Chapter 1 · The Legacy Begins

In 2006, before XXL Lashes was even an idea, there was one woman. Not a business plan or a warehouse. Just a mother searching for a way to support her family in a time that felt uncertain.

Her family was facing a financial crisis that had already taken so much away. What remained was determination. She discovered eyelash extensions just as they were beginning to appear in celebrity circles abroad. In Hollywood they were already the new hype, transforming the eyes, making them look bigger, brighter and more defined. If this was desired by celebrities, it was only a matter of time before women everywhere would want it too.

With nothing more than a set of Asian training DVDs and two patient friends, she spent countless hours practicing, applying single lashes one by one in long, painstaking sessions. She travelled to London for training because at the time you couldn’t simply learn online or at your local beauty school. She invested money she barely had, even borrowing from friends. She drove across Marbella with her case of tools, visiting clients in their living rooms, working hour after hour to perfect her craft.

She mastered the technique quickly, but she also realised something important: she was not here to be the artist. The true artistry lived in the stylists and beauticians who could create something extraordinary. Her role was to support them with the right tools.

That was the real challenge. Products were scarce, overpriced, and often not good enough. So she sourced directly, contacted suppliers across the world, tested everything herself, and helped develop tools designed specifically for lash application. Only products that proved effective, practical and fairly priced made it into the XXL catalogue.

What began with a few products in a drawer sold on eBay soon grew into shelves, then rooms, containers, and eventually warehouses. Along the way, XXL Lashes became one of the very first lash companies worldwide, and especially in Europe, to offer professional products in multiple languages, giving stylists everywhere the tools they needed. Many others tried to follow, but only a few endured. Yet none of it came easily: too little space, never enough money, and risks that always felt larger than the resources at hand.

The “team” in those years wasn’t a large staff. At first it was just her, then her son, then her friends, who brought more friends. Women facing their own challenges, supporting their families, working late nights, weekends and early mornings to pack orders and prepare shipments. It was survival, but also solidarity. Together, they built not just a business, but a community.

Over time, the dream grew beyond Marbella. Building an international company rarely looks glamorous. It is late nights spent surrounded by paperwork at the kitchen table, early mornings at the post office, and endless hours managing stock in cramped rooms. It is weighing risks, paying bills you are not sure you can cover, and trusting that the effort will eventually be worth it.

For years, the work paid off. Step by step, XXL Lashes grew. But the world kept changing. Competition intensified. Low-cost copies flooded the market, even imitations of our own products. Prices were forced down while costs kept rising.

And then came 2021. When the pandemic hit, everything stopped. Orders collapsed almost overnight, but the expenses did not. Warehouses, suppliers, advertising, employees and countless running costs still had to be paid. It was a period of fear and survival, one many of our customers know all too well. Many stylists and salon owners had to close their doors for good. Others fought to keep their businesses alive, often without knowing how they would manage from one week to the next.

These years left scars. But they also revealed strength. Because this is what a legacy is: not the easy moments, but the hard ones endured. Not just the growth, but the resilience to carry on when everything seems impossible.

And that is the story XXL Lashes carries into today. Not just lashes, but a story of resilience, dedication and community.