Business Owner: Amber Donoso
Next up in the series we have Amber Donoso, a British-Chilean singer who has recently started a fake eyelash business, called Baklashed. You can buy her products via the official Instagram page.
Tell me a bit about your heritage, were you born in the UK?
My father is Chilean and my mother is English. I grew up mainly here in the UK but travelled back to Chile to visit my father three or four times a year.
What motivated you to start your fake eyelashes business?
I’ve always loved fashion, styling and beauty. I wanted to start a business which was different to what I’ve done before. I dived into this project knowing nothing about the eyelash industry. I couldn’t even put a pair of lashes on myself, so I’ve learnt as I’ve gone along. I love fake eyelashes as they enhance what we already have. There are so many different styles and shapes of lashes to play with: It’s a way of being creative and expressive.
How do you feel your sense of identity and heritage has influenced your business decisions?
I feel one’s identity is always shifting and evolving. The further you get into life, you learn and grow more. So, I feel like both my personal life and work life are always shifting and changing, hand in hand.
I’m always open to working with new people and to exploring things I haven’t previously done business-wise. I see Amber Donoso as a brand. What I mean by that is that it’s so much more than me being a singer. There are many projects I work on within my music career; from co-directing my music videos, to styling myself, and designing my merch.
Eventually, I would like to have my own clothing line or make-up line. I’m just waiting for the right time to start publicising my work within those markets too.
What are your plans for your business?
To keep pushing myself and others. Baklashed is for everyone. We have the more natural styles as well as the more dramatic. They’re also easy to put on which makes everything effortless.
Does Baklashed tie in with your singing career, and if so, how? Do you feel they are connected, or do you see them as two separate business moves?
They very much coincide together. My eyelash business goes alongside my music career. I wear my own brand of lashes at every show or photoshoot I have, so I’m constantly showcasing the flexibility of how they can be worn.
Baklashed is another form of expression of my artistry. They play an important part in my look and how I feel as an artist. I’m hoping I will be seeing all of my Amber Donoso music fans wearing them soon!
Where does the name Baklashed come from?
I thought Baklashed was a really well suited name for what I wanted the lashes to represent.
Obviously lashes are involved in the name as it’s a lash brand but the name as a whole holds weight to leaving an impact and one’s mark when you wear them. It sounded powerful, confident and sexy – aspects that I would want people to feel when wearing them.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I’m a workaholic. I never stop working. I believe creativity as a whole is never ending. The sky is really the limit. Every day for me is different.
Some days I am in the studio recording, other days I am in meetings, or running a photoshoot, or perhaps doing a radio interview. It really changes from day to day.
What’s your ethos? And how do you apply that to your daily life?
I always say to myself: If I’m not doing it or working on something, someone else is. You only live once and you’ve got to live life to the fullest.
I always try my best, but I also give myself time to rest and recover after a long day’s work. Rest is as important as doing the hard work itself.
Amber has recently been signed with the music and talent agency mn2s. You can listen to Amber’s new single “Aventura”, and follow her music project or Baklashed on Instagram.
