Boutique Eyes New Business With Mink Lashes

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Mink stole. Mink coat. Mink lashes?

At her Santa Monica boutique Blinkbar, Tirzah Briscoe sells fake eyelashes made of mink fur. But they’re not a high-end version of the glue-on lashes you might find at a drugstore.

Blinkbar offers what Briscoe calls lash extensions.

“Typically, (fake lashes) is an entire strip of lashes that you glue onto your eyelid and anyone who gets close sees that those are definitely not your lashes. Eyelash extensions offer something completely different,” she said.

Instead of gluing on a strip of lashes, Blinkbar’s technicians glue individual lashes onto a customer’s existing lash. The extensions stay on until the natural lash begins to fall out, usually about a month.

“Our goal is to make it look like you were born with perfect eyelashes,” Briscoe said.

Customers choose from a lash menu with prices ranging from $59 for “Kitty Corner” mink lashes, placed on the outer edges of the eye, to as much as $350 for “Tickled Mink” lashes, which are 100 percent Siberian mink.

Briscoe started Blinkbar in 2013 as a mobile service with occasional pop-up stores. But she said that demand grew so much she opened her first brick-and-mortar shop in Santa Monica last month. She expects to open an additional location in West Hollywood this summer. Her plan is to open dozens more across the country.

She said that she knew it would be risky opening a boutique just for lashes – an add-on service typically offered at nail salons – but has found that customers feel more comfortable having a specialist work with their eyelashes. Blinkbar technicians complete more than 1,000 hours of training.

“I didn’t want someone with glue and tweezers near my eyes that didn’t know what they were doing,” she said. “I think most people feel the same. Some things are best only when offered as a niche service; eyelashes are definitely one of them.

Virtual Fit

You can already buy clothes online, but how about trying them on virtually, too?

Computer graphics company FXGear Inc. in Beverly Hills finished developing a system this month that allows shoppers to try on clothes virtually. And the company said it is already in talks with several clothing designers and one national department store to carry its product.

The system, FXMirror, is a virtual fitting room that uses a large screen placed inside of a retail store.

Instead of going into a dressing room, a shopper would stand in front of the screen and cameras would capture everything from the customer’s dimensions to their facial features and hair color. Once their image is captured, the shopper can browse through the store’s inventory and pick the items they want their digital self to try on. The customer can even purchase the items through the screen.

Kate Bedrick, an FXGear representative, said the company first began developing the software four years ago. It mostly works on computer graphics for films such as Avatar and for video games.

“It became apparent that people really wanted technology to be part of every aspect of their life, including fashion,” Bedrick said.

She wouldn’t say how much FXGear’s system costs.

Revolving Doors

Seafood restaurant Jolly Oyster in Ventura, known for its oysters and clams from Baja California, opened a second location, in Torrance, this month. … Downtown L.A.’s Public School 612 will be expanding into a full-service restaurant this summer, taking over space being vacated by Daily Grill, whose location will close this month, and renaming itself as Public School 213. … Children’s luxury consignment store Spoiled! opened its first brick-and-mortar store in West Hollywood this month. … Knitwear company 360Cashmere in Santa Monica opened a retail location at Malibu Lumberyard this month. … Gluten-free French pastry boutique Le Mervetty opened a location this month in Beverly Hills. … Innovative Dining Group in West Hollywood will be opening a Roku flagship Japanese restaurant on the Sunset Strip this summer. … Fast-food joint Top Round Roast Beef in Los Angeles said it will be opening its first franchised location, in San Jose, by the end of the year. … Maui & Sons, a surf and skate shop in Marina del Rey, will be opening a second location, also in Marina del Rey, this month. … Retailer Alethea Spectacle will be opening a boutique near West Hollywood next month. … Blackhouse Hospitality in Los Angeles opened its fifth restaurant concept, Steak & Whisky, in Hermosa Beach last month. … New York mattress startup Casper opened a showroom in the Hollywood Hills last month.

At Your Service

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Los Angeles has named Andrew Nathan senior vice president of Asia Pacific. Nathan previously served as director of the Asia Pacific region for Domino’s Pizza.

Staff reporter Subrina Hudson can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 251.

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