25 Lash Artist Dilemmas. No Right Answers. Unfiltered Takes.
In Episode 26 of Behind the Brilliance, Danielle and Ashtyn played Would You Rather: Lash Artist Edition. Twenty-five rapid-fire questions about technique, clients, business, and the situations that make lash life complicated.
Some of the answers are funny. Some of them are actually pretty good business advice, disguised as a party game. Below are the highlights.
The Technique Questions
Would you rather only do classic extensions forever or only do mega volume? Danielle: classics, because she never wants to do mega volume again. Ashtyn agreed.
Would you rather hand make every fan forever or only use pre-made fans? Both answered immediately: hand make. "We don't make pre-made fans around here. We don't use pre-made fans around here."
Would you rather be known for speed or quality? Quality. Without hesitation. Both.
Would you rather have perfect retention or perfect isolation? This one caused some real deliberation. The final consensus: isolation -- because if your isolation is perfect, your retention has a chance. If your isolation is poor, your retention is compromised regardless of everything else. "I'd rather their retention be bad than have their lashes damaged."
The Social Media and Business Questions
Would you rather have 100,000 followers with no bookings or be fully booked with 500 followers? Danielle went with fully booked -- you can always build followers. Ashtyn went with 100k, because with a following that size you can get brand deals, brand trips, and income that does not require you to be behind a client for eight hours. "I could be technically making more money than if I just had followers." Their takes reflect real differences in where they are in their careers.
Would you rather know exactly what content will go viral or exactly what will make clients book? Both chose what makes clients book. "If a post got 10 views and you got 8 bookings from it versus 10,000 views and 0 bookings." Virality without conversion is noise.
Would you rather be fully booked or highly profitable? They agreed: highly profitable. Ashtyn's reasoning is the important part: "Being fully booked doesn't mean you're even making enough money to cover your overhead if you're not charging enough. So highly profitable is the way to go."
This is one of the most common traps in the lash industry -- a full schedule that still barely covers expenses, because rates were set too low and never raised. Being booked is not the same as being profitable. If you have not looked at your pricing recently, this question is for you.
The Client Questions
Would you rather be fully booked with difficult clients or have a half-full schedule with your dream clients? Both answered half-full, with Danielle being the more emphatic of the two: "My sanity is worth more than your money." The corollary: she will fire a difficult client. It is not a threat. It is a policy.
Would you rather have one client who spends $5,000 a year or 10 clients who spend $500 a year? Same math, different answer: one client. Less scheduling complexity, stronger relationship, more consistent revenue from fewer moving parts.
Would you rather have 10 loyal clients for life or 100 average clients? Both chose 10 loyal. "100 clients sounds overwhelming. That sounds like my living nightmare." Average clients and average appointments add up to a lot of work with not a lot of joy.
The Workload Questions
Would you rather make $200,000 a year with no free time or $100,000 working three days a week? Both chose $100k, three days a week. Work-life balance, not just revenue, is the goal. (The commentary: it should not matter how much you make if your spouse is also contributing financially. Danielle and Ashtyn enjoy a good moment here.)
Would you rather never have a cancellation again or never have a slow season again? Ashtyn took slow season elimination. Danielle's hot take: she actually sometimes welcomes cancellations. A last-minute gap at the end of a long day is not a loss -- it is a gift. "Cancellations are great. That's like a surprise."
The Studio and Client Behavior Questions
Would you rather work on a cheap bed forever or under bad lighting forever? Both chose lighting -- good lighting is non-negotiable for the quality of the work. The bed makes your client uncomfortable; the lighting makes your work worse.
Would you rather have a client who keeps opening their eyes or a client who talks with their hands the entire appointment? Both chose the talker. Eye-opening is the more disruptive behavior in practice: "If your eyes are fluttering and I have to play tug of war with your lashes -- that's your fault if it hurts."
Would you rather hear client breakup stories or client baby daddy drama? Baby daddy drama. Bring the tea.
The Career Question
Would you rather be amazing at lashing or amazing at business? Ashtyn went with business. Danielle went with lashing -- with the reasoning that if you are good enough at the craft, the clients come through referrals and the business follows. "I could be good at lashing and not have social media or be good at business, because my clients will refer me to people and people will come."
This one is genuinely worth sitting with. The answer probably depends on where you are in your career. Early on, craft is everything. Later, the business decisions -- pricing, team, systems, growth -- start to matter more than the technical skill. Both hosts gave answers that were honest about where they actually are.
Drop Your Answers
Watch the full episode and leave your answers in the comments. We want to know which ones you would flip.
https://youtu.be/yzzp002x8FU?si=MXFPf9ewIYVyFKud
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