Today I'm going to talk about one of the most essential and simplest things yet very often be neglected by many people. It is about your EYEBROWS.
When it comes to facial beauty, people often pay much attention on their eyes or the nose as they are more visible instead of the eyebrows. In fact, eyebrows are so important that without them, our face looks horrible. I'm not exaggerating. If the eyes are the windows to our soul, then the eyebrows should be the curtain to make everything complete.
You can have the brightest eyes, prettiest smile, perfect hair and skin like this, but without eyebrows, you would look so weird.
WHY EYEBROWS ARE SO IMPORTANT TO OUR LIFE!
But the problem is, not everyone was born with perfect eyebrows. Some have too little hair, some are not balanced, some are too long while some are too short. And that where we need a professional help.
My eyebrows used to be very light, thin and mis-shaped. I hate it as it made my face look coarse. I had my first eyebrows tattoo in 2004 if I'm not wrong and it was hell so painful. The color has faded since then and turned purplish but I didn't want to redo it because it was really painful and I was lazy to be honest.
Until I was introduced by my friend Camile to her client's salon called HighBrow, I started considering about getting my eyebrows fixed. As what Camile introduced to me, Highbrow's signature service is eyebrows enliven which is totally different from eyebrows embroidery and it's pain-free. I trusted her! And 3 weeks ago, I went with Camile to Highbrow for my eyebrows enliven.
Arriving at their premises! First thing first, photo taking time.
It's located in a new shopping mall thus everything is so nice and clean. Their shopfront is so eye-catching too with bright lighting and beautiful exterior.
Andy- the Creative Director of Highbrow was the one did the eyebrows for me. I felt so special and privileged. My worry was gone immediately as I knew my eyebrows were in good hands ;). After all the formal introduction, he looked at my eyebrows and my face shape to define what would be my ideal brow shape.
And then, he drew few different brow shapes so that I could see how my face would look like with different shapes and I would pick one that I like most.
Look at the pencil he used to draw my eyebrows! It's so fine that I almost thought whatever he drew was my eyebrows hair, lolz.
Every single step he finished, he always let me to look at myself in the mirror and look at how the job done and whether I'm happy with it.
Here he was showing me some of his customers' before and after eyebrows photos. They look so different and of course the after photos are so much nicer.
Next step, there was an amount of numbing cream applied onto my brows. This was to prevent the pain would occur during the process.
While waiting for numbing cream to take effect, we made use of the big-ass DSLR camera that Camile brought along and took lot of photos.
Out of curiosity, I asked Andy "Why do you called it "Eyebrows Enliven" instead of "Eyebrows Embroidery"? Is there any difference?". He said "Yes" and so enthusiastically, he explained to me what are the differences.
Basically, Highbrow is the one that coined "Eyebrows Enliven" term and they are the only salon in Singapore that applies this technique. It's their trademark! I'm sure most of you heard about "Eyebrows Embroidery" or "Eyebrows Tattoo". And if you think this is their marketing strategy to change a common method to a different name with purpose of making themselves different from the rest, you are wrong! Just shut up and read please!!!!
I'm sure there must be reason(s) why HighBrow is so proud to call themselves a pioneer in this. Here are the main two reasons:
1. Tools
This is used for eyebrows embroidery. It's a hard, metal cover of 9 to 11 prong needles blade. Because the cover is made of metal, it can only allow you to draw straight lines due to its hardness.
HighBrow's pens? They are all designed by Andy himself with his rich experience of more or less 20 years in this business. After designing process, they will give the needle specification to their manufacturer to come out with these:
Their blade covers are made of rubber, thus they are not so hard to use. It has so much flexibility and freedom to create whatever shape you want. I tried to draw a eyebrow arch using both pens and I'm telling you, the Highbrow pens are so much easier to use. They create such natural curve and fine lines. Not to mention, Highbrow even designed different blade sizes for different types of eyebrow hair in our eyebrows. This is because our hair at beginning of eyebrow is always finer than the one on the arch area so logically, they can't use the same blade size.
2. Technique.
Technique is the utmost important thing that differentiates the good and the bad in any service. While eyebrows embroidery works on dermis layer of your skin (where the collagen and fibers are located), eyebrows enliven at Highbrow only works on the epidermis layer (the outside layer of the skin that contains nothing but dead skin cells). Therefore, it will not penetrate the inner layers or blood vessels which cause brows to change color after time.
*Photo for your better understanding.
Lastly, Andy applied some amounts of ink onto my brows. He asked me what color would I like for my brows and I preferred it to be as close as my hair color so I chose dark brown. Once done, he started drawing and drawing til he satisfied with its look :D
You want to see how it turned out?
Here you go!
Tadah ~_~
THIS IS MY BEFORE PHOTO!
You might not notice my before eyebrows because I drew it whenever I went out. But here is my before photo in case you are wondering:
Nice shape? I drew it. Without make-up, my eyebrows almost don't exist. :(
and here is my after photo:
YAY for thicker eyebrows! :D
For that, I must say! I'm so pleased with their eyebrows enliven service. I think i look younger with a thicker eyebrows too, don't you think? Super love it! I'm super happy with the result because I no longer have to draw my eyebrows anymore. I hate it especially whenever I'm late for work.
Before I left the salon, Highbrow gave me some aftercare cream and nourish essence to use at home for 5- 7 days.
These are their own inventions too.
After all was done, I only had time to take a look at their entire salon :p.
VIP treatment room where I had my eyebrows enliven.
Some in-house products displayed at the waiting area.
Salon interior. They have total 5-6 treatment rooms if I'm not wrong. The chairs are comfortable, the environment is cozy, staffs are friendly, they will definitely make you feel like home.
Not to mention, the Creative Director- Andy is so friendly and warm hearted. You can ask him everything about eyebrows and he will tell you everything that he knows.
And finally, a group photo with Highbrow team.
Thank you for the awesome service and professionalism.
Say Cheese for nice brows at Highbrow
Do you have problem with your eyebrows too? Don't hesitate to call them, they are very helpful and experienced.
Of if you want to visit their salon, here is their address:
Highbrow
The Star Vista #B1- 25, 1 Vista Exchange Green, S138617
Tel: 6694 2777.
Before I end this blog entry, I know you might have some questions for me. Very common questions are:
1. Is it safe?
I must say: YES! IT IS SAFE as Highbrow emphasizes on high standards of cleanliness and sterilization. Their products and tools are
used one-time only for one customer's treatment and disposed after. As the treatment only takes place in
the outermost layer of skin (epidermis layer), the whole process is clean and painless.
2. How long does it last?
3. How much does it cost?
Prices are various. You might need to ring them and ask 6694 277. Don't forget to mention "Crystal Phuong" when making appointment ;).
4. Is it difficult to take care and maintain?
No. In fact, it's pretty easy to take care of your eyebrows within first week after the eyebrows enliven. You only need to avoid contacting with water, scrubbing your brows as much as possible and don't forget to apply the after care cream for at least 5 days. That's it!
So yeah, i hope it's useful enough for you to decide whether or not you should get your eyebrows enliven. If you have not done it before, I would strongly recommend you to go for it. C'mon! Your brow is frame of your face, give it some loves.
If you go to Highbrow and get your brows done, don't forget to show me some photos here and share with me your experience, I would love to hear that :D
Til then, stay happy and chic!
Love,
Crystal