Thursday, April 18, 2013

Tinted Brows Are Thicker Brows

Some time ago, I was invited by Boom Boom Brow Bar in NYC for a complimentary brow tint. I've never heard of tinting my brows before, so I was properly intrigued. After all, anything that makes my brows look less bald is a win in my book.

What happens is: the brow specialist applies a vegetable-based color onto your eyebrows (like above) and leaves it on for ten minutes to develop. Afterwards, your eyebrows will look darker and fuller. Depending on the dryness of your skin, you may experience a tingling sensation—I felt it at the tail end of the session, but it was in no way uncomfortable.

While chatting away at the chair, a tidbit I garnered from the specialist is we should only pluck/wax our brows once a month. Apparently, our hair's growth cycle is 28 days and if we tweeze in between that time, we will cause the hair to have a second growth cycle. I interpret that as having brow hair grow on different schedules, which I guess does make grooming a huge hassle.

Unfortunately, I only have shoddy iPhone pictures to show for the before-and-after, but I can confidently say that my brows, while not Cara Delevingne perfect, looked considerably fuller than before. I'll still have to fill it in to get the look I want, but I also feel less naked when going out sans brow pencil.

A brow tint is $22 at Boom Boom Brow Bar. They also offer a full range of hair-removal services. The location is quite small and they only have something like five chairs available at a time, so while walk-ins are possible, I would suggest that you make an appointment before heading there.


Boom Boom Brow Bar
35 7th Avenue (between 12th and 13th St)
New York, NY 
212.229.2666

Monday, April 15, 2013

Lipstick Bandits: The Coral Conundrum


HOW TO BLAHG? My response to the empty draft that was this post. I'm out of shape even though my day job requires me to write for ten hours (or maybe it's precisely because of that?). I miss blogging but I have to say I've been enjoying my hiatus. It's been the first time in years that I didn't have to do anything on weekends.

Moving on, what brought me back today is a new installment of Lipstick Bandits, and this time we're tackling coral. As many of the troop will tell you, we don't know what color coral is supposed to be. I've been told it's something between pink and red, but I've definitely seen "corals" that lean orange. I feel like it's one of those colors (like taupe) that have no real meaning anymore because everyone just uses the word to describe a broad range of color.

But it's true we've never tackled the hue before, so here we are. The one I'm wearing in the picture is Le Métier de Beauté Riviera. A makeup artist once told me that Riviera is a "true coral," and I can definitely see the pink peeking out from the red. Maybe this is it?

*Swatches and product photos are absent because I took these a long time ago (look at that winter-dry skin!) and I'm a rusty blogger. Sorry.


Other fun things in this photo: Shiseido Luminizing Eye Color Trio in Pink Sands and JINsoon Nail Polish in French Lilac and Poppy Blue. Catbird Rings.


Other Bandits:

Products Used:
Rouge Bunny Rouge Time Defying Foundation in Wheat Cream
Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in Light
Guerlain Perles du Paradis Meteorites
Benefit Dandelion Blush
RMS Living Luminizer
Suqqu Balancing Eyebrow Palette in Moss Green
Shiseido Luminizing Eye Color Trio in Pink Sands
Pop Beauty Peak Performance Mascara in Blackest Black
Le Métier de Beauté Riviera Lipstick
JINsoon Nail Polish in French Lilac and Poppy Blue