Today we’d like to introduce you to Hayley Plas.
Hi Hayley, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Ever since I was 13 I was fascinated with the beauty industry. As a young teenager in middle and high school, I was studying the latest beauty tips and trends on YouTube to implement into my makeup artistry. I was fascinated with watching beauty influencers and how they would apply intricate makeup looks on themselves and others, it was something I immediately fell in love with and pursued heavily. Even though I knew I wanted to work in the beauty industry, I still decided on attending college first to pursue a degree because ultimately my goal was to be a business owner in the beauty industry. It wasn’t until I was a freshman in college at UTSA that I discovered what lash extensions were. I was intrigued to try them myself since I was wearing strip lashes everyday, so I did the research and found a lash artist to do mine. At the appointment I asked the lash artist a ton of questions about lash extensions; the process, application, qualifications, licensing, etc.. and once I saw the lashes on myself I immediately fell inlove, then did more research once I went home and immediately knew I wanted to become a lash artist, and own my own lash salon and business. This was in 2018, and by 2022 I graduated UTSA with my bachelor’s in Communication with a minor in business, and immediately enrolled in to cosmetology school to pursue my Esthetician’s license. I graduated the program and gained my Esthetician’s license in January 2023. Before pursuing my own business with owning my own solo lash salon, I decided to go work in the spa industry to gain some experience and knowledge in the esthetics industry, as well as learning the inner workings of a beauty business owner. While working for a spa in 2023, I began the process of building out my dream lash salon on my family’s property. I worked to save all my money to go towards the build out for my 290 sqft salon. During this process, I began to learn how to do lash extensions. Lash extensions are very difficult and tedious to do. It takes months, even years to really master the craft. I invested in the best education I could and practiced as much as I could on a friend and my sister, but not much since I was limited in resources and people to practice on.
When it came to building my business, choosing the name and branding, and designing my salon, I wanted it to be 100% authentic to me and who I am. I have an alternative and Gothic style. My love for all things dark and moody when it comes to art, music, and fashion and film. I dreamt of designing a salon with all black walls, moody decor and furniture that fit my romantic gothic vintage-antique aesthetic, white and black checkered floors. I wanted my salon to be not only a sanctuary for myself and my artistry, but a safe space for clients. I pride myself on being a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community, and for those who are seeking a safe space to freely express themselves for who they are.
I settled on the name “Queen of Hearts Beauty” like the suit in a deck of cards, and revolve my branding around playing cards, card games, card suits. My business name and branding is all inspired by me being originally from Las Vegas, I was born there in 2000 and it wasn’t until 2006 my family and I moved to cedar park/north Austin and we’ve been here ever since. Once my salon buildout was complete,
I opened Queen of Hearts Beauty on 2/14/2025 to start accepting clients. Opening a solo independent lash salon was a huge risk. Why? Because I had never taken lash extension clients before other than practicing on my 1 friend and sister, and just practicing however much I could on a mannequin. What helped me in the beginning was my determination and dedication, I was determined and dedicated to becoming a better lash artist every day with taking practice models, paying clients, practicing in my spare time. With my salon being a uniquely designed space that set me apart from others, I was quickly gaining clients through online media attention on Instagram and TikTok. As my technical lash skills continued to improve as my business was growing, I decided that it was time to offer color lashes in the beginning of August 2024. I had always known I wanted to do color lashes, I wear color lashes myself to match my burgundy cherry hair and have done so since early 2023. I saw so many lash artists on instagram who’s vivid color lash artistry I admired so much, i loved seeing others creatively express themselves through vivid color lashes like how some express themselves through vivid color hair. I placed my first order for the best color lashes brand known in the lash industry: The Lash Ritual, a brand who I admired (and still do) and has helped me so much in my career up to where i am today. At this point I had been doing lashes for 6 months, and Once I started doing color lashes, my business took off even more. The more color lash sets i did, the more social media attention I received and more clients booked. I was creating lash sets that were blends or purples and reds, variant shades of blues, pastel rainbows, and UV reactive neon lashes that glow under black light. My life and career quickly became all about color lashes, and I was in love. I poured my all into my color lash artistry being the perfectionist I am. I continued to gain more color lash clients wanting to experiment with different color lashes, and I continued to teach myself color theory, color blends of different lash colors to make new colors, and how to implement different lashing techniques to create different color lash looks. The beginning of 2025, I had just hit 1 year of lashing and my business being open, little did I know what was to come next. I continued to gain increase media attention on instagram, with multiple color lash sets of mine going viral and gaining worldwide attention from lash artists all over the country and the world. In April 2025 I was building a name for myself in the lash industry, so I decided to challenge myself and my artistry by entering my first ever live lash competition. I competed in the creative color category, and I did something that had never been done before. I created an asymmetrical color lash set to represent fire and ice, ”The Elemental Divide” i call it, but what had never been done before that i did was I created the whole fire eye using color wavy lashes to mimic the flowing waves of flame. This set won me first place, and truly changed my life. My proudest achievement of my career so far, that I had accomplished at just 1 year of experience, where I had competed against lash artists who had anywhere from 3-15+ year’s experience. My career and business continued to take off, I was gaining more and more attention on social media and becoming a well known name in the industry. New opportunities kept opening doors for me with working with some of the largest brands in the lash industry, to doing lashes for a campaign photoshoot for the color lash brand I use and love: The Lash Ritual, for their tradeshow floor booth at the biggest lash conference in the world: Lash Con that happened just recently in October 2025, where I also won the industry award “New lash artist of the year 2025” (both achievements of mine that I am so proud of and grateful for).
It’s hard to believe how much I have done In just under 2 years, i have accomplished and achieved so many of my dreams and goals as a lash artist. I’ve been and continue to be a viral sensation on both instagram and TikTok, have strong influence in the color lash industry and online community, im a double-award winning color lash artist. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my family and friends, my clients, The Lash Ritual, and the online community of lash artists and beauty professionals who support me and have become such close friends of mine that I am so grateful for. I have achieved so much, yet I still have so many more goals to achieve in the future. For 2026, my main focus will be to start offering my own color lash education/curriculum and classes for lash artists who are wanting to learn color lashes.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The build out of my salon was a huge bump in the road you could say. It took about 1 year to finish it and open. With the beauty industry being considered “over saturated” in all industries (nails, lashes, hair, etc), I was fearful that I was entering the industry “too late” and that I would struggle. I knew from the beginning that it’s important to find ways to set yourself apart from others professionals, things that make you standout compared to other businesses. Myself being someone new in the lash industry, I knew my lack of experience when i first opened would deter a lot of clients and business. I was still mastering my technical skills of different lash techniques and styles, my timing of services. However, I knew my branding and salon design would set me apart. My salon design gained a ton of attraction, people from all over texas have driven to come see it and get their lashes done by me, especially once I started offering color lashes.
Something I have always struggled with is imposter syndrome. In an industry full of talented creatives and artists, it’s hard to not compare yourself to others. I used to get so in my head about it, especially as a newer lash artist. But Ive learned that everyone has their own unique artistic abilities and lash artistry, and that it doesn’t matter how long you have been in the industry, you can accomplish anything you set your heart out to achieve. Winning first place in that lash competition was testament to that for me. With having just 1 year of lash experience and competing against lash artists who had been in the industry for 3-15+ years, and I won, was proof enough that I belonged.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a double award winning vivid color lash artist. Im known for creating vivid color lash blends using every color you can think of from the rainbow and more. With having almost over 70+ colors in my inventory, I can create the color lash set of your dreams. Ive created lash sets that have utilized 15+ different colors and lash textures like wavy-crimped style, and also lash sets that are more simple with 1-3 colors. I pride myself in being a versatile lash artist. Im known for winning first place in a live lash competition where I did my fire and ice “The Elemental Divide” asymmetrical color lash set, where I was the first person ever in the industry to create a whole eye of lashes using color wavy lashes to create waves of flame for the fire side. I then got to participate in my first campaign photoshoot for the color lash brand I love: The Lash Ritual, where my work was displayed on their tradeshow floor booth at the biggest lash conference in the world, where I also won “Best New Lash Artist 2025” industry award at that conference.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy in my career? Creating color lash art. I truly thrive when I am creating a color lash set.
Empowering my clients to feel more confident in themselves and their self expression through the lash services I offer.
The friends and community I have found online in the lash industry makes me happy. I wouldn’t be where I am today without their support online and the friendships I have made. It makes me happy to see my lash friends succeed. Seeing how far I have come in just under 2 years makes me happy, makes me excited for what the future holds.
Personally what makes me happy: spending time with my friends and family, my 2 dogs, traveling. I love to travel, lately I have really loved exploring different parts of the world like Europe when I can. I love to try new food and places, good food brings lots of happiness. I also enjoy a good book and tv show or movie, and also find happiness in finding ways to grow my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://queenofheartsbeauty.glossgenius.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenofheartsbeauty.atx?igsh=MXJkNmhueWV6Y28xbQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@queenofheartsbeauty.atx?_r=1&_t=ZT-91eoQrvpXZu
Image Credits
The first photo of me with holding the hand mirror was taken by Heather Miller, all other images are mine.
