The Interview: Tatti Lashes founder Elliot Barton on turning a salon side project into a global beauty brand

Originally launched as a small independent label, Tatti Lashes has grown into a widely recognised name within the global beauty industry, with a particularly strong presence across social media and among makeup artists and influencers.

The brand’s core offering centres on strip lashes, individual lashes, and a range of lash accessories, including adhesives, applicators and removers, with celebrity collaborations such as Khloé Kardashian also forming a key part of the brand’s identity.

In this interview, founder and CEO Elliot Barton discusses the brand’s growth journey and the strategies behind its rise from an independent start-up to a major player in the beauty space.

What inspired the launch of Tatti Lashes?

Charlotte and I both had salons in Liverpool; we were lash technicians. The initial idea for the brand was to create a product that would speed up salon treatment times so technicians could fit more clients in. We also wanted to create a luxury strip lash range for makeup artists that was affordable for their kits. Being from Liverpool definitely inspired us, as did the glamorous nature of the North. Luxury and affordability were really important to us.

We started the business on the side, going from salon to salon with our samples and ranges. That approach created a lot of word of mouth within the industry, and organically, we started getting our lashes onto some really influential people. From there, the consumer side naturally followed.

At the beginning, we had ambition, of course, but I don’t think either of us could have imagined the scale it would eventually reach.

How did your prior experience shape the business?

I wasn’t really academic at school - I was always more creative. I left school with hardly any GCSEs and went to art college. A couple of years later, as the beauty industry boomed, I went on to open a salon. I never thought I would use my creative side after leaving college, but I use those skills every day, and they definitely helped when we started the brand. Charlotte was also very creative, so we would bounce ideas off each other constantly.

Having the salons definitely helped as well because we really understood what our customers wanted and understood the industry. We knew what was missing and recognised a gap in the market. That’s why, even now, the professional community is still such a huge part of the brand’s DNA. We’ve always respected the artists first. If you create products professionals genuinely love and trust, consumer confidence follows naturally.

I think that grounding in the industry helped us scale quickly and authentically because we never lost sight of the customer we originally built the business for.

At what point did you realise this could become a full-scale beauty brand rather than a side project?

There were definitely stages where it started to feel more real. We were so new to it and learning as we went. We launched our first website, started selling out of stock, and our order quantities kept increasing as demand continued to grow.

One major turning point was when Nicki Minaj wore our lashes and her makeup artist tagged us on Instagram. At the time, that felt surreal. Up until then, we were still very much in the mindset of being a local Liverpool brand - working hard, growing steadily, and figuring things out as we went along. But seeing someone at that level wearing the product gave us a real sense that the brand had not only national but global potential.

That moment gave both of us a huge amount of motivation and belief. Suddenly, the goals and dreams we’d spoken about started to feel achievable, and from there we just kept pushing forward relentlessly.

Another major celebrity who wore it in the first year of the business was Khloé Kardashian, and we started working with her makeup artist, Etienne Ortega. Fast forward eight years, and we created our own lash collaboration with her. That was a huge personal highlight for me.

Can you tell us more about what has been the biggest turning point for growth - celebrity exposure, retail or social media?

I think the growth of Tatti Lashes has really been a combination of three things - timing, social media and authenticity were key. In the early years, social media was massively powerful for us because it allowed makeup artists and creators to organically showcase the products in real time. We were very fortunate to work with an international roster of artists quite early on, which helped us realise the demand for the brand wasn’t just in the UK - there was a real appetite globally.

Celebrity exposure obviously played a huge role too. Moments like Nicki Minaj wearing the lashes gave the brand huge visibility and credibility overnight, but equally, some of our creator collaborations became defining moments for the business. I think people still remember our collaboration with Molly-Mae Hague straight after she came out of the Love Island villa - that was actually her very first beauty collaboration, which is amazing to look back on now considering where her career has gone.

From there, we continued building relationships with incredible talent including Mitchell Halliday, Jamie Genevieve, Abby Roberts, Khloé Kardashian, and now Patricia Bright, who we have a collection launching with next month. We’ve also got another huge collaboration later this year which I can’t say too much about yet, but it’s going to be amazing.

Retail was another major turning point. We stayed direct-to-consumer for as long as we possibly could because we really wanted to understand our audience and build the community properly first. Then, in 2019, we partnered with AS Watson Group, which officially launched us into offline retail through Superdrug in the UK, and later through retailers like ICI PARIS XL, Marionnaud, and Douglas across Europe. That really accelerated awareness internationally and helped establish Tatti as a serious global beauty brand rather than just an online business. In 2025, we also expanded further in the UK and are now officially stocked in all Boots stores nationwide.

Aside from this, what are some of your biggest business highlights since launching the brand?

There have honestly been so many moments where Charlotte and I have had to stop and remind ourselves how far the business has come from that tiny Liverpool unit.

Seeing globally recognised artists and celebrities wear our products will always be special because those moments represented years of hard work finally paying off. Collaborations have also been a huge highlight because we’ve always wanted to work with people who genuinely align with the brand rather than simply chasing trends.

Another huge achievement has been the international expansion. Very early on, we realised the brand resonated across multiple territories, and being able to grow throughout Europe and internationally has been incredible to see.

Internally, one of the biggest milestones has probably been building a very strong team. In the beginning, it was just Charlotte and I doing absolutely everything ourselves, but over the last four years especially, we’ve invested heavily in scaling the business properly with specialist talent and infrastructure. We now have an amazing internal leadership team, including Managing Director Ryan Barton, which has allowed the business to evolve into a much larger operation whilst still keeping the original DNA of the brand intact.

I also think one thing I’m proud of is that we’ve never been afraid to take risks. Not every decision has worked - that’s the reality of business - but some of the biggest milestones for us came from making bold moves and trusting our instincts rather than simply following what everyone else in the industry was doing.

You're now launching into Selfridges. How do you feel about this expansion and what made it the right retail partner at this stage?

Selfridges feels like a really natural next chapter for the brand. We’ve been very intentional about our retail strategy over the years and have always wanted to make sure any partnership aligned with where the business was heading creatively and commercially, as well as where we currently stand in the market, as we are constantly evolving as a brand.

For us, Selfridges represents innovation, credibility and a more elevated beauty environment, which is aligned with how the brand has evolved. We’ve spent years building a highly engaged customer base online and through retail, and now feels like the right time to position Tatti within a more premium luxury beauty space. Makeup artists use our lashes alongside some of the leading beauty brands in the world - so now, the consumer can shop them in that space also.

What’s exciting is that Selfridges also understands the importance of culture, creators and community in modern beauty. They don’t just stock products - they champion independent brands with strong identity and storytelling, which is something we’ve always prioritised.

I’m very proud because when we first started the business, I don’t think I could’ve imagined walking into a retailer like Selfridges and seeing my brand sitting amongst some of the biggest beauty brands in the world.

Being sole CEO marks a new chapter for the brand - how has that transition shaped your approach and vision?

This is something we’ve been working towards together as business partners and, more importantly, as close friends for quite some time. Ten years of building a business side by side is an incredible achievement and something I’ll always be hugely proud of - I’m excited to continue leading the business as sole CEO.

Are there any new categories, markets or product innovations you’re excited to explore?

Lashes are still very much at the centre of the brand. We’re constantly refining the technology and product development to ensure we’re leading trends rather than following them.
We have a collaboration launching in June with Patricia Bright, which is really exciting, and we also have another celebrity collaboration coming later this summer that I can’t say too much about yet.

I often get asked whether we’ll expand further into cosmetics or makeup, but lashes are where we’re strongest, and I really believe in staying true to what you do best. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it - stay in your lane and continue innovating within it.

For us, the focus is less about launching endless categories and more about continuing to elevate what is already known and trusted globally.

What are your ambitions for Tatti Lashes over the next few years in terms of growth and expansion?

Continuing our global expansion is a huge focus for us. America is, of course, a very important territory for the brand, and we see huge long-term potential there. We’re also performing really well across Europe, and more recently we secured distribution in the Middle East, which has already been incredibly valuable because there’s such strong demand across the GCC.

Over the next few years, the ambition is to continue scaling internationally in a strategic way whilst protecting the DNA of the brand. We’ve never wanted growth for the sake of it - it’s important that every new market, retail partner and collaboration still feels aligned with the brand and our community.

At the same time, we’ll continue investing heavily in innovation, product development, and our internal team so the business is built for long-term global growth rather than short-term trends.