Chapter 3 · The Rebirth

We thought the goodbye was final. But what felt like the end became the start of something new.

When you are standing at the edge, you have two choices: let go or look closer. We chose to look closer. We opened the books, pulled data from every platform, and asked the hard questions. Where was the business truly profitable? Which products tied up cash? Which ones hurt our reputation? Which were redundant? And which carried the company forward, day after day?

The truth was clear. The brand wasn’t broken. The model was.

For years we had grown by adding more: more SKUs, more variants, more warehouses, more advertising. But growth for the sake of growth had become the problem. The catalogue had become bloated, the warehouses too costly, and ad spend unsustainable. The company hadn’t failed because the products weren’t loved. It struggled because the structure no longer fit the reality of the market.

So we made a decision: we would shrink to strength.

• ✓One warehouse instead of several.
• ✓A tighter catalogue focused on professional essentials and proven winners.
• ✓Less advertising, but smarter.
• ✓A smaller top line if it meant a healthier bottom line.

It was a bold move, and the clock was ticking. Our rental contract was ending in just two months. We had to find a new location, plan the move, rebuild stock of our most important products, all while keeping daily orders flowing.

The team didn’t back down. They worked extra hours sorting inventory, spent late nights planning the next day, and used weekends to catch up on what couldn’t be finished during the week. They packed shelves while packing customer boxes. They carried stock into the new warehouse while carrying XXL Lashes forward.

The new space was smaller on paper but better in reality. More light, higher shelves, smarter use of space, and closer to our core people. Even our head of shipping could now walk to work. The feeling of a new era had begun.

August became the key month. Costs finally came down. Return on ad spend turned positive again. Orders went out without interruption. Customer favourites were being reordered and produced. For the first time in a long time, operations felt clean. Stable. Alive.

That was the moment of rebirth. XXL Lashes had survived. But survival was not the goal. We almost said goodbye. We didn’t. What nearly ended us became the beginning of a better way to run XXL Lashes. Hard work, determination, resilience, clear planning, and the loyalty of our people saved this brand.

Unfortunately rebirth doesn’t mean the challenges disappeared. In many ways, they only changed shape.

We know that some of our loyal customers had to look elsewhere while our shelves stood empty. They couldn’t wait. Their clients couldn’t wait. They needed lashes, tools, and adhesives to keep their businesses alive. We understand that. Professionals can’t simply pause their work while waiting for us to recover. Now it is our responsibility to earn back their trust, to make XXL Lashes again the place they rely on for the tools that define their craft.

At the same time, the rebirth came with new limits. A smaller team, tighter funds, and the reality that our founder is preparing, step by step, for her next stage of life. She will remain with us, guiding operations, shaping development, and sharing the expertise she built over nearly two decades. But she will also finally enjoy what she has long postponed – evenings with friends, days at the beach, travels, or simply watching her favourite series without a laptop by her side.

The day-to-day decisions are now shifting to the next generation.

This balance of continuity and change, of experience and renewal, of trust and reinvention, is fragile. And it raises the real question: how do we keep our promise to professionals in this new chapter?

If you are reading this in your studio or between clients, you know what that feels like – the weight of responsibility, the demand for consistency, the pressure to deliver.

Our next chapter is not about survival. It is about the promise we must now define.