shy away from making clear stances on their values and incorporating them into their brand identity. We had chance to sit down with the boss babe duo and chat a bit about where they started and the process they go through to run their business.
The Cash Lash Cosmetics brand strives for inclusivity and acceptance regardless of gender expression, race, or body type
It feels like almost yesterday both of you gave me my very first pack of Kiss lashes and helped me level up my basic makeup looks. What pushed you guys to go from being lash enthusiasts to building your ever own cosmetics company?
Amy: Honestly I don’t think we were expecting all this in the beginning. Taeyanne had the idea for this hustle and little by little we started to piece together our ideas and build our brand.
Taeyanne: At first it started by us thinking we needed a flex; we needed something to sell. We saw all these girls who were selling their products and thought that we could easily do this. And lashes were one thing I felt weren’t as available here in Montreal. Especially dramatic styles and 25mm lashes. All we have is what’s in the pharmacy or the few black hair stores around the city. It was going to be something small in the beginning but as we had more ideas it became an actual project and business.
What was the biggest struggle you had to undergo prior to being able to officially launch Cash Lash Cosmetics?
A: Omg! Our fucking packaging!!!
T: The idea for the boxes was amazing, I was like this is what’s going to sell our product. This is it. This box was going to be the key point to our lashes and it turned out to really be that. Everything revolved around these packages. We needed to design it ourselves, and then we needed someone else to touch it up.
A: It was redesigned twice!
Taeyanne: Yes, it was redesigned multiple times. Once we got it we needed to get it finalized and sent to the company that makes the packages. Once that was done we had to make sure they did everything properly. And finally when it was time to ship them the whole Coronavirus situation happened.
Running a business is an extremely time-consuming venture. How many hours approximately would you guys say you spend per week doing tasks like product packaging, order fulfillment, and marketing?
T: Honestly my whole life revolves around this business. The thing about having your own business is you could still be working even when you’re not working.
A: You know, we could also be posting on our personal page just promoting to people we know. It might be different from something like product packaging but shows how we incorporate our business into our whole life. But I’d say for the packaging and fulfillment, like three hours a day. Especially if it’s a big order or our more limited edition items which are custom made, those would take more time. We also write personal thank you notes and bring all the packages to the post office ourselves. As for marketing, it honestly takes a lot of time, you know, trying to figure out what we want to post online and interacting with people. Taking pictures and editing pictures as well, honestly Taeyanne’s good at that. When I try to edit pictures it takes me so long. I literally spend hours editing pictures sometimes. But I have to learn, we can’t rely on someone else to do these things for us.
How does it feel to have such a positive response to your product and brand identity?
T: It feels amazing. It feels so amazing. We were scared at first like is anybody even going to fuck with us. But that’s not the response we got at all.
A: It’s one of the best feelings. It feels really fulfilling seeing people genuinely love our brand.
T: People that try the 25mm lashes for the first time, their reactions to them are amazing, they love it because it’s so different. I remember when I tried them for the first time, I was scared and a little nervous. Then I put them on and was it was just a look, it was lifechanging. So seeing those positive reactions are lit.
A: Yes I love seeing it too! That’s the whole point of our brand, you’re supposed to feel like a baddie when you’re wearing our lashes! Seeing people rock our lashes and feeling confident is just an amazing feeling.
Besides running your own cosmetics company you both are very busy women. Tell us how do you manage to juggle all your responsibilities?
T: Like we were saying before, we incorporate the business into our everyday life. We’re definitely on our business page more than we’re on our personals. We just try to post whenever we can. And for some reason, me and Amy just work on like opposite schedules. When I’m awake she’s sleeping, when she’s awake I’m sleeping. She’s at school, I’m home and when she’s at home, I’m at work. So we tend to just alternate. I think it’s great having a business partner so we can just divide the work and it’s a lot easier.
A- Besides that when I was in school and she was working, we would have to know each other’s schedules. We’d like box out times that we were supposed to do something. We have to plan really well. I’d sometimes drop off photos and then head back to class. We had to find the time and fit stuff in where we could.
T: When I’d be at work I’d also find time to do things like organizing our feed for the next 2 weeks. That’s just a little something I could to on my phone quick. Then maybe later on in the day, we’d then meet up to do something that required both of our undivided attention.
It’s definitely only the beginning of a bright future for Cash Lash Cosmetics. What can we expect from you guys as you continue to grow?
A: A lot! We have so much in store! Omg I don’t want to ruin any surprises.
T: In the short term, we do have a new product that we’re going to be launching that we’ve been working on very hard on.
A: New lash styles!
T: Yes, new styles for sure! In the long term, we’re definitely expecting to grow our audience so we can have more people feeling like their best selves. We also will continue to support brands that are smaller, with everything that’s going on in the world it’s time for a shift in consciousness. So supporting black-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, and being inclusive well.
Make sure to tap into everything Cash Lash Cosmetics by following them on Instagram! You can also find the gorgeous ladies who were kind enough to take time from their busy schedules for this interview on Instagram as well, @taeyanne & @amy.qiii. We’re sure we’ll be hearing so much more positive news from these two and their business venture in the future.
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