Helen Dowsley is a renowned celebrity makeup artist who has worked with the likes of Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, and Ruby Rose; she’s also the founder of Helen Dowsley Lashes. After years of searching for the perfect pair of false lashes and coming up short, Helen took matters into her own hands and started a line of lashes! Read her story below about starting and running her own business and how she juggles all of her passions at once.

After I finished school, I set out to be a makeup artist as I couldn't take another day behind a desk. I knew I needed to use my creativity, my love of talking and socializing, and somehow make money out of it. I flew around the world and knocked on doors until I started booking jobs.

I started Helen Dowsley Lashes simply because I couldn't understand why some lashes were $60 a pair and others were $2 a pair. Throughout my journey of starting this business, I saw terrible working conditions. Third world women were making luxury items for the first world. They were suffering in conditions that no one should ever have to work in. 

Because of that, I was going to give up my dream—but I had one more country and one more company to inspect. To my amazement and relief, that last door was the one. We employ mainly females that are in school. Years 9 and 10. Some fathers don't allow them to go to Year 9 and 10; they need them working on their farm, begging, or prostituting themselves. So we pay them well. If they are allowed to go onto years 11 and 12, we double their wages. If they are allowed to go onto university, we look after the entire family. We want to make sure our lashes aren’t causing harm to our workers or our customers; that’s also why we use organic material to make our packaging. 

Since social media has hit, so many jobs are confidential. Before Instagram was so popular and back when The Bachelor wasn’t even rating, I posted a picture of a girl from the show wearing a pair of my lashes. Within five minutes I had sold 150 pairs!

I nearly had the UK’s leading beauty retailer Boots take on my lashes. They would have been known all over the world, been in every airport. But when the global financial crisis hit, they decided to go with a more well known brand. But I didn’t let that discourage me; I've had wonderful achievements. I’ve sold my lashes all over the world. The UK and America especially love them. Charlotte Tilbury, Lily Allen, Charlie XCX, Amal Clooney, and many others can't get enough of them!

However, I burnt the candle at both ends. Working twelve to seventeen hours on set plus selling lashes 24/7, I couldn't keep up. Plus, I couldn't give my lashes that next step they need to go bigger and better. I decided to close my lash site. But due to high demand, I reopened the site and I sell quietly worldwide now. I must admit, they're the best lashes I've ever used. They are hand made, so they fit the eye easily. They're also synthetic, so no animal is hurt for our ego.

It's difficult to have both my own business and continue working for clients, but it’s well worth the hard work. I'm extremely proud of my handmade lashes. 

We’re so inspired by Helen’s passion for creating high quality, ethically made lashes—we’re super keen to try them out! Are you interested in getting your start in the makeup industry? Click here for more information on our makeup courses!