Eylure

Eylure is a British false-eyelash brand founded in 1947 by Eric and David Aylott, two brothers who worked as makeup artists in the film industry [5]. Frustrated by the lash materials available for their work, they began making artificial lashes as a sideline between film projects, and the venture grew into one of the first mass-market false-lash companies in the world. The brand is closely tied to the 1960s eye-makeup boom and to the heavy lashes Elizabeth Taylor wore on screen.

Today Eylure operates as a sub-brand of the American company PDC Brands, which has owned it since 2016 [5]. It remains commercially active, running regional sites for the United Kingdom, United States and Australia and launching new products and collaborations, but it is no longer an independent company.

The company was established in March 1947 by Eric V. Aylott and David H. Aylott, brothers and former film-industry makeup artists, initially at 21 Woodhall Lane in Welwyn Garden City, north of London. According to a cosmetics-history archive, the business started with £100 of capital. Eric Aylott devised an improved way of making lashes by knotting hair onto nylon thread secured to greaseproof paper, and the brand's Australian heritage blog describes the early product as "super lashes" made from a mix of rubber-latex glue and real hair [6]. The first advertisement ran in the trade paper The Stage in July 1947.

Sources differ slightly on the founding date. The 1947 year is stated precisely and consistently by the cosmetics-history archive, an Australian trade-press spotlight and Eylure's own regional blog [5]. Eylure's UK homepage instead markets "over 75 years" of lash-making alongside a 2026 copyright, which would imply a later start of around 1951; this appears to be rounded marketing copy rather than a competing date [1].

Eylure expanded quickly through the 1950s and 1960s. Artificial fingernails were added in 1948, and manufacturing moved to Cwmbran in Wales in 1962, the same year the company launched Eymatic Mascara. The brand reached wide visibility in 1963, when David Aylott designed Elizabeth Taylor's eye makeup for the film Cleopatra and the model Jean Shrimpton demonstrated Eylure lashes in British Vogue. The Cleopatra connection became central to the brand's identity; one trade publication credits Eylure with helping create "Elizabeth Taylor's famous Cleopatra eye" [7].

The decade also brought formal recognition: in 1966 the company received the Queen's Award to Industry and opened a purpose-built factory at the Grange Industrial Estate in Cwmbran [5]. Production later extended beyond Britain, with a factory in Gembloux, Belgium, and offshore manufacturing in South Korea and India by the late 1960s. The brand became associated with the wider 1960s eye-makeup trend driven by models such as Twiggy.

Eylure passed through several owners after its founding family. A minority share went to Nobel Consumer Goods in 1988, and Nobel acquired the remainder of the company in 1989. In 1991 the brand was sold to Original Additions, and in 2016 Original Additions was itself acquired by PDC Brands, which has continued to operate Eylure since [5]. Under PDC Brands, Eylure shares ownership with the haircare brand Cantu. The brand's current registered headquarters is in Uxbridge, west London, the address of its parent company [4]; its historical manufacturing base was in Welwyn Garden City and later Cwmbran.

Eylure presents itself as the United Kingdom's heritage false-lash pioneer, summarising its values as "intelligently designed, beautifully made, for everyone, every day." The company frames inclusivity as central to its purpose, saying its commitment to excellence "welcomes everyone into our inclusive beauty journey." It is positioned as an accessible, drugstore-tier brand; the company says its Extreme Curl lashes give "a salon look without the salon price." A trade-press spotlight describes Eylure as the "original" commercial false-eyelash brand and reports that it holds "over 80 per cent of the UK market" [7].

False strip lashes remain the brand's core product, sold across styles including natural, wispy, volume, faux-mink and magnetic lashes. Eylure also offers a "Salon at Home" line of professional-style products and a body and accessories range covering nipple covers, body tape and adhesives. Its Dybrow range provides brow tints, and the trade press notes Eylure was "the first to market double layered lashes" [7].

Two more recent lines extend the brand beyond conventional lashes. The C-lash range, described on the brand site as a self-adhesive lash-replacement range "for anybody who is affected by hair loss," was created by Codilia Gapare following her 2014 breast-cancer diagnosis for people experiencing natural lash loss [2]. Separately, Eylure has partnered with the breast-cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel! on a range of nipple covers and body tape sold exclusively at Superdrug, committing a £20,000 donation [3].

Eylure received the Queen's Award to Industry in 1966 for export achievement. The brand has long been linked to public figures and media: Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra eye in 1963, a British Vogue appearance the same year, and later celebrity collaborations including Girls Aloud and Katy Perry [6]. Since 2009 the company has worked with beauty influencers such as Fleur de Force, Jasmine Brown and Nicole Guerriero to demonstrate lash application.

Eylure is an actively trading heritage brand operating under PDC Brands, which acquired it in 2016. It is no longer independent, but its site shows current activity, including 2026 product collaborations and charity campaigns, and its copyright notice is dated 2026 [1]. The brand maintains regional operations across the United Kingdom, United States and Australia.