About Us

Who are we? The Lash Store HQ is a small family-run business in the heart of Kingsgrove in NSW, Australia. We are founded by an amazing woman named Betty Derbas, who first established the company in 2015.

After struggling to apply strip lashes and seeing a gap in the market for premium quality, easy-to-apply strip lashes, she knew she could bring something better to the table.

She worked on samples and trialling lashes consistently for the next 8 months before finally releasing her first collection of strip lashes in July 2015. As her brand grew and became a reputable name, so did her collections, and before you knew it, you could purchase her strip lashes in over 30 salons and studios throughout Australia.

Betty wanted to introduce lash extension trays and tools in the following years to attract a broader market. However, she knew nothing about the Lash Extension trade. And back then, there were only 2-3 lash trainers you could choose from.

She decided to do it. It was a one-day course. She walked away feeling overwhelmed and had more questions than answers. Not knowing enough, Betty decided to teach herself. For the next 6 months, she dedicated all her free time to learning everything about lash extensions. What is it? What are the differences? What are materials, applications, tweezer tips, cleaning, and adhesives? The more she dug, the deeper the rabbit hole got. And if you know Betty, she leaves no stone unturned. She learnt what works, what doesn't, what's BS and what's not!

Her next step was to sample. If you ask her husband, he will tell you. "Every day, boxes were coming to the house. She would open them, look at them, and know immediately if she liked them. So many times, she would open the trays and say, "Yeah, nope," and throw them straight out". and he would tell her, "Yes, hunny, your money grows on trees".

If she liked something, she would test them on all her friends. If they didn't like them, she didn't like them. All of a sudden, and without planning for it, friends of her friends were requesting Betty to do their lashes. Not intending to become a lash artist herself, she became a lash artist. Working morning to night, lashing girls!

By 2018- Lash Extension Trays & Rapid Bond were released. And very quickly became popular amongst other lash artists in the industry, and Betty did what she does best: innovate and grow. By mid-2019, The Lash Store had a full range of lash extension supplies, from lash tweezers to brushes, adhesives, lash primers, gel eye pads, lash pumps, and so much more!

Then, the teaching requests started pouring in. Betty hadn't planned to start training, but she knew this was the path chosen for her, and of course, if she could teach herself, she could most certainly teach others. So, every night, she would pull out her laptop and start typing away until she developed a 70-page manual explaining everything in detail. Student numbers were growing just like her pregnant belly.

By Jan 2021, after all the sweat, tears and laughter, the business was booming: e-commerce store, shop front, lash artists had taken over all her clients, face-to-face training, online training was in development, and a Brand Ambassador program. Oh, and we can't forget the super cute new baby she just gave birth to. Then.. Covid arrived!

Betty did what she had to do: cut costs where she could so her staff stayed employed. There were weeks when she didn't pay herself so she could pay her team. It was a difficult time for everyone and all small businesses.

Fast forward to 2023. Eight years in business, a team of 5 family members. Over 15K of social followers. The Lash Store is blossoming and very well deserved.

We asked Betty what had been the best things about this experience so far.

•  "I get to hire staff, pay someone, and know you are helping them holds a special place in my heart; for them to be my family is a special feeling. (Plus, I get to yell at them and not get reported to HR) hahaha".

• "I didn't finish year 12. I have never gone to Uni. I built this from scratch. My siblings & I all grew up in small family businesses. I knew the struggle, & I knew the reward. I worked hard, stayed in my lane, and didn't look or care about what others were doing, & I will continue to do so".

Stay tuned, girls. I'm just getting started!

Betty x