In honor of International Women's Day, we sat down with our Founder Lilly Ghalichi to reminisce on the last ten years since launching the brand. She shares what inspires her, her best advice for women entrepreneurs, and what she'd tell her younger self.
What inspired you to start your business?
I launched Lilly Lashes due to my own personal need for them! I was filming a Bravo reality show at the time, and back then there were only 2 lash options - barely there human hair, or ultra-fake looking synthetic lashes (...think Halloween).
To get the glam lash look I wanted, I had to stack 3 to 4 pairs of human hair lashes on my lids. Often times, I had to cut them up and glue multiple pairs together just to create the unique styles I wanted. It was so time consuming, I would spend 30 minutes in glam just on lashes.
Enough was enough and I decided to develop ultra-glam lashes for girls like me that wanted something more dramatic than human hair lashes, but something that looked more natural than synthetic Halloween lashes.....and Lilly Lashes was born.
I decided to sell them in case there were other girls who also wanted glam lashes. Once I saw just how many girls there were like me out there, I realized this was a product SO many wanted. So I then sat down and created a plan to offer 3D glam lashes. My plan has since evolved into dominating the lash space, not just in 3D dramatic lashes, but in natural lashes, faux mink lashes, lash tools, and accessories. We are growing so quickly that the plan evolves daily.
Best advice you can give to girl bosses/women entrepreneurs?
Every single day! Failure (or challenges) are a part of success. Not every idea you have will be successful, and that's okay. What's important to realize is that challenges will occur, it's how you overcome them and learn from them that matters.
What inspires you?
I'm extremely passionate about helping others fulfill their dreams through motivation and inspiration. I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth, I created everything on my own, and I want other women particularly to understand if I did it- they can too.
Best advice you can give to girl bosses/women entrepreneurs?
Every single day! Failure (or challenges) are a part of success. Not every idea you have will be successful, and that's okay. What's important to realize is that challenges will occur, it's how you overcome them and learn from them that matters.
What is something you would tell younger Lilly?
Go for it!!! When I was younger, I had so many dreams, I just felt they were out of reach to me. I thought I didn't have the means, the experience, or the chance in life to have the things I dreamed about; boy was I wrong. It wasn't until I was older that I got the confidence to "go for it!" I would tell my younger self - YOU CAN DO THIS, START NOW!!!
What is the #1 thing you want to teach your daughter?
I want to teach my daughter that she can do anything she wants in life if she puts her mind to it and works hard to achieve it. At only 4 years old she's already somehow being taught societal notions of what she "can" or "cannot" do as a woman. For example, she tells me things like "well I can't do that right mommy, that's for boys". Whether it's about riding a skateboard, or a profession she learned about like an astronaut. I hate that society for hundreds of decades has decided what women "should or should not do"- I want her to understand that SHE gets to decide what she wants to do in life, and she can absolutely become anythings she wants, play with anything she wants, wear anything she wants- and anyone that has a problem with it, that's their problem.
Current Lilly Lash you’re wearing and loving?
Miami! It really brings me back to first starting the brand and since this year is the 10-year anniversary, I've been having fun reminiscing.
