A top make-up artist from New York once told me that the most amazing thing he finds about Asian women is the way we work on our eyebrows. “Asian women are such experts at doing their own eyebrows, and they look really good!” were his exact words.       

I’d like to think that when he said those words, I was included in that group – because God knows how anal I am about my eyebrows. In fact, I’m so anal that I’ve never been satisfied with any makeovers I’ve ever had, simply because I’ve never found someone who could do my eyebrows the way I do them. Actually – one exists – her name is Geraldine Loy  and she is an amazing, amazing artist!        

Anyway, there are two now. And her name is Maki Ho.          

 

I met Maki last week at Benefit’s Brow Bar refresher event. She is dubbed Benefit’s Brow Queen of Asia – with more than 10 years of experience handling eyebrows – and together with Wing Wu, who is the brand’s Regional Trainer, made the formidable duo of Benefit’s Brow Authority.             

The two lovely ladies from Hong Kong were in town to meet and greet media members and bloggers, and basically give us all a lesson in eyebrows – and how to work them to work for you.     

Getting your eyebrows shaped falls into the category of the little, effortless things you can do to make a big difference to the way you look. Beautifully shaped brows lights up the face, and the effect is kinda like a mini facelift – and I got to discover this the best way - on me!     

The best thing about Benefit’s Brow Bar is its “Drop in now” policy, which means no appointment is needed – you just go, and you’ll get your brows done. I truly appreciate this – I’ve had such bad experiences with rude beauty assistants that tell me they’re too busy to tend to my needs!              

So why wax?              

• Your hair takes longer to grow out.
• Shape is maintained for up to 3-4 weeks.
• It’s hygienic, as all waxing tools are used only once then disposed.
• Hair re-growth is softer as the hair follicle would’ve been totally pulled out.
• It’s fast and (most times) painless because it covers a larger, yet specific area.
• Silky smooth effect, as dead skin is also removed through waxing.

The tools of the trade

At the Brow Bar, you’re first required to fill in a release form, where you’ll be asked if you’re on any prescription-strength topical or internal treatment or medication, or even if you’ve recently had a microdermabrasion done. This is so the Brow Experts can advise you on whether your skin can handle the waxing. Once that’s sorted, the Brow Experts will consult you on your best brow shape before moving on to the actual waxing.              

Did you know that Asian browns are differently shaped from Caucasian brows? Which is why I always prefer my brows to be shaped by Asian women, they’d have the best experience. What Maki first did was give me an indication of how my brows would look like after the waxing, so she drew my ideal shape using Brow Zings and gave me my arches with High Brow. Once that’s done, and I have an idea of how my brows were going to look, she proceeded with the waxing – the middle of my brows, below and above.         

One side shaped, the other waiting to ...

It’s quick, painless (if you’re used to waxing), and sooo easy. After a week, my arch was still very defined, and the area below still clean that I’m not tweezing at all. But of course, this depends on the individual and how your hair growth is like.             

Yani's new brows with Maki

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The gem that I took home with me was how to really shape my brows, as I’ve always had an issue with them because they aren’t balanced. Apparently, the growth direction of my hair differs for each side. Love that – now when I’m working on my brows, I know what to do. Ain’t life great?          

Benefit has two Brow Bars in Malaysia, one at Parkson Pavilion (03-2141 4601), and the other at Parkson KLCC. The services on offer are Brow and Lip Wax (RM55), Chin & Lip (RM45), Chin (RM30) and Lip (RM25).