Blinc

Blinc is an American makeup brand, founded by Lewis and Suma Farsedakis, that specialises in eye products built around its proprietary "tubing" technology — a formula that wraps each lash or brow hair in a flexible polymer tube rather than coating it in pigment. The company is best known for introducing what it describes as the world's first tubing mascara, and it continues to position itself around that single innovation across mascara, eyeliner, primer and brow products.

The brand is family-owned and remains active. In April 2026 it marked 27 years of tubing technology and announced plans for another tubing product later that year [6], placing its founding in 1999 by the brand's own current account — though earlier dates appear in some of its materials (see below).

⚑ Thinner sourcing. The article relies largely on the brand's own statements (T2–T3). Glowpedia is seeking independent sources.

According to the company, the idea behind the brand began with a conversation in 1993. Suma Farsedakis complained to her then-boyfriend Lewis that mascara always smudged; Lewis looked into how leading mascaras were made with a chemist friend, who pointed to oil-based formulas as the cause [4]. That diagnosis led to an oil-free alternative designed to encase each lash in a tube that could be removed cleanly with water rather than dissolving into smudges.

The brand frames the early effort in plain terms: if humanity could put a person on the moon, a mascara that stays put should be achievable. From the outset the technology was aimed at people whose eye makeup tends to fail — those with oily skin, contact-lens wearers, people with sensitive eyes or allergies, and anyone who sweats, cries or takes part in water sports.

Blinc's founding date is recorded inconsistently across its own sources, and the packet treats this as a documented conflict. The brand's United States about page and its April 2026 press release both date the first tubing mascara to 1999, with the "27 years" anniversary measured from 2026 confirming that year [1][6]. A separate brand page on tubing technology instead states that the founders "invented tubing mascara in 1995," and "since 1995" framing appears in some product copy and business-database restatements [2]. A still earlier date, 1993, refers specifically to the original conversation rather than a product launch [4]. The 1999 date reflects the company's current authoritative framing; the 1995 and 1993 references describe the technology's research-and-development origin.

The company's stated view is that beauty should be high-performance and "totally problem-free" — makeup that withstands tears, sweat and humidity yet slides off with water and gentle pressure. It summarises its approach with the phrase "As Clean As Possible, As Effective As Necessary," and uses the tagline "Where Beauty Performs," which the founder has described as reflecting both the brand's heritage and its future direction [6].

Blinc presents itself as the original developer of the tubing category and acknowledges that many brands now offer tubing formulas, while arguing that "not all are created equal" [2]. The brand's products are positioned at the prestige end of the market and are sold through multiple channels, including its own United States and United Kingdom sites, a business-to-business portal for retailers and professionals, and third-party retailers such as Sephora and Amazon.

The defining feature across Blinc's range is tubing technology, which the brand describes as a formulation that forms tiny, water-resistant polymer tubes around individual lashes or brow hairs [2]. Once set, the tubes are designed to resist smudging, running and flaking through the day, and to come away in tube-like pieces when removed with warm water rather than requiring a dedicated makeup remover. The company states that its tubing products are ophthalmologist tested and safe for contact-lens wearers.

The Original Tubing Mascara is the brand's foundational product; the company says it became a "cult favorite" on Sephora and Amazon, accumulating thousands of reviews [4]. The line has since expanded to several mascara formulas — including Amplified, Lash Extension and UltraVolume — alongside a Tubing Liquid Eyeliner, a Curling Tubing Primer and a Tubing Brow Juice. The brand also describes extending tubing beyond performance makeup into treatment products, infusing ingredients within the polymer tubes for uses such as lash and brow conditioning.

The UltraVolume Tubing Mascara is marketed by the brand as the world's first clean and vegan tubing mascara [7]. An independent review by MILABU Beauty Review rated it favourably, praising its ease of application, intense colour and simple water-based removal, while noting that the formula was very wet and delivered less volume than expected [5].

Blinc's UltraVolume Tubing Mascara was named a winner of Allure's Best of Beauty award for best mascara in 2021 [7]. The brand also lists recommendations across a range of consumer titles — among them Vogue, Allure, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire — though this broad press list originates with the brand's own materials and is best read as a brand-stated claim rather than independently verified outlet by outlet.

The company says its products are 100% cruelty-free and never tested on animals, with clean, vegan and gluten-free options across the range. It states that all products are formulated, designed and manufactured domestically in the United States, and that packaging uses post-consumer recycled plastics and FSC-certified paper boxes [1].

Blinc is active as of 2026. Its most recent visible activity includes the April 2026 press release marking 27 years of tubing technology and announcing a further tubing innovation for the year, along with blog content dated to 2026 [6]. The brand operates across multiple markets, with active sites for the United States and United Kingdom and retail distribution through major beauty and general retailers.