Medford, Ore. — A Medford woman is making waves in the world of beauty with a product originally geared toward cancer patients. Lisa Brambilla created SurvivorEyes, an eye brow kit, during her friend’s chemotherapy treatment. Years later, her product line has expanded, but the underlying goal of her company, supporting people struggling with hair loss, is still front and center.
“SurvivorEyes was born out of my realization how important it is to look and feel our best when one is going through cancer treatment,” Brambilla said. “I’m a breast cancer survivor myself.”
Unlike many women, Brambilla didn’t have to go through chemotherapy.
“I was fortunate that I didn’t lose my hair, but when a very good girlfriend of mine went through cancer treatments, I was helping her,” Brambilla said.
Her friend Laurie lost her hair after her second chemotherapy treatment. One Sunday morning, Brambilla came over for brunch to find Laurie upset.
“She said, ‘I can wear a hat, a scarf, I can ever rock this bald head, I’m good with that,’ she said, ‘look at my face,’ she said, ‘I’ve spent two hours in the bathroom mirror trying to put on eyebrows that match,'” Brambilla said.
With a background in beauty, Brambilla set out on a internet search to find an eyebrow kit, but came up empty-handed. That’s when SurvivorEyes started to take shape.
“One of my really good friends is a makeup artist, or was a makeup artist in Hollywood back in the eighties, and I called her and asked her if she’d partner with me on this, this venture,” Brambilla said. “And Kathie said, ‘sure, you know, I love a good challenge!'”
Together, the two set out to create the ultimate brow kit, with a brush they designed.
“She was asking me about colors, you know, what kind of brow colors to use, and brushes,” Kathie Condon said.
After creating the product and the packaging, it was time to sell.
“One of my first marketing campaigns was putting eyebrows on the Mona Lisa, and I did a before and after picture and I said, beauty has no bounds,” Brambilla said.
“Right, and you know, that picture is amazing, because, it’s, you know you’ve got this canvas, and if you don’t have that frame around the eyes, you just lose everything,” Condon said.
Since the launch of SurvivorEyes, Brambilla has created ‘Forever Brows’ geared toward brides, and ‘Brows for Bros’ for men. She says this makeup doesn’t wear off for days.
“A friend of mine actually competed in August in the Police and Fire World Games, and she did cross fit, and she went to my website and left a recommendation, she said, ‘I put my brows on on Tuesday, and when I picked up my medal on Thursday, it was still on on Thursday morning,’ and I thought, yes, we did it!” Brambilla said.
While all businesses have their ups and downs, Brambilla says helping people feel confident in their own skin has been more than worth it.
“People say that running your own business and starting your own business and inventing your a product is a struggle, and it is a struggle.. And it’s hard, and it’s a lot of work, but there’s nothing I’ve done, with the exception of maybe parenting that’s been more rewarding, it’s really been an amazing experience.”
To learn more about SurvivorEyes, click here.
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