Imagine a world where women had no option but to pluck and wax brows into oblivion, and a time when brow pencils were limited to shades that were too dark, and formulations that flaked and crumbled. The world was such until 2004; enter centre stage Blink Brow Bar, when the over-plucked arches of the nineties were nursed to restoration with hero brow products designed to subtly enhance and define brows.
When in the brow chair at Fenwick Bond Street, Blink Brow Bar’s first location, customers yearned for a pencil that didn’t smudge, wasn’t too chalky and blended into their brow colour.
Enter the BBB Eyebrow Pencil: a wooden pencil with a wax-based formula that provided smudge-proof, long lasting colour. Available in five shades, from Chai for fair blondes, to Cardamom for the deepest brown-black brows, the Eyebrow Pencil quickly became an award-winning brow hero.
Fast-forward almost 20 years, and while trend-led brow products have come and gone, the humble eyebrow pencil remains a make-up bag staple. Although BBB has advanced since then, with retractable nibs and kabuki blending brushes, Blink Brow Bar believes in the beauty of basic: a wooden barrel that you can sharpen to the perfect point to create hair-like strokes, with a spoolie brush to allow for seamless blending.
Blink Brow Bar’s 20 Year Anniversary
To mark Blink Brow Bar’s 20-year anniversary in October 2024, the original Eyebrow Pencil has been reimagined with a limited-edition design in collaboration with London fashion label, Ahluwalia.
In a celebration of old and new, representing Vanita’s 20-year journey, this one-of-a-kind collaboration with Ahluwalia fuses culture, fashion and beauty. Honouring both female founders’ Indian heritage and London roots, the signature Ahluwalia ‘Joy’ print adorns the pencils in two exclusive colourways.
Blink Brow Bar Founder Vanita Parti says, “Our pencils were the first product I created when brows were not really a category in the beauty industry. They rapidly became an award-winning staple for everyone’s handbags, giving women confidence in their brows, and so I thought, why not make them as beautiful as possible and relaunch; an item to be cherished, celebrated that symbolises so much more than make up. Priya’s intricate design is a modern take on ‘sari’ in the Western world. The smallest details create the biggest impact. A similar thread running across both our brands.”
Pioneers in the fashion industry, Ahluwalia combine elements from the designer’s dual Indian-Nigerian heritage with a contemporary London feel.
Founder, Priya Ahluwalia, says: “Ahluwalia and Blink Brow Bar have shared values and innovative approaches within the fashion and beauty space and that’s why this partnership came together seamlessly. Similarly to Ahluwalia’s commitment to craftsmanship, innovation and cultural heritage, Blink Brow Bar offers rich traditional practices with innovative contemporary beauty services and products.”
20 Year Anniversary Eyebrow Pencil, £22
Available in five shades: Chai (cool blonde), Cinnamon (warm blonde), Indian Chocolate (warm brown), Clove (cool brown) and Cardamom (nearly black).
Available from 1st October at bbb-london.com and Blink Brow Bar locations nationwide.
About Blink Brow Bar
Established by founder Vanita Parti in 2004, Blink Brow Bar was created as a solution to the lack of expert threading services in London. A Londoner but having spent time in India, where basic brow care is a built-in part of every Indian woman’s beauty routine, Vanita sought to share the secret of the ancient Indian art of threading with British women. Blink fast became the leading authority on brows in the process and, quite literally, changed the face of brow care forever.
