A young Fife businesswoman who fought a legal battle with cosmetics giant L’Oreal has now decided to close her fake eyelashes business.
Lisa Chandler, from Dunfermline, is a make-up artist who had ambitions to produce her own range of beauty products.
The 24-year-old chose the name Elsie Cosmetics for her range of false eyelashes.
However, when she went to trademark the name, L’Oreal lodged an opposition with the Intellectual Property Office.
L’Oreal’s concern was the similarity to its Essie brand, which produces nail products.
Lisa agreed to change her business name to Elsie by Lisa, after already investing on logos and boxes for the Elsie Cosmetics.
However, almost two years on, she has now decided to close her business, saying the L’Oreal dispute left a “bad taste in her mouth”.
L’Oreal trademark dispute
Lisa, who is a cosmetics and brow artist at Kruz Hair and Beauty in Dunfermline, said the business didn’t make her happy any more.
She said: “It wasn’t worth it. I don’t think anyone would ever be confused between a small business from Dunfermline and L’Oréal.
“After the whole L’Oréal dispute, I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth.
“The business didn’t start great, and I felt a wee bit sour towards it and it didn’t make me happy anymore.
“Always being reminded of how stressful that was for me, I lost the love for my brand.
“I had a sour taste in my mouth when I was doing work for my business. I never got rid of that feeling and it was hard for me.”
TikTok has become a trend
Meanwhile, Lisa built up a substantial social media following where she shares make-up lessons.
After starting to post videos in 2017, she now has almost 16,000 followers on Instagram and a further 11,000 on TikTok.
Lisa earns commission by making sure to tag multiple items in videos, providing her with an extra source of income.
She explains: “I create tutorials, tips, and tricks for make-up transformations, and I also enjoy discussing industry developments and business-related topics.
“It takes a long time to do content – I’ll film for a few hours, and then the editing takes a while as well.
“I like to make sure my content is organic and it’s only what I love that I post on there.
“I’m probably not earning as much as other people are, but I would rather have it that way.
Lisa said TikTok has also helped her gain recognition, which has led to an increase in her clients.
“I love doing it and building friendships. I would encourage everyone to do it.”
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