Brow-tiful

Because I promised to update you on my brow-tiful (eyebrow embroidery) experience…

I had my retouch session with Tin Lucas / Eyebrow Embroidery Manila last June 12. Yes, Independence Day at that! Seeing Tin again is like meeting up with an old friend. She inspected my brows, and drew points and lines where she said she will improve on, fix and fill in any areas needing correction or modification. I asked if she can extend or darken a bit the ‘begin brow’ of my left brow and she asked me to draw it so she can see what I meant. And this time I was prepared, I brought my contact lens kit so I can remove my contacts before the procedure, to allow my eyes to rest as they’d be closed most of the time. Waited 45 minutes to allow the numbing ointment to take effect, then the browjob began.

It was still a painless procedure, but you can feel the strokes of the needle as it mimics the direction of my real brow hair. I don’t know if it’s because it was the second time already, but I felt it was shorter, faster this time. She handed me the mirror to ask if she was able to do what I wanted with my begin brow, and yes, it was ok. Wow, this time, I saw blood on my brows (during the first time, I didn’t) but it wasn’t scary, don't be alarmed. My brows were swollen when I was putting on my contacts. “Talaga bang ganyan ka-red?” I asked Tin. I was worried I looked awful because I was going to the mall afterwards. I kept on asking Alex if I looked alright. And he said I looked fine.

This is me after the procedure, and having lunch in SM SouthMall (click on each photo for a closer look):

Again, I was not to wet my eyebrows for at least 24 hours. I was advised to use the A&D ointment until they are healed. Just after a week, they are ok and I was surprised that it took me just about a week for healing. I showed them to my husband, “Parang ang bilis gumaling this time,” I said. “Baka hindi na masyadong nasugatan, unlike the first,” he said, but he asked me to ask Tin if that was normal to be sure. Tin said, healing varies from person to person. “Iba-iba,” she said. I also said I was just worried that I did something wrong, or I wasn’t following instructions right. Maybe it’s because of my regular Vitamin C and E intake. Whatever.

My brows after a day:

After two days:

After six days:

All I need is lipstick and these beautiful brows :)

After a week (just after taking a shower):

After almost 2 weeks:

Two weeks after:

I am really happy with this experience. And for entering the wonderful world of eyebrow embroidery. I didn’t realize that this could change my life. Well, it sounds dramatic, but for someone who does her brows every day, this is just amazing. My only objective and all I ever wanted was to have brows right after waking up, or taking a bath/shower, or washing my face. And it was achieved.

In our President's birthday luncheon, Rico, a good friend and one of the bosses, said he has long wanted to visit me. Why, I asked. "Para makita yang kilay mo."

The clincher was when Bong, a male colleague, after a meeting, told me, "Pam, I can say now that I have finally seen the famous eyebrows. At last I have seen them in person. And it's true, ang ganda nga." That cracked me up. 

After the meeting

I still use my L'Oreal Brow Artist, though, to further enhance them. I even bought a new brow tool from Etude. I guess, old habits die hard. But to use a stencil or to take minutes just to shape them, then erase if I don’t like them, nah! No more of that. No more smudging, smearing or fading after swimming, jogging, sweating, working out.  My brows look natural and subtle, and I just love them. I love the days when I am make-up free and all I need is a lipstick and I’m ready to go.

It’s only semi-permanent so my brows will be with me for two years. And after that, I might need a retouch. I’ll save up for that again. Until then, they make me look great! And I feel great, too.

If you are interested in having permanent make-up, 3D brows, eyebrow embroidery, eyebrow tattoo, feathering, stranding (however you call it), make sure you do your research thoroughly – choosing the tattoo expert, or artist/cosmetic technician, procedures, cost, advantages and disadvantages. Consider most importantly yourself and your readiness – are you afraid of needles? of blood? How’s your pain tolerance? Is your skin sensitive? Don’t be afraid. Don’t be shy to ask around. Every day I see more and more eyebrow artists emerging, check out Facebook so you can compare. Permanent make-up is like a normal thing nowadays, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Bottom line is, you’re doing it for yourself. It’s perfectly alright to look good and feel good. And that’s something that cannot be taken away from you.

For my previous blog entries on my browjob, please visit:

Browmance Part 1 

BrowJob Part 2 

BrowJob Part 3 

You can also get to know Tin Lucas at

Make Up by Kristine http://www.makeupbykristine.com/

Kristine's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/kristinelucasmakeupartist/

~TheGoodGirl

BrowJob (Part 3)

To those asking for updates, 3 weeks have passed since my eyebrow embroidery from Eyebrow Embroidery Manila / Kristine Lucas. 

My eyebrows are now on their fourth week. They’re all dry now, scabs have all fallen off, and the colors have resurfaced, they’re no longer light. I can put on brow liner and powder if I want to. Down side? None yet. Although I cannot and will not be able to use facial products with lightening ingredients on my eyebrows. Up side? Well, I can really say, I woke up like this! And after taking a shower, wow, they look great. My prep time in the mornings has been reduced. I don’t touch it anymore except with an eyebrow spoolie. The “hairs” look natural to me. It’s as if my eyebrows have just been made up. I like the shape. When we went on a family outing a week ago, I was advised by Tin not to make “babad” in the water. It’s ok if some pool water gets on them but not too much, since they were still fresh. 

I like it when people stop to ask if they can take a look, and I don’t mind them asking me questions. In fact, I encourage them to ask me and I like it when people are interested to know more about it. I love my eyebrow embroidery experience. No regrets.

Ayan sya on my 1st week

On my 1st week

A week after

98% of the scabs have fallen off. Some areas are lighter, may look weird to some people. Colors will fade up to 60% and will resurface  in about 2 weeks

Ang light niya

Work in progress, two weeks

Two weeks after. Tin said I could put on brow make up if I wanted to

Three weeks

This is me. This is real. I love my brows!

My next session (retouch) with Tin is on June 11.  I will keep you posted.

Till then, you may check out Kristine Lucas’ portfolio:
Make Up by Kristine

Kristine's Facebook page
and my past two blog entries
Browmance Part 1
BrowJob Part 2

~TheGoodGirl 

BrowJob (Part 2)

So it’s now or never. Location, rate and client satisfaction considered, I finally chose Kristine Lucas / Eyebrow Embroidery Manila for my most awaited eyebrow embroidery experience. I wanted to meet her last April 16, but there was no slot available anymore, so we settled on April 23, 6pm.

I would go over Tin’s Facebook page again and again to look at her past clients and their before&after photos. A plus factor is her being a make-up artist. A MUA should know eyebrows too well, as brows would really make or unbreak one’s made up face. You may wish to take a look at her portfolio:
http://www.makeupbykristine.com/ 
http://www.facebook.com/kristinelucasmakeupartist/

I was also worried on how my brows would look after the procedure. Magsi-sick leave ba ako pag ayan na ang downtime?

And so the day has come.

My brows were still made up when I arrived. Tin said they looked really thin (pardon the pun), she asked me if I wanted shading. I was hesitant. But when she took off the make-up, she said the hairs naman pala look ok, so there’s no need. 3D or 3HD would do. After drawing mock brows as her guide, and asking me if I am ok with that, the browjob began.

Topical anesthesia was applied and we waited for 45 minutes for it to take effect. My husband was there all along. Tin showed me the needle that she would use on me. It was actually painless. If you are afraid of needles, or if you think it would hurt, believe me, it won’t. Well, it helped that I am a person whose pain tolerance is so high that I fall asleep during Brazilian wax. As I told Tin, mas nafeel ko pa yung Brazilian laser hair removal than this. You can just feel the needle strokes, but they don’t hurt. The procedure went for an hour. Then Tin said I could take a look in the mirror. The shade that she used on me was “mudpie.” She applied cream on them for healing as last step. Ta-dah!

Going home, I felt like I have a wound (as the anesthesia wore off) but you could tell that I am pleased with my brows. I can’t wait until they are completely healed. After-care tips include not wetting it for 24 hours, applying the healing cream 3 x a day (dabs or pats only, no wiping, swabbing, scrubbing), and no swimming / gym in the meantime. And while it’s healing, I can’t put anything on it.

According to Tin: "The eyebrows will seem very dark as the ink is left on the skin but will be washed away by scabbing and peeling of the top layer of the skin.”

“When the skin peels off, it will seem like a lot of the color is gone, but it will resurface in another 2 or 3 weeks. After which, the color should be about 60% of the color of the 1st day of procedure.”

“Retouch, to correct areas that were not filled and add more color will be done 60 days after to achieve the best result.”

This is me, this is real, pre-appointment:

Brow shaping before the procedure:

During:

Freshly done:

My after-procedure look:

The morning after (yes, I woke up like this!):

Two days after:

Well, I have to park my brow tools for now. I am going to enjoy my new brows for the next 24 months :)

For additional information, please visit https://eyebrowembroiderymanila.com/2015/07/06/what-is-the-difference-between-3d-eyebrow-embroidery-strand-embroidery-and-shading-embroidery/

If you are interested in eyebrow embroidery, please let me know. Or feel free to ask me questions. I am more than happy to share this browjob experience.

~TheGoodGirl

Browmance (Part 1)

Back when they were still “virgin brows,” they were neither thick nor sparse. They were in fact just right. But when I started to pluck them 10 or 12 years ago, and do them every day with eyebrow pencils, that’s when the hairs started to become thin.

And yes, I have to do my brows every single day. Except for gel brow liners, I have tried a lot of brow liner and powder brands. So far, my favorite is L’Oreal’s Brow Artist Designer Pro in dark brown. It’s a 3-in-1 tool – you have a retractable pencil, powder, and brush. I don’t buy expensive tools though. I am contented with a Nichido brow brush. I also have brow stencil kits. I can go out without face powder or lipstick, but not without my brows. Without them, I look older, and I look like there’s something missing from my face. Doing them every day is ok, I don’t mind, but sometimes they would smudge, and when I have to wash my face, I have to do them all over again. Minor lang naman but what if you go swimming, or running, pag nabasa na face mo, or you get sweaty, baka kumalat. Unless you wear the waterproof kind.

Tools of the trade

Every time a make-up artist would do my face, I would have to explain what happened to my brows.

“Bakit manipis?”

“Ewan ko ba, paggising ko, ganyan na eh.”

Sometimes I like what they’ve done to my brows, sometimes not really. My favorite so far is Raymond Isais’ soft take on my brows (my look last December 2015 Christmas Party, please refer to my blog profile pic). Follow him at IG @raymondisais

That is why when I heard of eyebrow embroidery, my curiosity was piqued. In one of the groupon sites, I saw a promo in a salon in Makati. I thought, what if I try it? When I was in Bangkok last year, there was a stall inside a mall that offers 3D brows, and I think one or two of my agent-companions tried the service. True enough, the following day, they had eyebrows like forever, as if they have been there all along. They were lovely but they looked so made up.

I have also read of horror stories, wherein clients didn’t like the finished product. The brows look dark on them, masakit, hindi maganda ang shape, etc.  I would also remember some celebrities who had them, and the brows looked so unnatural. Halatang ginawa. I heard of Pretty Looks, but I thought it was too expensive. Think of Ellen Adarna. Lakas maka-ganda. Watching the video, I said to myself, mukhang kaya ko naman. Mukhang hindi naman masakit. Paano kaya ang after-care nito? Every day, I would type “eyebrows” in the Facebook search bar, hoping to see other people who are offering the same service, and I would check out their pages, the “after” photos look so good, and I would be inspired all the more. I-push ko ba ito? There are rates as low as 3k. But the price is too good to be true.

Finally, my choices were narrowed down into two. One Sunday, I sent personal messages to Strokes by Momoi Supe, and to Eyebrow Embroidery Manila. The rates were from Php10,000 to 14,000. Pwede na. Medyo affordable na compared to the Php20-25k+ rates of other artists/salons. But you would have to schedule an appointment as the slots are limited, especially for me who could only go during weekends. I also inquired about the downtime. I couldn’t imagine going to the office looking like someone who had a cosmetic surgery. Yung warts removal nga, ayokong patulan, because of the tuldok-tuldok marks after.

So these are the eyebrow embroidery details I got from them:

https://www.facebook.com/strokesbymomoisupe/

• It is a semi-permanent tattoo that can last up to 2 years. The procedure costs 14,000 - Master ES (Momoi Supe) and 10,000 - Senior ES (Keighty Wong).
• They only accept cash payments for now. It is inclusive of retouch after 6 weeks. It will take 1.5 hours to do the procedure.
• 15mins. - Eyebrow Shaping, 30mins. - Topical Anesthesia Curing and 45mins. - EE Procedure
• A topical anesthesia is applied before and during the procedure to lessen or totally eliminate pain.
• They have only 1 branch and strictly by appointment only.
• There is peeling afterwards 1-2 weeks, darkening 2-3 days before scabs/peel off then lighten.

https://www.facebook.com/eyebrowembroiderymanila/?pnref=story

• They have an ongoing 30% discount on eyebrows. The original rate for 3HD is 12k,  this is the strand type, very natural. After discount, it will be 8,400 only.
• 6HD is 15k, it’s the more bushy look with varying hair length and shades. Shading is 8k, similar to old tattoo style but more natural in color. They also have 30% discount on 6HD & shading eyebrow services for April.
• Lip tint is 6k and eyeliner is 4k.
• Kristine Lucas is a Singapore & U.S. certified girl makeup artist for 8 years.
• The eyebrows will look dark for about 3 days and then it will peel for another 4 days, so total of 1 week downtime

Php8,400 to 10k – not bad, I thought. I would just have to make a choice as to when and where. I asked my husband to accompany me if and when I do decide to undergo this thing called eyebrow embroidery.

Stay tuned for BrowJob (Part 2).

~TheGoodGirl