Through her own experience, entrepreneur and businesswoman Christina Vlahos noticed the shortage of false eyelashes when she would go into a store and the struggle to find the right pair.
Vlahos has been doing her makeup since she was 12 and always knew she wanted to create her own business involving beauty, she just did not know exactly what it would be.
So a lightbulb went off in her head.
“I was telling my husband I was like, man, there should be a vending machine for lashes,” said Vlahos.
After a quick Google search, she realized it had never been done before and decided to start the process.
Friends and others she told about the new business venture were skeptical of the idea, and if she would actually go through with it.
“I’m always the type of person, when I get my mind to it, I’m gonna do it,” said Vlahos.
Through her passion for beauty and strong work ethic, designs were put together, wholesalers were contacted and the lashes were created.
Lashes by Sophia, named after her daughter, came to life in a matter of only eight months.
There are currently 15 different styles of mink fur eyelashes priced at $10 a pair and four styles of luxury human hair lashes priced at $15 a pair.
“I wanted something for everybody for like big dramatic black eyelashes or really thin or something in the middle… there’s a little bit of something for everybody,” said Vlahos.
The luxury lash line was inspired by the most important women in her life: her daughter Sophia, niece Bree, niece Brooklyn and her husband’s daughter Teshanna.
Located in Midtown Common Mall in Saskatoon, the vending machine holds over 1,000 pairs of false lashes at a time along with goodie packs and lash glue.
Vlahos stated, she almost did not get the approval to set up shop in the mall, but she convinced them otherwise.
“If you just come here, get your lashes right now and you have the convenience of doing it contactless without having to go into a store so it’s just kind of handy to have for everybody,” said Vlahos.
In the near future, Lashes by Sophia is already expected to expand west to Regina and many different locations in Alberta and British Columbia.
Then the expansion will continue to the east, providing affordable and convenient lashes for many across the country.
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