In a moment of reckless (OK, pre-planned) pampering last Tuesday I decided to book myself into Liberty's new Blink Bar, desperate get my brows and upper lip threaded. The latter was, let's say, embarrassingly overdue. (Don't you find the older you get the longer they get? Why is that? Do we need extra warmth or something? Greater protection from the elements? Or is it because as our sight and hearing fuzz over time we need the whiskers to better assess our surroundings? Lolz. I digress...)
Blink and you'll miss it
A fantastic addition to their beauty floor, Liberty have cleverly positioned their new brow bar at the back of the ground floor (where the sunglasses used to be). The great news about this is that it's much more private than many of the other Blink bars, demurely tucked away behind a slight partition wall and with the chairs facing the wall.
I've been to Blink before (at Fenwick, also good) so was familiar with their service and the price, which let's face it, isn't cheap; £19 for an eyebrow thread and £10 for upper lip. The thing is, though and I speak from some AWFUL experiences at smaller threading pop ups (the kind where you pay £4), is that the Blink therapists seem to be consistently good and genuinely listen to what you're after and will feel comfortable with. I heard a rumour once (which I'm unable to verify on their website) that Blink therapists have to have been threading for a minimum of 7 years and undergo extensive mentoring once taken on by the brand. If anyone has any more detail on this I'd love to know.
Why trust is key
Price aside, when trust exists between therapist and client the experience will more often than not reap good results. Why? Because trust is built upon questions and answers. A good therapist will discuss what you're after before the treatment and will check that you're happy before you leave.
One would assume brows would be a one-approach-suits-all treatment but far from it. A bad brow wax or an under-par threading can be like having to live with a bad haircut, waiting weeks for it to grow out.
I've got friends who have completely lucked out and found fabulous threading technicians within tucked away, rather unglamorous pop ups 'just down the road'. On average they pay approximately £7 for a brow and an upper lip thread, a whopping 79% cheaper than the cost for me to have the same treatment at Blink.
But is it the same?
Be clear about what you want
There are some fantastic threading specialists out there, lots of whom are slowly building up their own client base from the corner of a hair salon or down in the basement of a local beauty parlour. If you're new to threading then of course I would highly recommend Blink (ask for Zara if heading to Liberty, she's fabulous) but I'd also encourage you to ask your friends. Where do they go? You never know, they might know someone brilliant who charges less than a tenner!
Threading Tips
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| A facial-fuzz-free me just two hours after my brow and lip thread at Blink (notice no redness!) |
Price aside, when trust exists between therapist and client the experience will more often than not reap good results. Why? Because trust is built upon questions and answers. A good therapist will discuss what you're after before the treatment and will check that you're happy before you leave.
One would assume brows would be a one-approach-suits-all treatment but far from it. A bad brow wax or an under-par threading can be like having to live with a bad haircut, waiting weeks for it to grow out.
I've got friends who have completely lucked out and found fabulous threading technicians within tucked away, rather unglamorous pop ups 'just down the road'. On average they pay approximately £7 for a brow and an upper lip thread, a whopping 79% cheaper than the cost for me to have the same treatment at Blink.
But is it the same?
 |
| Ghosts of bad threading experiences past... |
Be clear about what you want
There are some fantastic threading specialists out there, lots of whom are slowly building up their own client base from the corner of a hair salon or down in the basement of a local beauty parlour. If you're new to threading then of course I would highly recommend Blink (ask for Zara if heading to Liberty, she's fabulous) but I'd also encourage you to ask your friends. Where do they go? You never know, they might know someone brilliant who charges less than a tenner!
Threading Tips
- Don't let anyone rush you. Whether you're paying £4 or £20 the therapist is providing you with a service and will be working on your face (something you can't hide if it goes wrong!) so don't be afraid to ask questions before or during the threading if you feel they're taking too much away.
- Ask for a natural curve. There's no need to have a steep arch, brows should have a subtle curve and length. This will really help to open the eyes and shape the face.
- Avoid having hair taken off the top. Unless you're really hairy there's not really any need to thread above the brow. Taking away the hairs in between the brow is fine and trimming the longer inner hairs is fine too, as long as they don't make your brows too 'boxy'.
Brow makeup
Thanks to the rise in popularity of the bolder brow (thanks Cara) there are some simply fantastic and affordable brow makeup products out there. I'm a huge fan of brow mascaras as they provide a quick way to darken or shape brows in the morning. I'm also warming to the new generation of brow pencils which seem to have come a huge way since their chalky cousins.
I tend to comb my brows once a day (a quick way to shape the face and open the eyes) but if I'm going out or meeting someone I'll tend to spend 30 seconds or so adding definition with either a pencil, brow mascara or both.
Brow products I'm loving right now
- ModelCo Thickening Brow Mascara (£13 plus shipping) - this brow mascara is much smaller in size compared to lots of other brow mascaras which makes storing it in your makeup bag a cinch, plus I think the shade for blondes is bang on and the fibres are great for cheating a natural thicker brow. Huge fan! (Btw, this is very similar in size to Benefit's Gimme Brow, £18.50, but the blonde shade is too dark for me and I much prefer the texture of the ModelCo one).
- Maybelline Brow Drama (£4.99) - Sam Chapman of the Pixiwoo dynasty is a big fan and I have tested it but the bulky packaging and slightly too-liquidy formula keeps me going back to ModelCo
- Blink Bar Brow Definer (£15) - Zara at Liberty's brow bar used the shade 'Cinammon Spice' on me which was perfect (not their lightest shade). She drew a line at the base of the thickest part of my brow and then drew in slight hairs, copying the direction of growth. A quick brush up with a clean spooly, followed by a single coat of brow mascara and my brows have never looked as thick or as natural. Super impressed.
Do you have a favourite threading technician or brow product? Or horror story?! I'd love to know.
Nx
Image credit: Blink Bar
Image credit: Blink Bar
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