Even though Instagram influencer Gretzie Parth had a steady flow of online customers and enjoyed free sponsored cosmetics and clothing from companies, she hit a wall.
“Basically like a month ago, I had a little bit of a meltdown,” she said. “I was trying to think about what to do next and how to grow.”
On Tuesday, she opened a storefront in The Collective in downtown St. Albert, where Parth, 23, sells her signature false eyelashes.
Her mother, Patricia Parth, said it makes her proud to see her young daughter so successful.
“It brings tears to my eyes – we’re so very proud of her. I watch her day to day work hard,” she said tearfully.
“I'm proud of what she's accomplished. But I'm more proud of who she's become.”
Gretzie Parth currently has a following of 26,800 people and posts around five photos to Instagram each week. The account is what turned her small startup into a successful eyelash e-commerce business.
But having a virtual business means it can be stressful to maintain personal boundaries. Parth will fill orders for pickup, even if they come in at midnight.
“I would never say no,” she said. “I value my customers and I respect them. And I want them to have the best service possible.”
Opening the storefront is one way for her to take a step back, while gaining a competitive advantage to other eyelash businesses starting to pop up.
While she’ll still fill online orders, it’s one way to direct the customer toward a face-to-face interaction instead of answering questions online.
Some people, for example, would send her photos of their faces and ask what lashes would be best for their eye shape. Then they’d ask how to apply them.
Now, they get to come in and ask her questions, while allowing her to grow her client base.
“I was doing pop-up shops at local businesses ... I would say like 85 per cent of the people that attended them, they were people that already knew about me and they knew a lot my lashes, but they never purchased before,” she said.
Lashes at the beginning
Parth began making the eyelashes a few years ago after gaining traction as a makeup artist on Instagram in 2015. She was most busy during wedding season, when women poured in requests to have their makeup professionally done for the day.
But when she got the photos back for her portfolio, she noticed the lashes had a shiny, fake look to them. That’s when she decided to create her own.
“It (was) all I could focus on when I was getting these beautiful pictures of these brides,” she explained.
Working with various manufacturers, she was able to create a mink and vegan line of false eyelashes.
At the time Parth also decided to change the way she was posting on Instagram. Instead of just focusing on makeup, she decided to start posting about her life.
What had started as a small following soon grew to an expectant audience wanting to know how to buy and apply the lashes.
With the increase in followers, cosmetic and apparel companies started taking notice. They began sending her free swag to sponsor so people would see her wearing their products.
Parth is now at a point where she charges businesses a fee to post a picture of her in their merchandise.
One downside, however, is the constant pressure to post new photos and start new ventures. That's one of the things that prompted her to open a store as the next step forward in her budding career.
“I feel like I've done so many things, which is great, but I also put a lot of pressure on myself to keep going. Especially now that the industry is getting competitive,” she said.
GP Makeup is located at #100, 43 St. Thomas Street. For more information visit: https://gpmakeupinc.com/.
