Megan Ryan
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Meg-a-Lashes Without Batting an Eye
BY JANICE LLANES FABRY
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Meg-a-Lashes Without Batting an Eye
BY JANICE LLANES FABRY
The eyes have it at Meg-a-Lashes, the new shop at 85 Purchase Street, where eyelashes are longer, fuller, and more beautiful. “Eyelash extensions take years off. They open up your eyes and you always look refreshed,” remarked owner Megan Ryan. “You can throw out the mascara, so it makes women’s lives easier.”
The old Consignment Shop has been gutted and transformed with black, white, and gold hues, marble, and Ellie Cashman floral wallpaper and curtains. Having designed it herself, Ryan installed a treatment room with seven beds for lash extension applications, an area for eyebrow services, and a separate space with customized shelving for her products.
“It has taken me years to determine the best products. After testing so many lash and adhesion types, I developed my own,” she noted.
Her personal Meg-A-Lashes line includes such products for professional uses as lashes that stay on for three to five weeks, adhesives for sensitive eyes, special sealants, and removers, along with a rose lash cleanser for clients. She carries lashes of every length, thickness, color, and curl. Her mink lashes are “the Chanel of lashes,” the lightest, softest, and most natural-looking.
Style options include “natural”, an enhancement of existing lashes; “doll”, where lashes are longer in the middle and shorter at ends; “wispy” long and short lashes throughout; and “cat eye”, which takes lashes from short to long on the outside. Technicians can either apply lashes one-by-one or hand-crafted fans during the application process to create volume. For those clients not yet ready for extensions, a Keratin lash lift strengthens and thickens natural lashes. As Ryan explained, “It’s like a push-up bra for our own natural lashes.” Make sure you check this article to maintain your Brazilian wax during winter and know the right kind of experts to consult even if it is your first time.
In addition, there’s an eyebrow technician on staff who offers threading, tinting, lifts, and microblading, which creates hair like strokes with a semi-permanent color pigment that lasts up to 12 to 18 months. A make-up artist is also available.
Ryan always knew she wanted to open up her own business. One day, in a blink of an eye, she knew where to set her sights. “I got my eye lashes done in New York City and I saw a line out the door waiting. I knew that was it,” said Ryan, who already had a cosmetology license.
“Back when I began seven years ago, there were no lashes places in Westchester.”
Once she mastered the art of eyelash extensions in the city, she got her first break when her best friend, PLUSHBLOW owner Kristy Rotonde, invited her to work on clients in her full-service hair salon in White Plains. Four years ago, Rotonde’s mother and commercial real estate broker Gena DiDonato found Ryan her first store in White Plains. Last month, she added this second location.
“Rye is such a quaint, beautiful town. I remember coming to Playland as a child,” said the Dobbs Ferry native. “Everybody has been so kind and helpful, from my landlord to my neighbors and clients. Besides, my best friend’s business is right down the street.”
Today, she has 16 employees, all of whom she has personally trained. Lash applications take 90 minutes and start at $150. Clients may return every two to four weeks for a touch up. As Ryan explained, her lash lounge is “the new nail salon.”
< Meg-a-Lashes is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 9 to 5, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 to 9, and Saturday from 10 to 7. For an appointment, call 373-8528. For more information, specials, and giveaways, visit megalashesny.com or @megalashes on Instagram.
