We recently connected with Lisa Stroud (westhafer) and have shared our conversation below.
Lisa, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
At True Beauty Lashes, we set out to do something different—not just in the products we create, but in the message we share. The beauty industry has made great strides in inclusivity, but much of its focus still remains on how we look rather than who we are. From the start, I knew I wanted True Beauty Lashes to stand for something more than aesthetics—to celebrate the kind of beauty that’s reflected in personal character and how we show up in the world.
That belief is deeply personal to me. My faith has always shaped how I see beauty—not as something that fades, but as something that grows through the way we treat others. I wanted to build a brand that could uplift and inspire, rather than add another measure someone feels like they need to live up to. This is why a portion of our sales also go to mental health initiatives—we have a deep compassion for the psychological affect that unrealistic beauty standards have on many people.
Another way we break from industry norms is in how we design our products. We design our lashes for the eyes themselves—ensuring that people with different eye shapes can find a style that truly flatters them. Lashes shouldn’t just be beautiful on their own; they should enhance your natural features when you wear them.
Also, our decision to avoid mink materials in our lashes was intentional from day one. While most premium lash brands have used mink because of trends, I couldn’t reconcile the idea of using an animal-derived material in the name of beauty. Instead, we worked with our suppliers to source the most mink-like materials, which we call our “FAUXREAL™ technology”, to deliver the same feel of mink without the cruelty.
One of my favorite moments as a founder was hearing from a customer who had stopped wearing false lashes because she could never find ones that fit her hooded eye shape—she told us that when she found True Beauty Lashes, it was the first time lashes felt like they were truly made for her. It’s stories like these that remind me why we do things differently—not just to sell lashes, but to build a brand that empowers people to feel confident, comfortable, and beautiful in their own skin.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’ve spent years working in customer experience and brand strategy for some of the most well-known beauty and personal care brands. During that time, I saw firsthand how the industry often focused on perfection over self-expression, trends over individuality, and aesthetics over ethics. I wanted to build something different—something that would help people feel beautiful, not just look beautiful.
Lashes have always been one of my favorite beauty products because they have the power to transform your entire look and confidence in seconds. But I also knew that so many people struggled to find lashes that truly fit their unique eye shape, and others were unknowingly buying products that didn’t align with their values—like mink lashes sourced from cruel, inhumane practices. That’s where True Beauty Lashes was born—with a purpose-driven mission to make lashes that are inclusive, ethical, and confidence-boosting for all.
At True Beauty Lashes, we design luxurious, cruelty-free, PETA-approved false lashes and lash adhesives that solve two major problems in the industry:
– We make finding the perfect lash easy – Instead of a “one-size-fits-all” approach, we create lash styles designed to complement different eye shapes, so our customers feel like their lashes were made just for them.
– We’re committed to ethical beauty without compromise – Many premium lash brands still use mink fur, despite growing consumer awareness around animal cruelty. I made the intentional decision from day one to never use mink. Instead, we developed our FAUXREAL™ technology, which mimics the look and feel of mink—without the cruelty.
In addition to our lashes, we also created the world’s first No-Mess No-Tears Aloe-Infused Lash Adhesive—a revolutionary formula designed with sensitive eyes in mind. Most lash glues are loaded with harsh chemicals that cause irritation, but our formula is gentle, non-irritating, and most importantly, effective.
One of the things I’m most proud of is how our brand is about more than just selling lashes—we’re about lifting people up. Beauty should never make someone feel like they’re not enough. That’s why 1% of all sales go toward mental health initiatives, supporting organizations that help women feel seen, valued, and celebrated.
Another proud moment for me is hearing from customers who finally found lashes that fit their eyes perfectly—or those who love knowing that their beauty routine is now aligned with their values because they’re choosing 100% cruelty-free lashes. I’ve had customers tell me they stopped wearing false lashes because nothing ever fit right—until they found True Beauty Lashes. Moments like that remind me why I started this journey.
If there’s one thing I want people to take away from True Beauty Lashes, it’s this:
✨ Beauty isn’t just about how you look—it’s about who you are. ✨
Our lashes aren’t just beautiful products—they’re made to make you feel confident, comfortable, and uniquely you.
When you wear True Beauty Lashes, you’re choosing:
– A brand that celebrates beauty beyond appearance
– Lashes that are thoughtfully designed to fit every eye shape
– A commitment to ethical, cruelty-free beauty
– A company that gives back to mental health initiatives
At the end of the day, I didn’t just want to create another beauty brand. I wanted to create a movement—one that empowers people to see their beauty in a new way. And I’m so excited to continue growing this vision with our amazing community.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
For the first four years of True Beauty Lashes, we intentionally avoided selling on Amazon. Historically, many specialty and department store retailers wouldn’t carry a brand if they were also available on Amazon, so we prioritized keeping that option open. But over time, that perception has changed—more retailers are now open to working with brands that sell on multiple channels.
With that shift, we saw an opportunity to test a new go-to-market strategy and decided to launch our aloe-infused lash adhesive exclusively on Amazon in 2024 (not our website). The goal was to get immediate customer feedback through reviews, measure sales demand before committing to large-scale production, and leverage organic Amazon rankings as well as ad data to refine our future Google Ads strategy to drive sales on our website.
It turned out to be a highly successful way to bring a new product to market—in just the first six months, we sold nearly 5,000 units with a low 2% return rate, confirming that customers loved the product.
But selling on Amazon isn’t without its challenges.
– Mastering the Algorithm – To even have a chance at ranking on the first page, you need to deeply understand how Amazon works, including Vine reviews, PPC ads, and organic rankings. It’s not just about having a great product—it’s about playing the game.
– Fighting Unfair Reviews – One of the hardest parts of Amazon is dealing with negative reviews that don’t reflect reality. Many satisfied customers don’t take the time to leave reviews, which makes it tough to offset dishonest competitor attacks or aggressive, angry customers who use reviews as their only way to be heard. Even with nearly 5,000 units sold, we had fewer than 50 positive reviews simply because most happy customers just don’t leave feedback.
– Inventory & Logistics Issues – Amazon’s FBA receiving timelines are wildly unpredictable—sometimes it takes months for inventory to be checked in, making forecasting extremely difficult. On top of this, we’ve had 1,500 units at a time get “lost” in their fulfillment centers, and we’e had to spend days negotiating with Amazon’s customer service team to investigate and track those down.
At the end of the day, I don’t believe Amazon is the best place to build a brand or rely on for scaling a product launch. There are just too many uncontrollable elements—from logistics delays to lack of customer data to review manipulation.
But is it a great tool for driving immediate sales, gathering customer feedback, and extracting valuable keyword data for SEO and media buying?
Absolutely.
For us, Amazon is a a useful tool, but not a brand-building platform and certainly not the foundation of our business. And moving forward, we’re using the insights we’ve gained to optimize our Google Ads, improve our website conversions, and strategically scale where it makes sense.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
True Beauty Lashes started as a passion project—one that I started with my Mom and ran on the side for years while working in customer experience and brand strategy for some of the biggest healthcare and personal care brands. I had always loved lashes, but I saw gaps in the industry that no one was addressing.
At the time, the false lash market was dominated by mink lashes, even as consumer demand for cruelty-free beauty was growing. I also noticed that many brands took a one-size-fits-all approach to lash design, leaving customers struggling to find styles that truly fit their unique eye shapes. I wanted to change that—so I set out to create a brand that was ethical, inclusive, and designed to make people feel confident.
For the first four years, True Beauty Lashes remained a side hustle as I built the brand from the ground up. The slow launch allowed me to establish credibility and position the brand for long-term success through working with influencers to get honest feedback and gather content to use for future marketing.
Key Milestones That Helped Us Scale
📌 1. Launching with a Strong Mission
From day one, I was intentional about building a brand that stood for more than just beauty. I made the commitment to be 100% cruelty-free, ensuring we never used mink fur, and pledged 1% of all sales to mental health initiatives—because beauty should be about lifting people up, not just looking good.
📌 2. Getting into Von Maur & the Department Store Space
One of the biggest moments in our journey was securing our first department store partnership with Von Maur. Department stores have traditionally been selective about indie beauty brands, and getting onto their shelves validated our brand positioning, product quality, and customer appeal. This was a huge proof of concept moment that showed our brand could compete in the prestige beauty space.
Within the first two years of our launch, we were in 37 physical Von Maur department stores across 15 states in the U.S., as well as on their eCommerce website, expanding our visibility across many demographics.
📌 3. Expanding into Amazon as a Strategic Move
For years, we intentionally avoided selling on Amazon, knowing that many retailers wouldn’t work with brands that were on the platform. But as the industry evolved, we recognized an opportunity to test a new go-to-market strategy.
In 2024, we launched our aloe-infused lash adhesive exclusively on Amazon to:
✔ Get immediate customer feedback through reviews
✔ Test sales demand before scaling production
✔ Use organic rankings & ad data to refine our Google Ads strategy
The results were huge—we sold nearly 5,000 units in six months with an incredibly low 2% return rate, proving that customers loved the product.
📌 4. Taking the Leap into Full-Time Entrepreneurship
After years of balancing True Beauty Lashes alongside my corporate career, I reached a turning point in early 2025. My roles as SVP of Experience Strategy at multiple advertising agencies over the previous 2 years had left me unfulfilled, so my husband and I saw this as the opportunity to go all-in on True Beauty Lashes.
I had spent years laying the foundation—now, it was time to scale.
Where We’re Headed Next
True Beauty Lashes has always been about more than selling lashes—it’s about building a movement that redefines beauty.
– We’re continuing to refine our product lineup, ensuring that our lashes truly fit and flatter all eye shapes.
– We’re using the insights from Amazon to optimize our website, Google Ads, and SEO strategy.
– We’re identifying more ways to solve problems for lash lovers, from low-chemical formulations to personalized beauty advisors who help customers find the perfect style.
At the end of the day, I didn’t set out to just create another beauty brand—I wanted to build something that empowers people to feel confident, comfortable, and aligned with their values. What started as a side hustle driven by a vision has now become my full-time mission.
And the best part? We’re just getting started.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.truebeautylashes.com
- Instagram: @true_beauty_lashes
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisawesthafer/