Cynthia Tsang doesn’t bat a lash at hard work. An ironic notion, considering her entire beauty business is based on exactly that—batting lashes. The proud owner of Boston’s successful lash extension spa Lash L’Amour, Tsang has had a keen business sense from the get-go.

“I haven’t stopped working since I was 15. I grew up in a very entrepreneurial family,” Tsang tells Exhale of her family’s restaurants and nail salons. “I knew I wanted to open my own business one day.”

Today Lash L’Amour is booming, with three locations (Back Bay, Newton Center, and Wellesley), a training center in South Boston, and more than 20 staff members. Tsang’s expertise has won her multiple awards and high praise from a loyal clientele.

Eyes on the Prize

Lash extensions are simply that—extensions expertly adhered to each of your natural lashes. The one-on-one technique results in a lush and flirty fringe that lasts two to three weeks, or the cycle of your natural lash.

Photo courtesy of Lash L’Amour

The long and the short of it: A client before lash extensions (left) and after (right)

But things weren’t always as beautifully simple along Tsang’s path to becoming a Best of Boston beauty award winner. Moving to central Massachusetts from Vietnam with her family in 1993 at age 15, challenges were ahead for the budding entrepreneur, who only spoke her native language. But a supportive family and an ingrained work ethic eventually led her to graduate from the University of Massachusetts in finance and economics in 2002. From there, she took a job as a marketing analyst—a move that proved valuable in understanding the calculated risk of owning a business.

“I wanted to choose a spa service that would be big. I became fixated on lashes,” Tsang recalls. The beauty service was all the rage in trendsetting NYC and star-studded California, so why not Boston? Keeping her focus, she earned her aesthetics license and pinpointed eyelashes as her specialty in 2006. She turned to A-list beauty expert Daniel Dinh to learn his multiple-layer technique at Longmi Lashes in Beverly Hills, California.

“He was a successful story for the Vietnamese community,” Tsang says of training under Dinh in 2010. “He gave me confidence to open my own business.”

When she opened her first Lash L’Amour location later that year in Newton, Tsang had one employee and zero clients. People were still raising their eyebrows at the very idea of semi-permanent lashes, since DIY lash strips had been serving them for years.

The Importance of Connecting

Tsang took a chance and created a Gilt City deal for her lash spa. This opened the eyes of skeptics, and Lash L’Amour enjoyed a boom of excited new clients.

My upbringing is that you never build relationships on expectations. Just get to know people for who they are. You never know who you’re talking to.

“I built my business so quickly because I was providing a service on other businesswomen,” she explains. The typical lash-extension service takes 60 minutes, during which it’s just Tsang and her client quite literally face-to-face.

Photo courtesy of Lash L’Amour

Fringe benefits: Tsang gets to bond with her clients while meticulously applying the lash extensions

“If you have an hour to talk, you’re connecting and you don’t even realize it,” she explains. With an easygoing presence, soft-spoken voice, and genuine smile, Tsang began garnering invitations from her well-connected clients to charity events, businesswomen groups, and networking opportunities. Tsang credits 90 percent of her business growth to referrals, with a second location opening on tony Newbury Street in 2013.

Tsang instills this advice to women starting businesses: “My upbringing is that you never build relationships on expectations,” she says. “Just get to know people for who they are. You never know who you’re talking to. Rely on your community and be present. When you’re genuine and put out good energy, you aren’t asking for help. You’re just bonding.”

As a woman, it’s harder because you have a huge amount of responsibility. You try to do everything. You have to prioritize. Time is valuable.

Motherhood and Letting Go

While her business was growing, so was Tsang’s family. In 2104, she and her husband welcomed son Xavier.

“My business changed a lot during the beginning. As a woman, it’s harder because you have a huge amount of responsibility,” she admits. “You try to do everything. You have to prioritize. Time is valuable.”

So Tsang learned to let go—another treasured piece of advice she has for career women trying to “do it all.”

“I learned to trust in people,” she explains. “I have an amazing staff, and they will get it done. If you have a good foundation with people in place who do good work, you don’t have to constantly be there. I put my hard work in before Xavier came, so I had a solid foundation and brand name.”

That solid foundation made it possible for Tsang to launch her South Boston training center in 2017. In classroom-style settings, Tsang and her team cover topics including eye anatomy, products, and procedure.

“The training center puts my employees in a teaching environment that inspires them,” she adds. Tsang also started a private product label of lashes and adhesive.

Photo courtesy of Lash L’Amour

Star power: Audrey Hepburn and her iconic lashes adorn the chic interior of the Wellesley location

She added a Wellesley lash spa to her beauty brand in June 2018. This is where Tsang finds herself lately, as she builds relationships with new clients in the surrounding areas.

“After a decade of lashes, people ask me, ‘Why don’t you just run the business solely and not do the lashes anymore?’” she explains. “I don’t want to do that. I feel like I would lose touch with my clientele.”

“If you work out hard, you get muscles,” Tsang laughs. “If you work hard at your business, your business succeeds.”