Clean and vegan, blinc cosmetics is a revolutionary brand known for pioneering tubing technology. Co-founded by CEO Lewis Farsedakis in 1999, tubing™ technology became a reality when blinc created the world’s first tubing™ mascara. Instead of coating lashes like traditional mascaras, blinc uses an innovative oil-free formula that produces tiny tubes to provide long-wear durability without smudging, while also allowing for effortless removal. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Farsedakis to learn about his extraordinary line, his background, and more.
Thank you for joining us. Please tell us about your background and what brought you to this specific career path?
I started my first business at 15 after my one and only job at Burger King convinced me I wanted to work for myself. I studied finance and later worked alongside a mentor, supporting his investment banking activities in Europe. The move into beauty started with a disagreement with my then-girlfriend, now wife. She told me she couldn’t find a mascara that didn’t smudge, flake or run. I couldn’t believe we could put a man on the moon but couldn’t solve that problem. It turned out she was right.
Through my mentor’s network, I connected with scientists and started asking why mascara had to work the way it always had. That challenge led to the development of blinc’s tubing mascara. Instead of painting lashes we created tiny tubes around them. I didn’t set out to build a cosmetics company. I wanted to solve a problem I couldn’t believe was still a problem.
What was the motivation to start your own brand?
We started blinc to bring tubing technology to market. We had solved a problem, and we wanted women to experience the difference. But I came from finance, and I didn’t know the beauty industry well enough to immediately leave what I was doing. So I convinced my wife to start blinc and introduce the concept to the world while I supported her part-time. After two years, the growth, strong gross margins and repeat purchases convinced me to join full time. The finance side of me liked the economics, but seeing customers come back was what made it clear we had something worth building.
You invented an unbelievable tubing technology. Please tell us about it.
The technology forms tiny tubes around each lash instead of painting them with a traditional mascara coating. Those tubes resist smudging, flaking and running, and then slide off with warm water and gentle pressure. In hindsight, not patenting it worked in our favor. We didn’t publish how we did it, and that gave us a head start that lasted more than 20 years. Eventually, competitors figured out their own versions. But they also started using the “tube” and “tubing” terminology we had built our brand around and trademarked. We believe those uses continue to infringe on our trademark rights.
That’s where it becomes a David and Goliath story. We’re an independent company. When numerous large beauty companies and retailers use those terms at the same time, we simply don’t have the resources to fight every one of them. Having rights and being able to afford to defend them are two very different things. The difficult part is watching much larger companies benefit from a name and reputation we spent decades building. We welcome competition, but we believe competitors should build their own identity. For a small company like ours, defending that distinction against businesses with vastly greater resources is an uphill battle. Still, I’m proud that blinc created something that helped move an entire industry forward. When someone chooses blinc, they’re supporting the original innovator and giving us the ability to keep evolving our tubing technology.
What are your most popular products, and do you have any personal favorites?
Our tubing mascaras are what we’re best known for, and I’m particularly proud of the four formulas we’ve developed. One size doesn’t fit all: Original delivers a natural look, Lash Extension adds length and definition, Amplified creates soft, fanned-out volume, and UltraVolume delivers our most dramatic volume and length. Different lashes, different looks, different occasions. A personal standout is our tubing eyeliner because it shows how we’ve taken the technology beyond lashes and adapted it for skin. It peels off with just water and gentle pressure. Taking the original idea somewhere new is what excites me.
That same thinking is behind our Tubing Brow Juice and Tubing Lash Primer: evolving tubing technology into multitasking products that combine beauty with lash and brow care. The product I’m probably most excited about is one I can’t discuss yet. We’re planning to introduce it toward the end of the year, and it will be another world first. After all these years, we’re still finding new ways to make tubing technology work harder.
What sets Blinc Cosmetics apart from other brands, and are there future plans to produce more products?
We’ve focused exclusively on eyes for 27 years. That means decades spent understanding the challenges people have with their lashes, brows and the skin around their eyes, and developing products to solve them. We don’t launch products just to fill a category or chase a trend. We keep our assortment focused, and every product has to earn its place. Before we launch something, we ask: What does this do better? What problem does it solve? Why should someone choose it over what they already use? Performance comes first, alongside value, ingredients and sustainability. Our goal is to make products people rely on and come back for.
Yes, we have more products coming. We’re continuing to evolve tubing technology and expand into multitasking eye, lash and brow care. But we’re deliberate about it. I’d rather launch one product that gives someone a real reason to switch to blinc than ten that simply give us more to sell.
Having worked in the beauty industry for so many years, do you have any top beauty tips or advice?
Question the compromises you’ve been taught to accept. If your mascara smudges, why is it your job to keep checking the mirror? If it’s difficult to remove, why should you have to buy another product just to take it off? Those are product problems that became accepted parts of a beauty routine. That’s how blinc started. My wife described a problem, and I couldn’t understand why everyone had accepted it as unavoidable. My advice is to expect more from your products. Don’t confuse a routine you’ve gotten used to with one that actually works well. The beauty industry is very good at giving people more steps. I think the bigger opportunity is figuring out how many we can eliminate.
Anything else you would like our readers to know?
Building a self-funded, independent beauty brand that has lasted 27 years is something I’m proud of. But I’m more interested in what will make us matter for the next 27. AI and longevity research are opening up possibilities that I’m excited to explore, particularly around how we understand changing needs as people age. For blinc, the question is always: how can we turn new knowledge into something useful that makes someone’s daily life better? We’ve also rolled out a brand facelift. Our look is evolving to reflect where we’re going, while keeping the performance and innovation that brought people to blinc in the first place. Our ambition is to become a classic beauty brand. One that people find, trust and recommend across generations. You don’t get there just by being around for a long time. You have to keep earning your place in people’s lives. That’s how we’re approaching our next quarter century.
Discover the magic of blinc and go to https://blincinc.com/
