Vanita Parti reflects on what she has learnt from last lockdown.
It was March 16th, there was lockdown, we had to put the shutters down on all our brow bars. Some may argue that there are bigger things to worry about but actually the fact that I hadn’t had time to thread my eyebrows and I no longer had my trusted blink therapists to keep my brows ship shape and my upper lip fuzz free, was high up on my stress Richter scale.
I am a pretty dab hand with a pair of tweezers but having recently been subscribed reading glasses made this task even more challenging and my upper lip - well sticky wax strips were the only answer and less than ideal. There is no doubt that I too had become dependent on the dexterity of the blink brow bar team. Now I needed to understand my brows again, form a relationship with them and get the best out of them.
It seemed I was not alone in my sense of panic. I was inundated with press queries as to how best to deal with feral brows and other excess facial hair. How to tame? How to dye? How to lift? Even though people weren’t stepping out of the house, brows mattered. We wanted to look in the mirror and feel groomed, feminine and have that lift in the brow arch to lift our eyes which in turn accentuate the cheekbones. All to give us that feeling of looking sculpted or at least groomed but in a less than obvious way.
My top tips were to get back to basics. A pair of tweezers, brow tamer, delicate brow scissors and a good pencil to fill or gel to keep brows in place. A little bit of practice and our customers were beginning to notice what a difference the right product made and the invaluable luxury of having time to practice. Beauty influencers embraced brows as they had never done before and our Instagram followers climbed as brows seemed to be the one thing that people found challenging and were not prepared to let go. It was not only grooming that mattered but lockdown provided the opportunity to take care of brows and lashes.
Our Lash Oil sales went through the roof as they were the perfect replacement for mascara or lashes exhausted from extensions. The lash oil is filled with 7 nourishing oils, Pantheonol, Rosemary and Bamboo. Vital ingredients to strengthen and moisturise delicate and often neglected lash hairs. Brow Oil also stepped in as a lockdown hero as it not only allowed for brows to be conditioned with Organic Almond Oil and Rosemary but had Lavender and Sandalwood to soothe and act as a sleep enhancer when rolled on to the temples during a particular stressful time.
My personal saviours were the Clear Brow Gloss as an instant shape was created by lifting and holding the brows with one sweep of the wand. Tweezers, as mentioned before where I used them as an interim solution to take out strays rather than tamper with shape (super grip for my stubborn hairs) and delicate brow trimmers. I also had the odd grey brow hair creeping in so used my trusted Brow Build to add colour but also lift and shape in preparation for Zoom Calls was an essential.
Keeping brows shaped is vital. By lifting the brow, creating an arch and highlighting the cheekbones, we create space around our eyes. A small difference for a big impact. They matter because we feel better and more confident when they look good. It is not really for anyone else, it doesn’t matter if we are not socialising, it is just for us. Our customers waited patiently for us to get their brows back on track but in the meantime online sales went quadrupled, it endorsed that brows are not an afterthought any more.
Everyone has a different brow need so make sure you you have the right tool kit at home to service your shade of brows and texture. Our product description and videos should help this this but please email if you have any queries on feedback@blinkbrowbar.com. When our doors are open keep checking in with the experts to ensure your brows doing go off piste.
I have had my brows done in preparation of this lock down, I have my personal brow tool favourites and am brow ready for lockdown this time round. I very much hope to see you all in 4 weeks!
