They say you should keep your friends close and your competition closer… well, apparently I took that quite literally.
Nearly three years ago, I met Louise, the owner of Ladybug Lashes. We were both running UK lash businesses, selling to the same lash artists and, on paper, were technically direct competition. Fast-forward three years and she's now one of my closest friends. We speak pretty much every day, our businesses work together and this weekend I finally drove from Kent to Norfolk to meet her for the FIRST TIME. Yes… somehow we've managed to become best friends without ever actually meeting in real life!
The Thing That Brought Us Together: Lash Product Safety
If you know me and Eyelash Excellence, you'll know that lash product safety is something I'm hugely passionate about. That passion actually started through my own experience with overexposure many years ago and has led me down a very deep rabbit hole of researching professional lash adhesives, ingredients, SDS documents, manufacturing, cosmetic-grade ingredients and regulations.
And this is really where Louise and I clicked. We were both asking the same questions. What's actually in the products we're using every day? Where are they being manufactured? Are the documents we're being given accurate? Are lash artists being given enough information to make informed decisions about the products they're using every single day?
Louise was just as passionate about improving standards and transparency, and Ladybug Lashes' cosmetic-grade lash adhesives reflect many of the same values that matter to me when it comes to professional lash products. Instead of guarding what we knew because we were "competitors", we did the complete opposite. We shared research. We compared notes. We questioned things together. If one of us discovered something interesting, the other usually received a message about it approximately 30 seconds later! Those conversations gradually stopped being just about lashes and business.
We started talking about life, families, dogs, holidays, the highs and lows of running a business and everything else in between. Somewhere along the way, my "competitor" simply became my friend.
There Really Is Room For All of Us
One of the things I love most about our friendship is that neither of us has ever felt that supporting the other takes something away from our own business. Eyelash Excellence and Ladybug Lashes are still completely separate brands. We have our own products, ideas and customers and, yes, there are areas where we compete. But there are also products Louise sells that I don't, and products I sell that Louise doesn't. Rather than trying to be everything to everybody, why not support another independent UK lash business you genuinely believe in?
That's exactly why we decided to work together through Shopify Collective. It means you'll now find selected Ladybug Lashes products available through Eyelash Excellence alongside our own professional lash glues and liquids. It gives our customers more choice while allowing both of us to concentrate on developing the products we're individually passionate about. And because I actually know the woman behind the brand, I know how much she cares about the products she puts her name to.
Three Years Later… We Finally Met!
Which brings me to this weekend. After nearly three years of messages, phone calls, voice notes, product discussions, business dramas, laughing, moaning and probably enough lash-industry conversations to last most people a lifetime, I packed my bags and drove from Kent to Norfolk. Walking into Ladybug Lashes HQ and finally giving Louise a hug after speaking to her almost every day for years was slightly surreal. And thankfully, we actually liked each other in real life too!
I think our friendship is a lovely reminder that business doesn't always have to be about competition. Two women can run successful lash businesses, sell similar products and still champion each other. We can share knowledge, help each other and push each other to do better. And, most importantly for both of us, we can continue asking difficult questions and pushing for better lash product safety, transparency and education within the professional lash industry.
Sometimes the person you're supposed to see as your competition turns out to be exactly the person you needed in your corner. So if you've ever wondered why you'll occasionally see Ladybug Lashes products appearing on Eyelash Excellence, now you know. It's not just a business collaboration. There's a nearly three-year friendship behind it too.
Frankie x