When Jenna Lyons, former creative director and president of J.Crew, revealed her plans to launch a beauty line, it marked her first venture since leaving the iconic fashion brand in 2017 after 27 years. Based on her personal beauty style, many might have anticipated she would introduce a collection of the red lipsticks. This is the look she often wears, typically paired with minimal makeup and sleek hair. But in 2022, Lyons collaborated with makeup artist Troi Ollivierre for a collection of faux eyelashes called LoveSeen. (She worked with him at J.Crew, and he’s also the creator of Troi Ollivierre Beauty.) Lyon’s new brand just launched in Canada and is available exclusively at Living Beauty.
How LoveSeen started
While the beauty industry may seem like a left turn from her roots in fashion, this particular corner of the industry is personal to Lyons. “I don’t have eyelashes,” she tells Canadian beauty journalists during a virtual press conference. Lyons suffers from incontinentia pigmenti, a genetic condition that affects the skin, hair, teeth, microvasculature and central nervous system.
“Every time I tried to put on lashes for a red carpet event or photoshoot, Troi and I were constantly cutting them apart, we couldn’t find anything [that worked for me]. I also felt like, with what was available, all the lashes all looked the same. So, I didn’t have a lot of options whether I wanted a natural look or if I wanted a variation of that – there was just nothing there. And, so I put together a business plan, and we were off to the races.”
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The range of false eyelashes with LoveSeen
With the false lash industry being new territory for Lyons, she thought the best place to start would be with fittings (a process Lyons likens to her work at J.Crew). She admits that one size would not fit all.
LoveSeen offers a variety of different styles of cruelty-free lashes, each designed to work on various eye shapes and lash textures. “We hired 21 different women, from 17 to 72, all with different eye shapes, all different ethnicities. And we started to build the lashes on them.”
“If you look at most lashes, the fullness is all toward the outside [of the eye],” says Lyons. “On some people, particularly people who have an almond-shaped eye, lash styles that are fuller toward the outside can make your eye look heavier and it isn’t very flattering. And, so we looked at developing lashes that had fullness toward the inside [of the eye.]” She adds, “We also really strove to make lashes that were very lightweight so you really don’t feel them on.”
LoveSeen’s false lashes are delicate, lightweight and are intentional about the unevenness of the lashes. Lyons says, when lashes are too uneven, they look obviously fake. The goal is to find a set that is authentic to you.
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The LoveSeen packaging makes a statement
The packaging for each pair of LoveSeen false eyelashes is just as thoughtful as the lashes themselves. Two LoveSeen lashes sit on a tray (made of sugar cane pulp) inside a box made (post-consumer recycled paperboard) and wrapped in recyclable paper printed with soy-based ink. For a reusable travel container, LoveSeen also offers a little brass box to store your lashes in. Talk about chic!
We tried it — LoveSeen falsies
Danielle’s Thoughts:
At first glance, these lashes already look more luxe than their drugstore counterparts.
If you’re a false lashes newbie, you’ll find that applying these beauties can take some practice. After using a generous amount of Duo Glue (which helped keep them on all day long), I put them on using tweezers to help line them up with the outside corner of my lashes before working my way in. If you’re looking for extra help, LoveSeen provides a handy application tool designed specifically for applying the lashes.
I tried the Troi and Luca lash styles from LoveSeen. Both look relatively natural on me, but the Troi lash made more of a statement than the Luca did. Troi is a cat-eye look that elongates the eyes and it has a full yet tapered look. Luca on the other hand, uses staggered lash lengths for a more natural look. The Luca lash uses the clear band which means eyeliner is optional (Vs a black band that is very obvious on the lash line). The cool thing about these lashes is that they have brown lashes weaved through versus all-black lashes throughout (Jenna mentioned all-black strip lashes can give people who are fair-skinned, very blonde or even redheads a harsher look versus softer and more natural). I found the subtle touch of brown lashes weaved through a refreshing change over other faux lash brands I’ve tried.
LoveSeen’s falsies got me excited to get ready to go out. Without a doubt, I will wear these lashes again. (Tip: When wearing these false lashes, don’t wear mascara. That’ll ensure you can wear them up to 10 times.) For me, applying lashes is too much for my everyday routine, so I’ll keep them on standby for when I want to get all dolled up. Lyons’s LoveSeen might be the first brand of false lashes that I’ll finally use (over and over).
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Lisa’s Thoughts:
Like Danielle, I got to try both Troi and Luca styles. Troi is a denser lash with more strands and a thicker base (thanks to the crisscross construction). But I decided to go for the Luca pair first because I wanted my lashes to look like me but better.
Admittedly, these are light and I felt a bit fumbly trying to apply the lashes, but using a handy set of lash tweezers (actually a regular pair will do) allowed me to apply the glue to the base and apply it to my eye. I found that, instead of squeezing lash glue from tube to lash, it was easier for me to squeeze a small bead of glue in the tip of adhesive tube and glide the base of the lash through it. It came out more even. Another tip, this time from Lyon’s herself, let the glue sit for about 30 seconds or so to get a bit tacky. That’ll ensure it sticks to your eyelid sooner and you don’t have to wait as long for the glue to dry. The Luca look was pretty and subtle. In fact my husband didn’t even notice I was wearing the falsies, but he did lend a compliment that I looked good that day. My only lesson would be to wear brown pencil or a black-winged liner. I’m not expert enough to get it super close to my own lash line. Even though only I was the only one to see the gap, the eyeliner will make me feel better.
Troi had a little more dramz, obviously. But they didn’t feel heavy or ’60s throwback, but did give me that wet-look lash. This pair my husband did detect my false lashes with Troi – he preferred Luca on me. Again, I used my glue hack and brought out my best-ever eyeliner, Stila Stay All Day Matte Liquid Eyeliner. I figured the cat-eye would just amplify the look.
These lashes feel like fashion to me. A lot of what I see out there with the thick-eyed pin-up look feels cartoonish. LoveSeen feels more elegant and intentional. It is authentically Lyon’s approach to beauty.
Luca, $24.50
Trying LoveSeen for yourself
If you’re unsure of which pair of falsies to try first, LoveSeen hosts a “find my lash” quiz on their website. Just answer a few questions about your eye shape, look you’re going for (natural, just right or full glam), and your experience with lashes. From there, LoveSeen emails you your results and you’re off to the races.