Today we’d like to introduce you to Amna Afsheen.
Hi Amna, 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?
My journey has been anything but traditional. I actually began my professional life in aviation, earning a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Technology from the College of Aeronautics in New York and obtaining my FAA Airframe and Powerplant license. While that background taught me discipline, precision, and the importance of continuous learning, my career eventually took me in a completely different direction—into the beauty industry.
I entered the beauty and esthetics field in 2003, and over the past two decades, what began as a profession gradually became my passion, my business, and ultimately a platform for education and community. I became a New York State licensed esthetician and built my business around specialized brow and lash services, including eyebrow threading, brow design, lash lifting, brow lamination, permanent makeup, and advanced beauty techniques.
As my career developed, education became an increasingly important part of my work. I began training other beauty professionals and eventually became an international educator and master trainer. Teaching gave me an opportunity to do more than demonstrate a technique—it allowed me to help other artists build confidence, improve their skills, and see greater possibilities for themselves professionally.
Over the years, my work has also taken me beyond the treatment room. I have had opportunities to work within fashion and media, educate professionals in the United States and internationally, and have my work and story featured in numerous publications. Each experience encouraged me to think bigger about what I could contribute to the beauty industry.
That vision eventually led me to create **NYC Lash Elite™**, an international beauty education and competition platform designed to bring artists, educators, judges, brands, and industry professionals together. My goal was to create something that went beyond a traditional beauty event—a place centered around education, recognition, collaboration, and opportunities for talented professionals from different countries and backgrounds.
Today, I continue to work as a beauty professional, educator, entrepreneur, and founder of NYC Lash Elite™. What I value most about my journey is that it has continued to evolve. I started in one industry, found my purpose in another, built a business from my skills, became an educator, and eventually created a platform where I could help elevate other professionals as well.
For me, success has never been about reaching one final destination. It has been about continuing to learn, adapting when opportunities change, and creating something meaningful from the experience I have gained along the way.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it has definitely not been a completely smooth road. Every chapter of my journey has brought a different kind of challenge, and I believe many of those challenges are what shaped the person and professional I am today.
One of my first major challenges began in aviation. When I entered that field, there were very few women around me. It was a predominantly male environment, and as a young woman, I often felt that I had to work harder to prove that I belonged there and that I was equally capable. That experience taught me very early in life not to allow limitations or expectations from others to define what I could achieve.
When I later transitioned into the beauty industry, the challenge was completely different. This was long before social media became what it is today. There was no Instagram or TikTok where you could immediately showcase your work to thousands of people. You had to build your reputation one client at a time. Your work, your consistency, your professionalism, and word of mouth were your marketing. Establishing myself as an artist and building trust took years of patience and dedication.
At the same time, life continued to evolve. I became a wife and a mother, raising three children, including a child with special needs. Balancing motherhood, family responsibilities, a growing business, continuing education, and my own professional ambitions has probably been one of the greatest challenges of my journey. There were many times when reaching the next level required much more time, energy, and determination than people could see from the outside.
But I also know very clearly that I did not get to where I am today alone. I have been incredibly fortunate to have support from my family, my friends, and my clients. Their belief in me gave me strength during difficult moments, and many of my clients grew with me over the years, encouraging me as my career evolved. That kind of trust and support has been a very important part of my journey.
One belief has remained with me throughout every stage of my life: **you have to keep moving forward.**
That has always been my drive. Challenges may change the route, they may slow you down, and sometimes they force you to completely reinvent yourself—but they do not have to stop you.
Looking back, I am grateful that my journey was not effortless. From entering a field where very few women were represented, to establishing myself as a beauty professional before the social-media era, to becoming a mother, educator, entrepreneur, and eventually creating something much larger than myself, every difficult chapter taught me resilience.
I am still learning, still building, and still moving forward. And I am very grateful for every person who believed in me along the way. For me, that is what success truly means.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Brows by Amna® has grown over more than two decades from a hands-on beauty practice into a business centered around artistry, education, product knowledge, and professional development.
I have been working in the beauty and esthetics industry since 2003. As a New York State licensed esthetician, my work has always been highly specialized, particularly in brows and lashes. Over the years, I have developed expertise in eyebrow threading and shaping, brow mapping, brow lamination, lash lifting, tinting, permanent makeup, nano brows, and other advanced brow and lash techniques.
One of the things that sets my business apart is that I approach beauty from both an artist’s and an educator’s perspective. I don’t simply perform a service; I spend a significant amount of time studying techniques, researching professional products, understanding ingredients and systems, testing what works in real-world applications, and continuing my own education. The beauty industry changes constantly, so I believe that being an expert means never assuming that you have finished learning.
Education has become a major part of my professional life. I have trained many beauty professionals through private education, professional programs, schools, and industry collaborations. I am an InLei® Master Trainer specializing in Lash Filler and Brow Bomber systems, and I have also had the opportunity to educate within professional beauty-school environments, including Paul Mitchell in New York. Training other professionals is something I take very seriously because they are trusting me with knowledge that will ultimately affect their own clients and careers.
Throughout my career, I have also worked with and been educated by multiple professional beauty brands and product systems. Those experiences have allowed me to understand the industry not only from the perspective of a service provider, but also from the perspectives of an educator, trainer, brand collaborator, and business owner. I am very selective about the products and techniques I introduce into my work. If I teach or recommend something, I want to understand why it works and how it can be used safely and effectively.
Building my own brand has allowed me to bring all of these experiences together. Brows by Amna® represents more than brow services to me. It represents the reputation and trust I have built with my clients over many years, my commitment to education, and my belief that technical skill should always be supported by knowledge, professionalism, and continued learning.
What I am most proud of is the longevity of the relationships behind the brand. Many clients have been part of my journey for years, and I have also had the privilege of seeing professionals I trained grow in their own careers. That means a great deal to me.
Today, my work continues to evolve beyond my own studio and clients. Through education, international training, industry collaborations, and NYC Lash Elite™, I am able to contribute to a much larger professional beauty community. But at the foundation of everything I do is still the same principle I started with more than twenty years ago: do excellent work, continue learning, respect the trust people place in you, and share your knowledge so others can grow too.
What are your plans for the future?
Over the years, my career has taken me far beyond my own studio. I have had the opportunity to travel internationally as an educator, speaker, judge, and beauty professional, including experiences in Italy, Romania, Canada, Turkey, Pakistan, Dubai, and other countries.
Those experiences changed the way I looked at the beauty industry.
Every country has its own techniques, educational systems, product knowledge, artistic styles, and approach to professional beauty. In Europe especially, I was exposed to advanced techniques and educational methods that were sometimes very different from what we commonly see in the United States.
Because learning and teaching have always been at the center of who I am professionally, I began asking myself a bigger question: **How can I bring these worlds together and make that knowledge more accessible to the next generation?**
That question became part of the inspiration behind **NYC Lash Elite™**.
After more than two decades of building Brows by Amna®, working with clients, training professionals, collaborating with brands, teaching in schools, researching products, and continuing my own education, I wanted to create something larger than my individual business—a platform where education, artistry, entrepreneurship, and international collaboration could come together.
My vision for NYC Lash Elite™ is not simply to create another beauty event or competition. I want it to grow into an international education and professional-development platform where artists, educators, judges, brands, entrepreneurs, and emerging professionals can learn from one another.
The beauty industry is becoming increasingly global, and the next generation of professionals—especially Gen Z and younger artists entering the field—has access to more information than ever before. But access to information is not the same as access to quality education, mentorship, professional standards, business knowledge, and real opportunities.
That is where I see the future of NYC Lash Elite™.
I want to connect established international educators with younger professionals so they can experience techniques and perspectives from around the world. I also want new artists to understand that building a sustainable career in beauty requires much more than producing beautiful content for social media. It requires education, consistency, professionalism, ethics, business knowledge, relationships, and a willingness to keep learning.
Another part of that vision is creating space for **women-owned businesses, independent entrepreneurs, and emerging beauty brands**. Some of the most innovative ideas in our industry come from smaller businesses that may not yet have the visibility or resources of major corporations. I want NYC Lash Elite™ to be a place where these businesses can connect with professionals, build meaningful relationships, introduce their work to new audiences, and become part of a larger international community.
For me, supporting the next generation also means supporting entrepreneurship. Many beauty professionals eventually become educators, studio owners, product developers, or brand founders. I want them to see that there can be many different paths within this industry.
Through NYC Lash Elite™, we are creating opportunities for professionals to learn, showcase their talent, receive recognition, meet international educators, connect with brands and other entrepreneurs, and become part of a global professional network.
I also want to create opportunities for talented educators and artists who may not yet have a large platform. Sometimes an extraordinary professional simply needs the right room, the right connection, or someone willing to recognize their potential.
Brows by Amna® will always remain the foundation of my journey. It represents the years of hands-on experience, education, clients, trust, and professional growth that allowed me to reach this point. NYC Lash Elite™ is the next extension of that journey—taking what I have learned individually and creating a platform where that experience can benefit a much larger community.
Looking toward the future, I want to continue traveling, learning, teaching, and bringing knowledge from different parts of the world together. I want NYC Lash Elite™ to continue growing as a bridge between the U.S. beauty industry and the international beauty community while creating opportunities for established professionals, emerging artists, educators, women entrepreneurs, and independent brands.
My own journey has always been driven by one philosophy: **keep moving forward.**
Now, one of my greatest goals is to use what I have built to help the next generation move forward too.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nyclashelite.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threading_by_amna/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/browsbyamna
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrowsbyAmna
- Other: https://www.browsbyamna.com/
