Wink Eyelashes by So Young Thomas
Wink Eyelash, LLC (Wink) is a salon specializing in semi-permanent eyelash extension services. Their principal focus is to deliver quality eyelash extensions in a timely, cost-effective manner. A salon is “a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation, with the aim of "either to please or to educate". Wink has created a true salon atmosphere. Wink’s semi-permanent eyelashes will empower women to attain and maintain their most beautiful eyes, inspiring and improving non-verbal communication one lash, one eye, one woman at a time.
Wink is run and managed by So Young Thomas (owner) and Ji Sug Shin (Senior Lash Specialist). Their certified, trained, highly-skilled staff of eyelash professionals will transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, providing clientele with the ‘look’ they were hoping for, one lash at a time. Wink’s offering focuses on implementing semi-permanent eyelash extensions in an extremely efficient (full set of eyelashes in 60 minutes), cost-effective manner (under $100 versus the market average of $250) with ‘refill’ services up to two weeks after initial extension services (under $50).
Wink’s target market is predominantly women, as the appeal of long lashes tends to be oriented to the female population. Unlike collagen lip injections, permanent make-up, nail extensions, and bikini waxing, semi-permanent eyelash extensions is a female-oriented service offering that is addressing a NEW ‘market demand’ that is in the very early stages of growth. Wink will market its services to the millions of women in greater New York City and their tens of millions of eyelashes that have yet to reach their full potential.
For the last two years there has been publicity about Hollywood types embracing the offering with folks like Beyonce’, Nicole Kidman, Star Jones, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Gwen Stefani, Lucy Liu, Naomi Campbell and Liz Hurley to name a few. NYC has historically given birth to ‘new markets’, especially those that have entered the public’s eye from Hollywood. Just look at the success of Pinkberry (also featured in Whom You Know) for example, which built its roots in Hollywood, CA and quickly expanded to NYC once the Hollywood types put it on the map. Botox Cosmetic is another example, more applicable to the market that Wink is targeting. In 2002 Botox Cosmetic got the FDA’s approval. It seemed to immediately find its way onto TV’s makeover shows and in 1 year, the launch of Botox Cosmetic yielded revenues of $440M in US sales alone! By 2006 it soared past $1B in US sales and in 2008, hit almost $1.3B in US sales. The demand for semi-permanent eyelash extensions is poised to follow a similar growth curve, the difference being it is a services revenue stream, much more than a product revenue stream. Wink is preparing to meet the potentially explosive market demand with its specialized semi-permanent eyelash extension application services.
To this end, Whom You Know sent two of our beauty experts to try out Wink Eyelashes and each concluded with superior results! Here are their reviews:
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Obviously located in the fashion district, ladies…..this is the most fashionable thing to do!!
On my appointment day, the owner Su sent a lovely text to confirm my appointment. When I arrived I was warmly greeted by Su. She kindly took my personal belongings and placed them in a secure locker and led me over to a comfortable spa bed. As I had never experienced this procedure before, Su took me through my options and briefly told me what to expect.
After gently placing tape right under my eyes the procedure began. It was so painless; a formaldehyde-free adhesive is used to apply hair-by-hair onto my own lashes. The adhesive never touched my skin. I then just laid back with my eyes closed and completely relaxed; there is a chance you will fall asleep as this is so relaxing.
The beautiful Hana set to work on me. She is such an artist….she created the most dramatic, amazing beautiful look personalized just for me!
Hana applied 12mm length lashes to mine, the full bling set! I had around 300 eyelashes applied in total, which created a phenomenal look. Part way through my relaxing time, my hands and arms were massaged and I had reflexology performed on my feet. This really made me feel so revitalized. Neither mascara nor eyeliner is necessary after, my beautiful new eyelashes look natural and are very low maintenance. I will be heading back in a couple of weeks to have a touch up…highly recommended! I can’t believe I haven’t tried this before, after two days I have had so many compliments and I will be bringing friends with me……just ask Su when she can fit you in!!
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Have you always dreamed of owning a pair of thick, lush and beautifully long lashes? Tired of envying those around you for whom lashes like these come naturally? (Ahem, like several of my guy friends whom I feel extreme lash-envy towards!) Always assumed that those beautiful eyelash extensions that stars and celebs get are out
of your reach? If you agree with any of the above, then you should definitely check out WINK Eyelash. WINK is a new semi-permanent eyelash salon that opened up earlier this summer in the heart of the Fashion District in Manhattan.
Being that I was born with a set of short, thin and puny eyelashes, and also wanting to test-drive these eyelash extensions before I'll need them for future special occasions, I eagerly scheduled an appointment at WINK to see firsthand what type of transformation they can do on my lashes. Upon my arrival at WINK, I was warmly greeted by Su Thomas, the owner of WINK, and her gracious husband/partner, Will.
After being given a quick tour of the salon, which has a nice, spacious spa set-up, I was assisted in picking out the perfect set of eyelashes for my eyes. Su herself was modeling a very pretty set of c-curve 11mm lashes and I opted to copy her and go with the same, but slightly toned down to a c-curve 10mm instead (there is a j-curve
selection too, which is slightly straighter than the c-curve). I was led to a comfy bed which I lied down on for the next hour and 15 minutes while Hannah, the very skilled and capable eyelash technician, went to work applying my new set of eyelashes. I must say that this hour and 15 minutes was probably the most relaxing hour and 15 minutes of the day that I've had in a while. I probably napped thru half of it and it was a most needed and welcome nap too. The whole process was totally pain and discomfort-free, this is especially noteworthy as I'm just starting to experience the first symptoms of fall seasonal allergies and I felt fine throught this entire session. Also a very nice touch was midway thru the session, I was treated to a wonderful hand and foot massage by another WINK staff. This was greatly
appreciated and it added alot to the whole experience.
WINK is the brainchild of Su, who cleverly recognized that there is a niche to be filled in NYC for quality and affordable eyelash extensions and acted upon that in opening up WINK in late July of this year. WINK is truly a "mom and pop" business, as Su's husband, Will, is hands-on and takes a very active role in presenting and promoting WINK. The salon's clientele and following is growing quite nicely in
the 2 months that it's been in business, it can count several recent Fashion Week and Emmys VIP's as part of its client base.
The pricing for WINK's basic WINK Set of eyelash extensions is just $95 (mention 'Whom You Know' or 'Peachy Deegan' to get the discounted price of $85 or 10% off another service!), which is a far cry from the upwards of $300 that is normally charged for the same service at any other salon. The BLING Set of eyelash extensions, which include the more elaborate and showy styles such as cat's eye, is $125. Basically, the cost of keeping and maintaining a set of WINK eyelashes
on a long term basis will cost you an average of just $3 a day, which is very reasonable and affordable. WINK hopes to expand its range of services in the future, while keeping its main emphasis on eyelash extensions.
As for the reaction to my new set of lovely WINK eyelashes, I've gotten numerous compliments, they really draw out my eyes very nicely. They literally pop and give me the appearance of being wide awake, notably as I'm often quite tired and sleep-deprived. And behold the power of WINK eyelashes, the following morning after the session and during rush hour on the subway, I batted my lashes (or blink, rather)
and 2 gentlemen kindly offered me their seats! How about that?
WINK Eyelash
128 W. 36th Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10018
Tel: 212-594-WINK (9465)
www.winkeyelash.com
