TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — From beauty trends to big business, the lash extension industry is growing here in Tucson. A local, women-owned lash company is hosting the first-ever lash conference in Tucson on the Eastside, hoping to put Tucson on the map for beauty professionals in Southern Arizona.
Local business owner Marcy Bazua is helping build up the beauty community one lash at a time.
“I feel like Tucson has grown so much in the lash industry," Bazua shared. There’s an unbelievably incredible talent here.”
Tucson native and military wife, Bazua, learned the art of lash extensions while living in Japan in 2010. She and her family moved back to Tucson in 2016 and continued practicing lashes here.
“Nobody was really getting lashes still, and so, that quickly grew," Bazua shared.
Bazua says building a team in the early days of owning a business in a new industry was challenging. In 2018, she opened Bel Viso Lash Studio on the east side, off 22nd Street and Camino Seco. Just a few years ago, Bazua opened the Tucson Lash Academy, where people go to learn the trade.
She made it her mission to build her network over the years.
“I do attend a lot of conferences throughout the U.S. I travel to New York, California, Texas for all these conferences, and there's never anything here in Tucson," said Bazua.
Now, it’s a full-circle moment for Bazua as she gears up to host the first-ever lash conference in Tucson.
“It's important for me to have hosted it here in Tucson because this is my home," said Bazua.
Bazua says this event is not closed off to those who work in the beauty industry.
“If you're a small business owner, you're invited," said Bazua. "That's kind of how we saw it. Yes, it's an industry, and a lot of their stories are industry-related, like for the beauty industry. But this is business, ultimately, and you're going to walk away with that.”
Seven keynote speakers will educate the business owners on finances, branding, and how to strategically use AI to support a business.
“I not only wanted to obviously provide good education, but I wanted to bring, like world-class education, international educators to come teach us and teach our community and provide the building for that," Bazua said.
I asked Bazua if she had any advice for aspiring small-business owners, and she shared the following.
"I'm a huge believer that you could definitely do it, but just do it slow," said Bazua. "There's no hurry. Don't compare yourself to anyone else, like your journey is really unique and everybody has a different vision board. But I do think that if you are looking to grow a business, not just in the beauty industry, but business in general that you just take it slow, learn, ask questions."
The lash conference called “A Seat At The Table” is on Sunday, June 29th. More information on the event is here.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
