If there’s one thing Jenna Lyons learned during her time in the fashion industry, it’s the importance of fit.
“You put [clothes] on [a fit model] to understand ‘Do you feel comfortable in it?’, ‘Do you feel like it’s flattering to your figure?’, ‘Does it work for you?’,” explains the former executive creative director and president of J.Crew. “Because you can envision something but it needs to actually work for the customer.”
After 27 years in fashion, Lyons took that thinking with her into the beauty space as she launched LoveSeen, the ultra-natural, easy-ish (her words) to apply lash brand co-founded with makeup artist Troi Ollivierre.
Jenna Lyons: Photography by Yael Malka.
Lyons—who suffers from the genetic disorder incontinentia pigmenti—doesn’t grow eyelashes, so she often used false ones for red carpets, photoshoots, and other special occasions.
“Everything was very large, very black, very heavy.” Lyons also wears glasses and found that most lashes were so long that they would hit her frames. “Just nothing really worked for me,” she says.
In creating LoveSeen, Lyons spent a year diving into manufacturing processes, visiting factories overseas, developing concepts, and—most importantly—testing. She hired 21 fit models ages 17 to 72 to understand how things like eye shape, age, ethnicity, and complexion affect the false lash experience.
“We realized there’s a real difference in what people want. For instance, women who had eyes that are more downturned couldn’t handle the really heavy lash thickness at the outside edge,” she says. “And I would say 90% of lashes on the market get thicker, and have a lot of heaviness towards the outside.”
Using these insights, Lyons created more than 20 different lash styles. The best-selling style Troi, for example, is a two-tiered lash that offers a full, soft look that’s still subtle enough for everyday. In contrast, Luca is wispy and developed for hooded lids. And Iris works well for people with fair hair and light skin who want fullness but not extreme length. In short, there’s something for everyone.
Lyons also developed a gold applicator—that looks like a cross between an eyelash curler and a pair of tweezers—which is supposed to make the notoriously tricky application process a bit more user-friendly, especially for false lash newcomers.
To shop LoveSeen, visit living-beauty.com.
Watch the video below to discover Jenna Lyons’s go-to LoveSeen lashes.