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Janice Mastin has cemented herself as one of the go-to eyelash extension stylists after just several months on the Sunshine Coast. Profile speaks with the extension extraordinaire, to discuss the secret to perfect lashes and how she transitioned from teacher to stylist while living in the Middle East.
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ith her telltale mix of Australian, British and Middle Eastern accents, Janice Mastin has seen a good part of the world, all through some very impressive eyelashes, of course. The eyelash artist has been working internationally as an extension stylist for 11 years and has recently relocated to the Sunshine Coast to focus on her business Blink! The Eyelash Expert. What is now a thriving business actually came into Janice’s life by chance. “I’m a Brisbane girl and like lots of Australians do after highschool, I went off to the UK for a year and that year turned into 20,” she explains. One day while working in finance and studying to be a teacher in the UK, Janice noticed her friend’s eyelashes and was immediately fascinated. “I hadn’t seen her in a while and I remember looking at her eyelashes thinking, ‘Oh my goodness! I didn’t know she had the most amazing eyelashes. How have I missed that before?’” They turned out to be extensions, and Janice knew she had to get some for herself. The self-confessed addict developed a great relationship with her stylist over time, who then started training her in the art of extensions. Janice says it was this fabulous opportunity that eventually turned into her calling in life. But eyelash extensions were just a sideline to her primary school teaching career
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for several years, and it wasn’t until she moved to the Middle East for work that she discovered she had a real talent. “I ended up doing them for a couple of friends at school. Then the head teacher’s wife wanted them done and she actually gave me a shout out to all her friends and it grew from there.” Once Janice was in demand, she set up a Facebook page to see where it would go. Today, the reviews speak louder than words and she has a 100 per cent five-star rating on Facebook. So, what is the secret behind her glowing reviews? While she’s incredibly humble, Janice says it’s probably due to the years of reflecting and changing her technique to find her ideal way of doing the extensions. “In the same way a good hair stylist would tailor your hair to suit your face, that’s what I do with the lashes,” she explains. Some of Janice’s clients have been brides and bridesmaids who were originally skeptical about eyelash extensions. “The good thing about my extensions is, although they’ll look great on the day, they’ll also look fabulous and not too over the top on your honeymoon,” she says. Janice specialises in creating a natural look that makes your eyes pop. It’s that fine line between natural and obvious extensions that keeps her clients coming back for more, and also gains her more clients through referrals. That coupled with a good, creative eye has made her a sought after stylist at her new home on the Coast. She relocated to Australia in 2017 to create the business and lifestyle of her dreams. While setting herself up in a new country has been challenging at times, Janice says it’s very exciting and she’s optimistic for 2018. She’s focusing solely on getting Blink! off the ground, and has developed some lifelong relationships with her clients. “I have been incredibly blessed to make
some fabulous connections with clients – some really inspiring women who have been incredibly supportive of me, which is amazing because they don’t really know me – who just want to see me succeed.”
BLINK - THE EYELASH EXPERT INSIDE COASTAL SKIN CLINIC 145 BRISBANE RD, MOOLOOLABA CALL 0477 460 603 TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
JANICE MASTIN