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The Crew Reviews: Brow Sculpture

19 September, 2017 - 09:49pm by - Head Pixie | 13 Comments

By BR Kellie

When it comes to taking care of my eyebrows I am flat out lazy. I forget to pluck them. I let them grow down all the way towards my eyelid and a good inch above my brows. And they're groomed perhaps once in a blue moon - sometimes at the local $5 threading place where they always ask me if I want my hairy upper lip threaded (no, I do not, thank you very much), or in the small sterile room at the local nail place for $10. 

It's not that I hate my brows. I actually quite like them. They're a nice shape and I never overplucked as a teenager so there's a fair bit of hair going on there. But it's just not an area I pay attention to - heck, I will go out wearing a kilogram of makeup on my face and my brows will be bare. The dumb bit is I know very well that eyebrows can enhance the look of your face - and when you're well on the slide side to forty this is something I should be thinking about. At least The Universe clearly thinks I should be thinking about it, as recently it directed me - via something that popped up on my Facebook stream - to a business called The Brow & Tint Bar.

I happened to click on the link, got reading, and well, colour me intrigued. The Brow & Tint Bar is a business that specialises in something called eyebrow 'sculpture'. And it happens to be just up the road. And according to their website an appointment takes up to 60 minutes, so very much the opposite of the usual wham-bam-thank-you-maam-now-gimme-the-cash eyebrow places I'd dealt with in the past.

Pixie put on her detective cap and booked an appointment.

Here's my before eyebrow sculpture shot...

And a close up of one of the brows so you can enjoy their full bushiness. And would you appreciate the length? If brow length growing were an Olympic sport I feel I'd be in with the chance to win a medal.

First thing I did on meeting Alecia, the therapist/owner of The Brow & Tint Bar? I checked out her brows. They were magnificent. Full, perfectly shaped, and totally suited her. Post brow-inspection I began to grill her for information. It turns out Alecia is a fully qualified senior spa and beauty therapist, and she figured out rather quickly in her career that brows were her thing - she freely admits to being a touch OCD about ensuring they're perfect - which led her to being one of the first people in New Zealand to open a dedicated brow bar. 

As I sat back in the chair Alecia inspected my brows and asked if I would be open to a custom-blended brow tint, and went on to explain that my hair was a couple of shades darker than my eyebrows, and by deepening the colour it would help give them a fuller appearence while working in with my natural colouring. She also believed that once I tried brow tinting I'd never look back.

I have a rule of thumb when dealing with professionals:  let them do what they do best. So I said yes.

I must admit, I was nervous. I didn't want to come out looking like Cara Delevingne. I mean, the woman's gorgeous, and gives great brows. But I'm no supermodel/actress and the idea of people staring at me because I've got big bold brows... well, it sends me into a corner for a rocking session.

So on went the tint and crossed went my fingers. Well I would have crossed my fingers, but the service included a hand or scalp massage, and when you write for a living you never ever turn down a hand massage.

My inner-cynic was interested to see what a brow sculpture would entail. Well, let me tell you right now - quite a lot. Alecia looked at the shape and set of my eyes and the shape of my face, then out came a pencil and ruler and lines were drawn and arches were talked about. Apparently one of mine had been waxed/threaded incorrectly and was a touch bald with hair trying to grow back. Also, the inner part of my brows that had been waxed/threaded? Shouldn't have been. In fact where the hair grows naturally is perfect for my face - so those are in the process of being re-sprouted.

With all this in mind Alecia went to work waxing, then plucking, then reassuring me that although it felt like a lot of hair was being taken away it wouldn't look that way. Then she did something no therapist has EVER done before.

She brought out scissors. 

... And began to trim my eyebrows, while explaining that it would help them sit better, and in fact, along with the tint (and keeping in mind I keep my makeup really simple) that all I'd need to do was brush a spoolie through my brows and I'd be good to go.

Forty five odd minutes later and she was done. She passed me the mirror and asked me to inspect the brows and let her know if I wanted anything else done. I did mention one part looked a tad thinner, but she reminded me that was the arch area that had been over-plucked by previous therapists and showed where the hair was growing back in. She pointed out that one of my brows was a 'Chanel' the other was a 'KMart' and that the longterm goal was to turn the other into a Chanel. I loved this analogy so much.

The result?

Instalove. This wasn't any old place where your eyebrows are dealt to in a fast and furious fashion. At The Brow & Tint Bar your brows are treated with meticulous attention to detail, ensuring the end result is brows that compliment you while framing and enhancing your face, so that you walk out feeling really good about your brows and your self. And for $40* for a sculpture and custom-blended colour, oh and for brows that look like I've spent time doing them when I haven't? Total bargain. I won't be darkening the doorway of my local threading or nail salon again. And Alecia was right, I'm a tint convert. I'll be seeing her again in around a month.

So do tell... have you ever had a brow sculpture before? Are your brows in need of one? Are you tempted to go the extra mile to make your brow life that much better? Chat away...

*I paid for the treatment myself, out of my own pixie pocket, ensuring the review is fair and unbiased.

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Comments

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14th October, 2017

The result is great, so nice and tidy! I've never really bothered with my eyebrows, was always a bit worried someone would muck them up so I've never had anything done to them but I think I would definitely be keen if it's a place that specialises in brows.

26th September, 2017

I miss brow tint my eye brows go really light even get whitey blonde ones

25th September, 2017

I find that I really don't need to pluck my eyebrows now ha! As you get older you grown less hair there but I'm damn sure you grow more everywhere else!! They are also a bit thin so I need to fill in part of them every day

23rd September, 2017

I'm in need of a brow sculpture, I have thick eyebrows so i have to keep them maintained. I do them myself most of the time, but occasionally i get a professional do it if I feel like treating myself

21st September, 2017

Wow I love before and afters. Excellent

21st September, 2017

You look great - and this looks like less work (or rather the work on your brows you were doing) with results that look amazing! She sounds like a confident knowledgeable specialist - fantastic!

20th September, 2017

I know and love Alecia, she has worked so hard to build her business, I absolutely urge you to give her a try, you will not regret it!

20th September, 2017

I get my brows tinted and waxed every month. My beauty therapist is trying to reshape them after they fell out from my Graves Disease. She does a good job.

20th September, 2017

Great results!

20th September, 2017

I need to look into a little brow work. I'm much the same, full face of make up with little attention to my brows.

20th September, 2017

That's a good investment for those with really sparse brows and really need help. The look is really subtle and natural.

20th September, 2017

Very nice result, I'm always curious whether my brow shape would be changed a lot if I went to someone who was a brow sculptor...or just someone who knew about the shape of brow rather than just waxing. Thankfully I did get the advice to use scissors to trim my brows rather than only plucking from a beautician I was getting a facial from a few years ago - that little tidbit has helped me a lot.

20th September, 2017

I am so much like you and have never bothered with my brows -I do have a tidy brow naturally but I can see looking at your results that a brow sculpture certainly adds to your over all look and brings more attention to your eyes. Lovely look and really nicely done.

MareeB
20th September, 2017

Yeah, they get longer and look really manky as we age unfortunately - yep, another aging issue.....

MareeB
20th September, 2017

Oh! and yours look lovely Kellie :)

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