Aussie mum launches fake magnetic eyelash empire three days after having baby, as shoppers say ‘best they’ve tried’

Ann Thai was working 12-14 hour days as a criminal law paralegal when she decided she wanted something different from her life.

The 29-year-old mum-of-two from Perth knew she wanted to launch a business, but she just wasn't sure what that would look like.

Ann's lightbulb moment for the now multi-million-dollar company Amaia Lashes came when she literally glued her eyelid shut with lash glue while applying false eyelashes before a night out.

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"I thought there must be an alternative to glue and I went down a rabbit hole looking for alternatives," Ann tells 7Life.

"I landed on a magnetic substitute that was just starting to take off globally but wasn't really around in Australia."

Ann trialled countless different magnetic lashes but said "none of them worked".

Working with a cosmetic chemist, she set out to design a product that combined magnetic qualities with revolutionary film bonding technology.

The resulting Amaia range (from $32) uses a revolutionary magnetic liner to properly hold the strip of lashes and give you a long, fluttery finish.

"We custom-formulated our liner because everything I tried was either too watery or too thick," Ann says.

"After hundreds of tests, we found the perfect magnetic liner."

Ann launched Amaia Lashes just three days after giving birth to her second child in February 2020, and one month before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Despite all of this, it wasn't long before the brand became a sell-out success.

"I knew I needed to launch as soon as Amaia Lashes was ready even though it might not have been ideal timing with a newborn, as I knew that if I waited someone would get in ahead of me," Ann says.

"It was all a bit of a blur at the start, but within two months, we were selling out of products."

After two years of formulation, Ann has recently added another product to her stable: a $38 salon-worthy brow tint.

Ann says her brow tint is a "world-first" and different to all other products in the market insofar as it uses pre-mixed henna to tint your brows in just 15 minutes.

The website states it is the "ultimate solution for perfect brows on a budget".

"It took us two years to make the brow tint and it's swiftly become the bestseller," Ann says.

She will soon release a lash growth serum mascara and has a lip product in the pipeline.

"Sometimes I still work as hard as I did when I was a lawyer, but I’m able to do my work slightly more flexibly and around the kids, which is massively helpful," Ann says.

"My passion is business. I love playing with things, trying lots of new formulas and ideas and seeing what sticks."

Reviews online for both the magnetic lashes and the brow tint are glowing.

"Cannot rate this brow tint highly enough. Colour blended really well with my natural colour and didn't look too OTT. Lasts two weeks and blends really evenly," one shopper writes.

"I did my brows again this morning, they look really good. Colour is awesome, so easy to do. I love the eyebrow gel," another writes of the brow tint.

A third says of the magnetic lashes and eyeliner: "These are the best lashes I have ever tried.

"I was reluctant to purchase as I have always had lash extensions but due to COVID I thought I would give Amaia Lashes a try and I’m so glad I did!"

Others describe them as "brilliantly easy".

For more information about Amaia Lashes, click here.