When we realized our 3rd Creator Series launch would be able to align with the Halloween season, one name came to mind instantly: our talented friend Karly, aka @thelashvamp_. But make no mistake, Karly’s vibe isn’t about Halloween. She is The Lash Vamp, every single day of the year. It’s not just her branding, it’s who she is. Dare we say, it's in her blood...
We virtually sat down with Karly to get all the details on how she became the one and only Lash Vamp.
TLR: "How and when did the vampire theme become such a big part of your personal brand? Was it before or after you started lashing?"
Karly: I turned into a vampire in 2020 when I was living in Santa Cruz, CA. I had already been lashing for about a year as “Killer Beauty Karly”, but I never really loved that name. Then one day I just thought, “oh I’m literally the lash vamp” and got really excited with this rebrand and all of its possibilities. I took some new headshots with me holding my tweezers with fangs in and have had so much fun ever since.
Now I’m back in my hometown, Sacramento, lashing out of a private studio that I’ve completely turned into a vampires lair. My studio is Halloween all year long, it’s full of bats, skeletons, vampire art, spiderweb, anything you might find in a haunted mansion. I’ve even had the chance to design a custom lash bed for my clients to lay in that literally looks like a coffin, something I fantasized about since I became The Lash Vamp. I live, eat and breathe my brand as a vampire, you can find me wearing black or crimson red most days, with my long jet black hair, and razor sharp long claws. I’m an embodiment of the dark feminine, and I hope I can bring inspiration to other lash artists that this career is what we make it, and if you want to be a mythical creature while doing it, literally no one is stopping you.
My tagline is “scare the hoes”, meaning: be bloody, be fierce, and be dark, even if it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I’ve always loved horror growing up, and I didn’t find my style until I was around 18/19, which I would now describe as “romantic goth” aka looking like a vampire. Now I’m 27 and living my life happily now that I can freely express myself proudly and stay in my little dark lane.
TLR: "What drew you into the world of lashes? Did you start out doing anything else in the beauty industry?"
Karly: I’ve always loved sitting down doing tedious things, my art medium before lashes was claymation, which is extremely tedious and requires a ton of patience. So when lash extensions were introduced to me in beauty school (2018) I was immediately interested and signed up for a class outside of my esthetics curriculum to learn how to do them. I’ve literally never turned back since, I fell in love immediately. I was not good at first by any means, but the thought of being good at lashing kept me passionate and inspired to master the skill and build a career off of it. Which is exactly what I did, now here I am 6 years later still a full time lash artist absolutely loving what I do.
TLR: "What is your clientele like? Do you tend to attract mostly alternative clients or do you have a wide range?"
Karly: My clientele is extremely diverse actually. All of my clients range in their age, style, background etc. but im able to find something in common with all of them. It’s one thing I love about lashing is I get to cross paths with people I normally wouldn’t have crossed paths with otherwise. I’m the lash artist that treats my clients like a bestie and am always down to hangout with them outside of my lash lair. I’m super thankful for all the genuine connections I’ve made through lashing.
TLR: "What is your favorite type of color set to create?"
Karly?: On my clients I love to do a textured blended color set. Those are the ones that tend to come more naturally to me. I also love to do editorial lash sets, I love that they challenge my creativity and skill and allows me to create art. I’m also always plotting cool photoshoots I could do with color lashes, and sometimes like to let the lashes inspire the art. For example, the vintage white lashes were giving me ghost vibes so I wanted to turn myself into a vintage-y ghost wearing all cream-white with vintage white strip lashes. Or when I did all white lashes on my model and we drove out to the snow, where I did a vampire shoot and made it look like my model was frozen to death left in the snow with white “frosted” over lashes.
TLR: "What are your favorite ways to use the colors from your collection?"
Karly: I like to use the darker colors as a base, like Phantom and Nocturnal, or Carmilla and Nocturnal blended together, with Decode on the top layer as accent spikes either on the ends or the whole top layer. I’ve always loved purple and red together, it’s a super vampy vibe, so Carmilla and Nocturnal together is a favorite of mine. I’m also obsessed with the color of Decode, not only is it inspired by my favorite vampire movies “Twilight”, but it also gives ghostly paranormal vibes which is a color I’ve been wanting to have because I’m obsessed with ghosts and the supernatural.
TLR: "Do you have any advice for lash artists who are still trying to figure out their own niche for their business or branding?"
Karly: My advice is to always be authentic with your brand. Make sure that the way you express yourself and your brand is in a way that you like, and that feels like you. We have the opportunity to make our living on our own terms, its part of why we all choose this life for ourselves, so we might as well make the most of it and not hold back. Try not to look in the same industry you’re in for inspiration, that’s when things become repetitive and unoriginal and lack the passion we all naturally have. Remember lash artists are real artists and art is all about being bold and expressive and meaningful, so be that, however that looks for you.