Live Lash Fan Demo + Which Curl Actually Works for Your Eye Shape

Episode 2 of Behind the Brilliance is here, and we brought receipts.

Danielle and Ashtyn do something most brands would never do: a live, unfiltered comparison of Softline lashes against competitor brands, including the line Danielle herself was using before Softline existed.

In this episode:

•  What was wrong with previous Brilliant lash lines (Jupiter): Danielle is brutally honest

•  The years of sampling and artist feedback that built Softline

•  Live fan demo: Softline vs. Jupiter vs. two competitor brands

•  Value breakdown: 20-line trays at $17 vs. competitors' 16-line trays at $17.90

•  The caterpillar effect and why blunt-tipped lashes ruin a natural look

•  Lash lesson: choosing the right curl (C, CC, D) for your client's eye anatomy

•  What's coming: eco-friendly packaging, brown lash samples, and new single sizes

•  Join the Brilliant Insider Community: www.skool.com/brilliant

•  Shop Brilliant Lash Pro: brilliantlashpro.com

•  Adhesive Monthly Club (first month 50% off): brilliantlashpro.com/amc

•  Instagram: @brilliantlashpro  |  Ashtyn: @lashandtatsxash  |  Coaching: @thelashexecutive

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We are going to prove to you why soft line lashes are the best in the market. Yeah. Hello and welcome back to Behind the Brilliance. I'm Ashton. And I'm Danielle. And this is episode two. We're gonna talk about soft line lashes, lashes in general. We're gonna talk about some techniques, do some demonstrations. We're gonna play a little game where we're fanning our lashes compared to two other brands. It's a big difference. Our goal today is to convert you over to soft line lashes. That's good. Alright, Danielle. Take me back. I know that we've gone through a lot of different lash trays. What were wrong with the trays before soft line?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Developing a lash line is a ton of work because there are so many factors that go into creating lashes that work for everybody. Every technique is different. In fact, you and I both have different fanning techniques, and so it's hard to find that happy medium of what is important for a fanning technique. The way that the lashes are adhered to the strip is a huge factor. So how sticky the strip is, and then I'm not talking about the back of the strip because that's a whole nother layer. So the back of the strip needs to be easy to take off and put on. So a foil backing, but on top of that, there needs to be a stickiness level that makes it conducive to fanning, which didn't matter back with classic lashes. So before a soft line that launched this year, I was using our Jupiter line, which was, I think it was our second line of volume lashes, and it was good. It was good enough, but there was just some kind of wow factor missing. And it had to do with the way that they rolled off the strip. I searched high and low for lash artists to give feedback on what their favorite style of lash strips were, what they liked about it, because I knew that the Jupiter line was inferior.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

And I know that you're talking about like the actual like strip, but what about the lashes itself? Are those different? Are they softer? Are they more flexible?

SPEAKER_01 2:07

What's yes? So the lashes themselves are made of a polyester nylon blend. So playing with those blends ultimately gives that flexibility, that that stiff feeling versus soft feeling that a lot of lash extensions have.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Cool. And so I know that you said that you went to manufacturers, you tested a whole bunch of different lashes to get the perfect lash that you're satisfied with. How many samples do you think you actually tested?

SPEAKER_01 2:33

I I honestly couldn't tell you the number because it was years. It was years of sampling from the last launch to the one now. I don't even want to think back the previous launches, but I had so many samples. I gave them out to so many artists. I was looking for real, real, real feedback. That sounds like a nightmare. Yeah, it actually was a nightmare because it was a lot to keep track of. Yeah. Um, especially when you build a relationship with a manufacturer that you really like, but they can't provide the quality product that you want. And then you have to start like seeking out new manufacturers, it can get really um frustrating. And then also waiting on shipping times and things like that. What was the moment you knew SoftLine was the one? Well, my friends were using Lashbox. Lashbox is a great brand. I have nothing bad to say about Lashbox. I've taken their training, I admire some of their marketing. Um, and all my friends were using Lashbox. And so I said, What about Lashbox? Do you love? And so I kind of got those descriptions and I found one. And I shared these samples with my friends, and I had multiple reviews that people said I like these better than Lashbox.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Well, that must be such a great feeling to hear that, like, you're the brand that you were trying to work up to. You actually were exceeding. Exactly what I was hoping for.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

A lot of brilliant for me is I need access to lashes for me and my friends. And so I found it. What feedback from other artists changed the final product? Mostly fanability, if that's a word. It's based off of that experience. And I and it is in the manufacturing process. It's how the lashes are placed to begin with, and then the level of adhesiveness of those strips. So it was really just people's feedback, and it was a lot of deep research.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Yeah, I remember when I very first started here, I didn't start with soft line lashes, I started with a sample tray of of lash that you didn't even choose. And I like just from that one mixed tray, I can just tell a big difference between the lash trays.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

So that's really cool. As an artist who didn't develop these, what's your honest first impression?

SPEAKER_00 4:50

Honestly, my first impression with the lashes, I tried soft line for the first time. I think when I was doing the model trying to learn the new fanning technique. Because I know that like my tray before was this one. Okay. So I don't know what that is, but anyways, I remember that I was already having kind of a hard time because I was trying to teach like learn a new lashing technique. So I feel like I they made it easier because they pull off the strip really easily, they're they fan super easily, like you said, fanability, fanability, fanability, and so my first impression was that they're also a lot softer, like a way softer, hence the name soft line. On the tray right here, we have four different strips, and like genuinely, like from the bottom of my heart, guys, I'm a very real person. Just like feeling these, like the difference in the softness, nothing compares to soft line. These are so lightweight, it's incredible. Like, I can't even feel them on my eyes, like, I don't even notice. Like, just like you can tell by like the density of them, like they are just so much softer, which is what everybody wants.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Which one of those is soft line?

SPEAKER_00 6:13

The bottom. Okay, and you can tell that they're just like fluffier and softer. Also, another first impression that I have was I was like, wait, this lash tray has 20 lines.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Yes, it's like, how do we get the most value out of our products? We're going through them so fast, and it's crazy now that I'm using these 20-line trays, I'm still going through trays so fast. So to think that, you know, we used to start with 12 lines, 12 lines was our original lash trays had 12 lines, and then they went up to 16, and now it's 20. It's it almost leaves almost no room for branding on the tray. Um, I could probably even make them bigger, but it is just it increases manufacturing costs. And so trying to keep the cost low so to can keep the prices low and offer the highest value tray.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

From another lash brand, you can get a lash tray with 16 lines for $17.90. But from Brilliant, you can get a lash tray $17 for 20 lines for a lower price and more line.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

A pretty low cost for a high profit margin for how much we're charging for lashes. Yes. If you're paying a dollar or less per line, I would say I'm not going, I'm not using more than two lines of lashes on a client per appointment. So I mean that's a pretty, pretty good, pretty good price break there. So thanks for looking that up. You're welcome. Yeah. Um, and also, you know, when you're a friend of ours, we love to be generous with coupon codes. So I mean, if you're watching this now, we should make a discount code for the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 7:46

And we will. So if you're watching this, the code is on the screen. We do not know what it is yet, but it is right here. We're gonna give it to you. So it's less than 17.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

All right, so Ashton, what do your lash artist friends say when they try these?

SPEAKER_00 8:03

I love this question because I am, as you guys know, I'm like the social media marketer, all the things. So I'm also in charge of the PR. And when I told Danielle about my idea of setting up PR boxes, I was like, let me start with all of my Idaho babes back home. Like, I need to convert them. So I sent, well, I think our first one was like 15 PR boxes, and most of them were to my friends back home in Idaho, and they were hooked immediately. We have some of them that have now entered our AMC club. People are just like obsessed. They I genuinely have not heard one bad review. Honestly, I haven't either. I yeah. We don't get bad reviews. No, actually, it's not bad, but yeah, everybody is hooked. How do you explain the difference to clients who ask about lash quality? A lot of clients who come into me, whether they are coming from a different salon, they've never had lashes, whatever it is. They always tell me when they open their eyes and like feeling me brush them, they're so lightweight. Especially from people who are coming from other salons. I've had so many clients tell me, like, I've always been able to feel the lashes from other places. I can always feel, which obviously also does come down to your application, but it also comes down to the lash that you're using. So they're always telling me that they're so lightweight, they feel very feather-like almost, they're very soft. And clients who just came in, they were like, I honestly thought, like, have always thought that I would be able to see my lashes. I thought that I'd be able to feel them. I thought they'd hurt my eyes, but no, the lashes are just so soft and lightweight, people don't even realize they're on.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Yeah, actually, I'm glad you brought that up because I've been seeing my own clients for some of them for over 10 years. So they feel the difference too. And all of my clients have been like, What? Why are these so soft? Yeah. So I it's I I'm proud to say that it took a long time to get here, and that I can fully admit that before Soft Line, before this year, I was using a mediocre lash, but now I have what I feel is the best lash on the market to be lashing with.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Speaking of mediocre lashes, let's get into the fun part. Let's play a little game. I have a little surprise for you. All right. Here's your tweezer. Oh, you got mine, huh? All right. So on this lash tray, four different brands. This is our, I'm not gonna say these two brands because Yeah, so we have actually three different brands.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

We have two uh uh alternate brands and then our old lashes, correct? That's the Juniper Jupiter Jupiter? Jupiter. This is Jupiter and this is soft line. So we're gonna take turns creating fans for you so that you can see them in action. And so am I going first? You can go first. All right.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Wait, this is a lot of pressure. You go first. Okay, I'll go first. All right, let's see how it goes. I don't know if you guys can notice, but I do kind of see like some like crinkling within the lash. Okay, yeah. Do you see that? They're kind of wavy looking.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Ooh, those bases did not stay together. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

And like the actual base itself looks pretty like thick.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Oh, the base of this single lash. Yeah. Yeah, interesting. Yeah, sometimes the bases of the individual extensions can be thick because they're actually holding on to adhesive from the stick, the sticky. Do you want to go with them?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Tell me what you oh okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

Hard, those are definitely a little harder. They're pretty thicker. Oh, yeah, what a difference. I haven't cut them yet.

unknown 11:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Let's see what I have in the frame. We'll do your little technique.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Can we do your technique? We don't all have to do the same technique. I'm okay with it. I always say when I'm teaching. What is that? What happened there? Just an ooh, a lot of crossover, a lot of crisscross. That's also can be a manufacturing thing. That's that's another big thing about there's so many manufacturers out there trying to trying to do it, but not everybody could do it right.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

I don't know if you guys can tell, but like the lashes are like wiggly almost, like they look like they just went through a crimper, I'm not gonna lie. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

Well, they they did to because technically in manufacturing, they they take a straight, tiny string and they roll it on um on a rod that helps that that determines the ultimate curl. So it could be you know a heat manufacturing like defect. This is why I I developed Brilliant because I needed consistent products, but okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

I'm satisfied.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Let's go on to the next. Alright, we're gonna do the next lash brand, which is surprisingly um crispy feeling.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

I do kind of feel like this was a spoolie. Oh, did I move it? I have it right here. So this is a decurled lash. Okay. I don't know. I'm gonna need you to like tell me your thoughts, but I feel like all the way through the tips, these are a lot darker than any of the other lashes. Is it because it's a decurl? Oh that I mean the the level of curl shouldn't shouldn't um affect. Ooh, these are really weird. You see what I'm saying though? Like they're really dark, like even throughout the top.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

I almost feel like the bottoms and the tops are the darkest, and then there's like well, you know what that is actually is they're a little bit more blunt at the top. And so okay. So, you know, a lot of artists work fine with with loose bases like that because they have um they're using a lot of adhesive, but yeah, these ones don't seem to want to like cooperate fully not good rolling lashes, but you know what, you're right. I think they're more blunt at the tip, which to me makes the um makes them a little look look a little less natural. I agree. So you need a a fine, fine taper at the tip to achieve a very natural look. Um so that is something that I notice when I look at other artists' work online is that when they're dealing, when they're using lashes that I also feel like they're not very flexible.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

Like I feel like these lashes are kind of stiff, yeah, they're a little stiffer.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Like I feel like normally I can just pull it out and it'll fan, but these kind of don't. Okay, they are pretty soft though, I will say that. But like I feel like the ends, like the ends are stiff. Let's see if we can like roll that up for the camera a little bit there. Oh like the ends are just stiff.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

They are, they are really they are really blunt. They are, they look kind of like they're the same all the way through.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Like, even these taper more, which isn't gonna give you any sort of wispy. This is what's gonna give you that caterpillar effect, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Interesting. So then we'll move on to Jupiter, which honestly I have a hard time fanning with, so we'll see. After I've been using Soft Line, I just you know, it's yeah, this is what I mean. I don't know what it is. I just there's something about it that I don't love. I think that's how sticky the strip is. It's the sticky, it's the strip, yeah. As you can see, that strip is a lot bigger than this strip. Um, so it's strip size and it's adhesive level. There's different ratings for how sticky it is. But yeah, this that's exactly what it is. It's too sticky for me. I but I worked with it for years. Sorry guys, sorry to all my clients that I was using subpar lashes on for years. Oh yeah, but you have to kind of like yank it off almost.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

Yeah, I mean, I will say they are pretty soft though.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Really? See, to me, they're they're so less soft than the soft line.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

I think that they are very much less soft than the soft line, but compared to these other ones, I feel like they're pretty soft.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yeah, but they definitely have a beautiful taper.

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Okay, let's get to the show.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

Oh, the queen. Oh my gosh. The life changer for me. Only because I've been using these these things for so long. But let's see her. Buttery smooth.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Yeah, it's a little soft. You can just like see the softness. No, guys. If I wish that you could touch the screen and feel how soft these are because it's genuinely unreal.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Obsessed, obsessed. Look how those bases just stick together.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

You haven't wrist thing? My wrist is like cramped.

SPEAKER_01 16:59

Well, lash artists, stretch out your wrists.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Look at her. Like, they're just so much more thin and white weight. You can just tell by the way like each individual lash looks. Okay, this is a lot of pressure. What I also have noticed throughout these lash trays is that I almost feel like some of these lashes, like the curl is kind of inconsistent in them. Soft line, the curl has always been consistent no matter what.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Yeah, that's a tough one. That's a that's a big one that comes up in manufacturing. In fact, with past experiences, I've had manufacturers send me just incorrect packaging. So it's it kind of sucks along the line. Like, if you order something, if you order nines and tens and they send you nines and tens, but they're the same, like they're labeled differently, but they're actually the same. Like, what does the distributor do about that? So, really just working with manufacturers that have high um quality control standards and things like that. And so, thank you for watching our little demonstration. So, we basically talked about the past, the present, and the and the future of Soft Line is that we do currently only carry 0.03s and single sizes. We we carry many different sizes in mixed trays, 0.05s, L's, M's, CCs, D's, a lot of varieties of mixed trays. We only carry single sizes in 0.03 because that's kind of what I teach with. That's what I believe in. So we will be adding more single sizes. Um, but what I'm really striving to work towards is improved packaging. So lash extension cases, they either come in the plastic trays or the cardboard trays. To me, both of them are wasteful. So I am working with other packaging options that are more eco-friendly while still protecting the lashes in transit. So I just wanted to say that's kind of what's on in the forefront.

SPEAKER_00 19:00

We also have a couple different samples of brown lashes coming in because we know that that's still a trend and we currently do not offer them. I've kind of been a big advocate for these because I just feel like a lot of people have been asking for them lately. Um, so maybe we will do a little testing episode. Oh, brown lashes.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Yeah. And I mean, complete transparency. Like I said, I've worked with multiple manufacturers of so many different of the products. And for whatever reason, the manufacturer that I'm dealing with for these lashes for the soft line, I'm not impressed with what they can do with brown lashes. And for some reason, the colored lashes, because they start as a clear, um, they they just have a different texture. So I'm looking for that perfect soft texture in brown that matches the level of softness with the black.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

And so and I feel like it's also hard to get that like super soft, thin texture that we're wanting because a lot of a lot of brands, I don't know if this is like a manufacturing thing. So correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of brands only carry colored lashes in like 0.05s or 0.07s.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Yes, because it's so hard to manufacture. Yeah. So I'm looking for 0.03s, super soft, because otherwise, you know, I don't even want to carry brown lashes, and that's why we don't, is because they're because I haven't found the perfect quality.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

Okay, fine. I'll go get in the factory and start making them by myself. Okay. Why certain curls work better for different eye shapes?

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Oh, yeah, let's talk about lashes. Let's do a little lash lesson. So, why do certain curls work better for different eye shapes? Well, here's a perfect example. Ashton needs a really curly lash, the way that her anatomy is, you have she has deep set eyes and have a little bit of a hood. And so her eye shape responds really well to a reverse cat eye with a C C or a D. And I've never heard of that. And that wasn't even something you did before you came here, uh-uh. Me, on the other hand, I'm a C girl, and sometimes it's still already too curly for me. And so, what this kind of comes down to, there is a lot of assessments you can make based on eye shape, but also the way that someone's lashes point is still gonna vary. I could have deep set, I could have identical eyes to Ashton, but our lashes could just be like slightly different angles, and that's still gonna affect how the curl looks.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

So literally a couple weeks ago, I did somebody's lashes, and we were looking at her Instagram pre her appointment because it was like an important appointment for her, whatever. And we were like, okay, she has really hooded eyes, let's use a deeper curl, let's use like a CC or a D. She comes in, I send Danielle a picture, and I'm like, I don't think so. And we actually ended up having to do a C, even though the rule book says that you're supposed to be using a heavier curl for hooded lashes, for hooded eyes. So it honestly just you have to take into account their lashes, their anatomy, how their like face is structured.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

If you need to learn more, you can check out the ultimate lash course for more information on that. And you got lucky because that was a that was a client who Was coming in for a one hit wonder before her wedding, which I never recommend any clients getting one full set before their wedding. You should get a full set, then get a refresh right before and do a trial. But a lot of times you have to just work with your client and say, hey, look, what I do today is I'm gonna try to do my best to achieve the look that you're looking for. But at your next appointment, we're gonna review what you loved and what you didn't love because you really have to leave that room for feedback and for the client to, you know, for you and the client to grow into the perfect style. Cause I think with you, I don't know, I don't think we nailed it right away.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

No, no, we were doing an I think we did open eye, I think we did doll eye, I think we did, we never did a cat eye, but we did do C's on me, and I absolutely hate it. Yeah, C's don't even work. That's why I feel like sometimes we should probably just try D's on you to see what happens to it. But yeah, we reverse cat eyed her. We did that, I think we made that transition like a month ago. I think a little longer, but it's been good.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

And I'm actually going reverse cat eye, but I can try all kinds of different things. I have a little, I don't know, I have a generic eye shape. So yeah, very versatile eyes. Um base adhesion improvements. How are what are some ways that you can enhance your base? Well, using good quality lashes, as you just could see, it um fanability is gonna affect your base big time. Um, actually, how well your tweezers are performing can also affect that. Yeah, and then just you know, everyone's got a different method for dipping adhesive. I always say less is more because you don't want a really thick base. Oh, am I recording that?

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Longevity differences clients notice with the new lashes. I think that since we can get the bases so small and they're so soft and flexible, they wrap easier on lashes. Yeah. I don't think I place any lashes that don't wrap. No matter what angle you come in at with your fans, and specifically soft line lashes, I feel like they all wrap perfectly, and so I feel like that makes them last longer and have better retention. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

Yeah. I will say overall, the thinner the lash, the finer the lash, the thinner the base, which is better for retention overall, because the heavier the lash and the thicker the base, you run the risk of premature fallout, breakage, and discomfort that causes people to touch their lashes more, which then causes you know premature fallout.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

So not only does that go with isolation, but also you need to be careful what products you are using because a lot of people don't realize that it's actually their product plays a big part in their placement. Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

Boom. That was a great that was a great discussion. Thank you for watching episode two of Behind the Brilliance, where we are diving deep into each product each week and showing you what we're doing just real time because we have a bunch of samples coming in of, like she said, brown lashes, tweezers. Um, I actually have some other products I haven't even told Ashton about coming. So we're just using this opportunity to share with you what we're already doing. Yeah. So if you want to see anything new, if you have any questions, if you want to be on Brilliant's board of testers, we're always looking for other opinions.

SPEAKER_00 25:18

If you want to be a brilliant ambassador, we do have a brilliant circle. A PR box.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

There's so many opportunities. There's so many. If you don't know about them, go to our socials, you'll see more about that. And we'll catch you on the next episode.

unknown 25:32

Bye.