January 4, 2010

Benefit Brow Bar - 15 minutes that will change your life!

In December while I was at the Toronto Murale store, I was fortunate enough to meet Chelsea Meraw, Benefit's Brow Bar Executive Manager. Chelsea is so passionate about what she does that you can't help but get swept up along with her! This past weekend, Chelsea was kind enough to agree not only to take care of my never-before- been-professionally groomed brows but also answer a whole slew of questions!




Can you tell us a little about your background with Benefit?
I have been with Benefit for over a year as Benefit Canada’s guru on the world of Brow Bars and brow shaping. I take the lead on our training and education for aestheticians in Holt Renfrew and Murale.

What sort of training does a brow bar expert receive?
Benefit’s aestheticians all undergo a comprehensive Brow Bar induction training and have a flare of make-up-ista to them. We have our own unique approach to our method to shaping the perfect “Benefit Brow”. That being said, our training program is specific to the point where all aestheticians Bene-scan and shape brows the same way! You can go to any Brow Bar in the world and expect the same quality and standard of service.

What is the most common mistake (or mistakes) that you see people making with their brows?
My Top Brow “Don’ts”:
AVOID OVER-TWEEZING YOUR BROWS! -maintain the natural shape; thin brows make you look older -leave your brow shaping to the experts, just one or two wrong plucks can drastically affect the shape of your brow
AVOID TWEEZING BETWEEN YOUR BROW APPOINTMENTS: -This will allow your hair to be at an even growth pattern and provide easier maintenance between appointments
BROWS THAT HOOK DOWN: -I can spot these babies from a mile away! You know the ones that go down at the start of the brow? -These brows bring the eye down, we need to level off that hook, reset the frame and lift the eye back up!

How do you feel about male brow grooming?
Men should have two eyebrows, not one! For men we should really focus on the term “grooming” vs. “shaping” or “waxing“. Benefit has a growing number of male clients at our Brow Bars, yet many are still nervous to go forward with their “brow intervention”. Step one with grooming the brows is trimming; nipping off the long bits that exceed the natural shape of the brow. Step two is cleaning strictly the fuzz at the top, bottom and hairs in the middle.

Can you tell us about the process someone going to the brow bar would go through when having their brows done?
The most popular service at a Brow Bar is a brow arch for $23 and next to that is a tweeze for $19. We also do full facial waxing. As part of any waxing service a makeup application is included as part of your service. It’s really your one stop shop, you don’t even need an appointment; we always welcome drop-in customers! This is your perfect stop for that last minute on a Friday, as our wax is very gentle! It is an exclusive pearl wax we import from France. It adheres to only the hair not the skin and is still moisturizing and soothing. You are in and out within 20 minutes! A consultation is always included prior to your waxing service to measure out your brow, so we can determine the best brow for your eye! The brow should start at the corner of the eye, arch at the edge of the iris and extend to were the outer corner of the eye meets the brow. This will determine exactly where we need to wax, and we don’t forget to trim the longer brows! The Benefit Brow is a fuller, brow with a high arch and full extension. Next we are going to complete your service with some of our favorite products!

Can you tell us a little about the Benefit products you use for the brows?
We fill in the blanks and really “wow your brows” with some of Benefit’s products that will enhance the eye. Brow Zings is a great product to fill in the brows; it’s a compact with a wax and powder that allows you to fill in any sparse areas or to add extra definition. Next I would use our linen pink highlighting pencil High Brow. In a two step of draw and blend, it will be your instant eye opener to really enhance the brows! Brow Zing retails for $36 and High Brow for $25. Due to the popularity of our Brow Zings and High Brow, in July Benefit launched our “Brows A Go Go” our all in on kit for enhancing the eyes and Brows. It comes with 2 shades of brow powder, 1 shade of brow wax, High Brow, Eye Bright, a black kohl liner pencil and a mini pair of tweezers that are magnetized to the compact. This retails for $48 and is exclusive in Canada to Brow Bars in Murale and Holt Renfrew.

What is your favourite non-brow Benefit product?
My favourite non brow related Benefit product is definitely Crescent Row! Benefit launched 3 new Crescent Row fragrances geared to helping you find the scent to match your personality. There is “Laugh with me Lee Lee”, “Something About Sophia” and “Your Place or Mine Gina”. The fragrances were inspired from Bath, England’s Royal Crescent and are housed in Victorian flasks which are kept in a house resembling the personality of each of the girls. Take the Crescent Row quiz to unlock your inner sense! http://www.crescentrow.com/

What do you do when you aren't ridding the world of unruly brows?
During my downtime when I am not waxing brows, I am a huge fitness freak and love to spend time at the gym, my latest hobby I have taken up is golfing and if time permits I love to coach gymnastics classes for children.

Thanks to my RapidLash, Chelsea had something to work with! You can see that it isn't a drastic change, my brows just look more defined and polished, getting rid of the fuzzy bits and trimming the hair along the top is what made the biggest difference! You will be pleased or possibly disturbed to know that I also got my husband to give it a try ( I convinced him it was for the greater good of the blog). Chelsea did a great job with an obviously reluctant, ready-to-bolt man! Even he had to admit it looked great and the waxing was much easier then trying to tweeze the little hairs inbetween the brows. What was great was that she didn't mess with the brows themselves just trimmed the long hairs and then cleaned up all the stray hairs and fuzz around them. In the end he had nicer, manly brows! If you can talk your beloved into it, I highly recommend it, it's so much easier then chasing after them with a pair of tweezers! Chelsea was also kind enough to send me a copy of the Benefit brow graph so you can see how they map out your brow at the brow bar or should you want to try a Benefit brow at home.




the Benefit brow graph

the brow graph The beginning: • The brow should begin at the edge of the eye closest to the nose. (point A) The arch: • The arch should begin at the outside edge of the iris. (point B) The end of the brow: • The brow should end where an imaginary diagonal line from the corner of the nostril to the outside corner of the eye meets the brow (point C). The height of the brow: • Section the entire eyelid into 3rds. • The top of the lash line to the crease is 1/3 of the eyelid. • From the crease of the eyelid to the brow should be 2/3.
How to draw the graph The top line: • At the top of the brow, draw one line from point A to point B. • Draw another line at the top of the brow from point B to point C. The lower line: • At the bottom of the brow, draw one solid line from point A to point C, arching the line slightly upward at point B.
Image 1: A perfect Benefit brow graph                         Image 2: The end result... the Benefit brow!

What Chelsea said that sticks with me the most is that "brows are sisters, not twins" so I am going to stop obsessing that they aren't exactly the same and now be happy that they are now perfectly groomed! I highly recommend that you go check out Benefit's Brow Bar for yourself! You can find it at Murale and any Holt Renfrew that has a Benefit counter.

- Lisamarie -

7 comments:

  1. Do all Murale stores have this service?

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  2. I'm on my way now! :)

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  3. brows make the biggest difference! I go to anastasia brow bar at sephora and it has made such a difference to my face. :)

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  4. Its amazing what brow pencil/wax/colour can do! I haven't gotten the hang of it yet, it's either too dark, or I make it un even lol

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  5. And I have my appointment this Saturday woohoo!

    -christelle-

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  6. I agree Lorien - the Benefit girl made it seem so easy when she did it, but I'm finding it just like going to the hairdressers - you can never quite recreate the look at home! Practice makes perfect I guess!

    Best, Lisamarie

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