New Brows, Who Dis?

Did We Just Get New Faces? (It’s Just the Brows)

In this episode, we’ve taken a slight turn and are talking all things brows. From microblading to brow lifts, we share our personal experiences and walk through what’s actually involved in both processes.

We chat about what surprised us, what we didn’t expect, and how it all felt from start to finish. It’s a relaxed, honest (and slightly funny) conversation about expectations vs reality, what it feels like to actually go through it, and whether it’s as simple as it sounds.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Hello, hello!

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Hello, hello Dina! Welcome back to Everyday Something Podcast. We took a break. Well, actually, it's not because it's you Dina decided to take off to Paris and London. She drove there because she's ace.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

Yes, I took I went for a big adventure. You did full advantage kids adventure. I'm still recovering from it. So yeah, we took a little break, but we're back.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

We're back in full force and we're um going to uh we're gonna keep it real, real. We thought we're gonna share our experiences on what we now call an instant instant um eyebrow or instant facelift.

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

A cheap facelift.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Talking about eyebrows and what you know what are some of the how what are some of our experiences.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah. Um I'm like you just if they're an underrated part of your face. Well, I kind of I'm not sure what you were like, but I'm an over I was always an overplucker. So I you know, I I had because that's what was in, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:15

It was in to have super thin eyebrows. And super thin.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

And I paid no attention to my eyebrows till I came to Croatia, and it's such a huge thing, unless or unless it's kind of like just taken off of light.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

I think now it's the the trend is the other way. The bushy, the bushy, bushy, the bushy brows, the bigger, the better kind of thing, which I don't always agree with.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

I have to admit, they really suit some faces. Yeah, it's just too much, it's too much for me.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Yeah, monobro like they need space on their own, like almost when sometimes when you see those eyebrows, you're like, oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Just the you see the eyebrows. You've paid for this. The monobrown. But yeah, it does um shape your face, totally, and you do, but you do you do have to um, I think, be mindful of where you go, and that's this is what we're here to talk about, yeah, because there are so many plans.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Jules did months, and I'm talking months of research. So um just to make sure that nobody messes with her brows.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Do not mess with my brows because it was such a big decision for me to do so, because they're like getting tattooed on in a way. You know, like I mean that I didn't think yeah, and I didn't want because there is the powder brows, so I've got a mixture of both, which is like the makeup version, but I didn't want that. I wanted to see the actual brush strokes. It wasn't until I saw the before and after photos that I realised that I had no eyebrows, but it was just that it was the way that because I remember I was telling you how I used to look at myself in the mirror, and then this air, I looked like I had like no, I had no hair, no brows on the side of my face. So it made it just I just looked odd. I just looked odd, basically, and I tried to Dina's so sweet, because like for birthday presents or Christmas presents, she'd buy me like an eyebrow kit, but like I'm just useless with that shit. I need to be used to using those kind of things, well, more so makeup, because I don't, as you know, I don't wear a lot of makeup. Like I'm a mascara girl, and that's pretty much it, and maybe some tinted serum. Um, but eyebrows meant I got I became fixated to the point where I was going Lulu, trying to find the right because there's so many friggin' different techniques. Did you know that? Yes. Through your research, I've learned that there are there's Japanese eyebrows, Japanese obrave, Japanese eyebrows, which is like a very thin stencil type of eyebrow.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Okay. Then there's that's also tattooed, right? Tattooed, correct.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

It's just a technique, technique, yeah. But I got so daunted by the whole experience because everyone all of a sudden, because you know what it's like with algorithm on your on your Instagram. Yeah, all of a sudden, all you saw was brows, and I was going nuts because then this one looked good, but that one didn't look good, but this one didn't look good, and that one looks like do you think this one looks better than this one? Yeah, and then there's makeup artists who have different techniques.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

There's other, there's other like I must say your eyebrows look amazing, and most importantly, they look so natural, which is what you want.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

That's what I wanted. That's what you want. I really lucked out because again, I did research and I did go to see two other people, and as soon as I walked in the door, I just got the the worst feeling because what I did was look at the person who was doing the eyebrows. The woman that I remember I was explaining to who is kind of you know, sort of locally here. I swear to you, her eyebrows were so thin, so so thin, she goes, I'd do them thin. And I'm like, fuck babe, they're thinner than what I've got I'm wearing now. They're like pencil thin. So I just thought, no, I think I'm gonna have problems here. And then the price point was really dis um uh confusing because they varied from like 170 euro to 280 euro, and then you have to go. So the process is with uh um what were how would you what would you say how would you say that? Microblading, that's the word. Is that you go in and you get them shaped by the um technician, and firstly what they do is they do a stencil on your face, they draw it out first, and then uh the thing you've got to be really mindful of is that they're not going to be exactly the same on each side because it has to it's you know the circumference of your forehead, I guess, when you look you're looking direct on.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Yeah, and even the nature natural ones don't both see.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Yeah, and that's where I got I was becoming quite picky because I thought, well, I'm here now, might as well make them perfect. But you can't because some of your eyes, you know, your eye might be higher or your forehead or whatever else have you. And then they so the whole process takes about three hours. So what you do is your first the first um is they put uh anesthetic on your on your eyebrow and then you've got to wait 15 minutes and then they start and then you get like breaks in between, like 15-minute breaks in between, because all you hear is like a like a razor blade. It's not painful only because of the anesthetic. And then you take a break and then you have a look. Um but the keys, I actually definitely I didn't want to look because I knew that I would freak myself out because they were going to be really different, and then obviously she put the tint on, but the whole process took about three hours, and they looked a bit uh red, but that was mainly because of the um that irritation and irritation from the blade, like yeah, and they are going to be super dark when you first get them done, and then you don't get scared, don't freak out, and I was quite surprised because I was ready to just cry. Yeah, but when I saw them, I went, oh but I could see what it did to my face. I went, I just I felt like I had an instant eyelid. Yeah, you're referring like it refreshes, and then I realised that's what my eyebrows used to look like when I was in my twenties before I start to pluck before I started plucking them. So I was I wasn't that freaked out, but then there's a lot of care that takes place for seven days. You can't go into the sun, you can't sweat, go to the gym, um, you can't put retinoid in in your face, and you had to like tap it wet for about four to five times a day and then put papantin and cream very lightly, sort of from the outside of your well, the bottom part of your eye inwards, and that was it for seven days and that's it. Yeah, but you get and then you had to go back for another month after a month's time to do the correction, which your eye really needed because as you saw, the sides had faded, but yeah, went out into the yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:15

So I would say besides doing the research, you also need to trust your intuition so that online technician to yeah, when you do actually go in for a consultation, yeah, make sure you feel comfortable with the person that's doing it because otherwise it's it can turn into a disaster. And if you're dealing with someone that you can't you couldn't talk to even from the beginning, yeah, you you know you might feel uncomfortable complaining or you know, asking for I mean I'm telling you the other the other one that I went to, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

I mean, I heard the con the two consultants bitching about somebody. Well me, they're bitching about me because of the I don't know what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

So you couldn't find you can find a book.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

I couldn't find the place, and believe me, it was a really tricky place find, you know, it's like here, you know. Um and I th that was just a red flag. And I just felt so uncomfortable. I thought, I just won't even, I can't even listen to your intuition. Intuition, yeah. Yeah, and you've got to really you know, like I think it is, like you said, a hundred percent, because as soon as I met this woman, oh my gosh, she put me at ease, and she knew as soon as I walked in the door, she offered me a coffee and said, How about we just sit down and have a chat for 15 minutes? Yeah, she said, because I can see that you're anxious, and because it is, you know.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Because you're putting something that will be there at least for a face. How long does it last? Two years, two years, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

So it's yeah, it's like you're gonna have to love them. Like you really have to love them.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

It's a big commitment, and if it goes wrong, I don't think there is much that you can do to I mean you could remove it, but it that's probably a very scarring in that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:56

I mean, you know, you could you know, scrub at them relentlessly for days on end and you might, but you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 10:02

Like you just yeah, it's once it's there, it's there, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

But um I have nothing but praise for the woman that I go to, she's like a professional makeup artist, and you can see she loves it. And more so is that it's the way that they how um she talked me through the process through the entire time, even when I was laying down and she was doing it, she'd stop, ask me a million times if I was feeling okay. Yeah, but she kept saying, right, so next step is this is what we're gonna do, and this is what we're gonna expect. And yes, you're gonna feel a little bit of tingling. Or I just felt like I super comfortable, yeah. I got to the point after three hours where I went, I I I would have trusted her to, you know, yeah, to tattoo your face. And to a couple of piercings, and you know, yeah, sure, you're gonna.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

But yeah, but Dean on the other on the other hand, we she also did eyebrows. Going through this whole research process with Jules, I've come across a brow lift, which I thought, oh what a great idea, because I do have natural eyebrows, but they are very um untamed. Untamed. She thinks they're unrolly, but so I always have to, you know, brush them and put something on, and they're like I had gaps, little gaps in between, and it was just getting on my nerves.

SPEAKER_01 11:29

Hold on, so when you were putting, you were filling, you were were you filling your eyebrows in like on your own? With a pencil, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

Were you sometimes not like every day, but if I was like, you know, taking time to I would sometimes put a bit of eye pencil, right? Eyebrow pencil. Yeah, but that's just annoying to me, and you know, after a while they still would droop down and they wouldn't stick, you know. So then I didn't do that much research, but I was like, I'll just go to this uh lady here locally, and uh how bad could it be, right? What's yours called? It's called eyebrow lift uh with the tint, if you want a tint like with the coloring. So um first I arrived there, all the reds, red flags have gone up, and I kept thinking about you and how you would react because there was no parking, the I had to re-park my car three times because it wasn't satisfactory.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

And the consultant wasn't really that pleasant.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

But then as I arrived there, she was like, Okay, let's start over. So we started over with a bit of better energy, and I immediately told her I'd but the problem was I'll back up to a few days before. I kept having this picture in my head where this is gonna look awful. I had a bad gut feeling that this is gonna look dark, and these eyebrows are just going to look like an angry bird, yeah. But I still decided it doesn't matter. I thought about this for a few months, I'm gonna do it. I just want to try it out. So, and as I arrived there, I said, I don't want them to be dark because I just I don't need them darkened, I just need them to be in place. So she says, Oh, yeah, of course, we can go a little shade lighter, like we'll do a share shade lighter for your eyebrows, not darker. I'm like, okay, like just keep it, you know, whatever. If we need to, if not, we're not gonna call it them. So as I'm lying there, she's putting all these different different lotions. This thing, this lotion or whatever solution that she was putting was burning like crazy.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Wow. So did she did she put in that does she need to put an anesthetic on it or no?

SPEAKER_02 13:51

No, no, no. She's just putting in this, it's basically like a wax or something. No, no, no. It's like when you do a perm, because this is not a perm, but you still have to put that solution as for perm so that you straighten the hairs. So this smells like it smells like that.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Yes, I know, perming solution, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

So this thing is burning my eyebrows. She's like, Oh, it's gonna sting a bit. I'm like, a bit, like I felt like my whole entire eyes were burning, but anyway, I'm not the one to complain, so I just sat there. And the whole time I'm thinking, okay, once the hairs are sticking up, she's gonna show me, and then we're gonna decide whether we're gonna color them.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Right?

SPEAKER_02 14:37

No, no, she decides to color them because she saw that there's like a little bit of uh gaps, you know, like at the edges, and she wanted to color it. Okay, so I haven't seen anything yet. This is like 40 minutes into it, it's still all burning. She's like, Oh, you have sensitive skin. I'm thinking, yeah, because you put like chemical rhythm on, but I'm still like behind the anymore, and then she passes me the mirror. You had to see my face. I was in shock, and it looked exactly what I imagined it.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Oh no, like as in worst case scenario, worst case scenario, and I'm looking at these hairs like vertically.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

Like an angry bird, like an angry bird, and super, super dark. I'm talking like it looked almost like a bit reddish, but very dark. I looked like one of those Turkish women, you know, you know those Turkish women where all you can see on someone's face is the eyebrows. Oh my god, this is too much. And I'm like, So what did you so she goes? Oh, you have like your eyebrows are amazing. You have such like thick eyebrow hair and no shit. I'm like, I couldn't even hide. Usually I hide the first impression. So what did you like? This I was like, Whoa, I'm in I was I was like, I'm in shock.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

And she's like, No, do you like it? Oh no, I look at it.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

But did she ask you if you like them or did she just saw that I didn't like them because I was just like my there's nothing worse than someone's like I know I had eyebrows out there, but you could still see the shock in my eyes. But the worst body that she said, but they look really good, but I don't like them. And there was uh another client that was waiting. She said she was sitting there waiting, and I just and I I I could see even she was kind of smirking and laughing in my eyebrows because you're in shock. Yeah, I'm in shock, right?

SPEAKER_01 17:02

What my car?

SPEAKER_02 17:03

And I'm I I get into my car, I keep looking at the mirror, I'm like, what am I going to do?

SPEAKER_01 17:08

There's nothing worse.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

And I told her what I told her, can we trim them?

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Are you serious? Because they just look I have to see this photo, like you're gonna get and I go, can we trim them?

SPEAKER_02 17:19

She's like, Oh no, no, no, you can't trim them now. I was like, But why can I cry? Can I calm them? Like she's like, Oh, but if you calm them down, they're gonna look even darker. Because then you're gonna like bunch them up. Yeah, I was like, Oh my god, there's I was like, There's no turning back.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

I have to this is sounds hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

So I get home. Oh my gosh, my daughter starts laughing. Like, she was in shock, she starts laughing her, and then that's when I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

And now she's not that you know that it's not they're not good.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

That's when I knew this is horrible. So I kept thinking, like, what to do. So I just kept and she's like, Don't remove the the solution that she put, like the cream, like the oil that she put, because they're gonna dry out, right? So I was like, okay, I just need to leave this for now, and at night I'm gonna screw up, and then because I do wear glasses sometimes, I was like, Oh, perfect. When I put the glasses on, no, you can't see the eyebrows. And I was just praying my heart that when I scrub them and when you know, like a few days go by that they would settle down, and they thankfully settle down.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

So with the did you have to did you comb did you comb the hairs back in the room?

SPEAKER_02 18:36

No, so you no, you have to comb them every day because when you sleep they do go, you know, like they don't stay that way.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

You've got a life of their own your brows.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

So I do brush them now, but I don't brush them the way she did it because upwards.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Who wear who brushes them upwards?

SPEAKER_02 18:53

Because that's the the new fashion.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

It's immediately new.

SPEAKER_02 18:57

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

Um but that's not what you asked for, like you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 19:01

Like she's obviously Yeah, she's like you can brush them the way that you want to brush them. I'll do that. Um, but thank god the tint, like, you know, that like you said it was red. Oh, it was like almost red, and all everything was red, of course, because my skin was so irritated. Yeah, but I I wish that she would have told me, you know, the skin's gonna go down tomorrow, it's gonna look better. Like, she just like I just felt like this is how I'm gonna look for the next seven to eight weeks.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

That's the worst part about like she did herself a great injustice because you were there for the first time. I mean, it is for something like that, and that's so shocking. She should have talked you through it, she should have really counseled you through it, like the one my woman did.

SPEAKER_02 19:41

So and to be fair, her eyebrows looked amazing. Okay, so I thought, okay, that's yeah, I'm gonna I'm on a good yeah, yeah. That's what made me come, but yeah, you know, but she didn't have this, she had something else done, obviously. But um thank god now they look they are a little bit more obvious, yeah. Um, but I'm happy that they don't look like how they look.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

They look good, they just look they for me they look darker than what they are, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:09

And but then that will wash out as well because this is not a permanent solution, this is more something that you do for seven to eight weeks just to can you imagine getting that done before you're going out or something, like you know, like to a wedding or something. I would die. I looked like scary, scary.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

I know I got your call and you were freaking out, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:34

So um, yeah, that's just a lesson to make sure you're pick your pick your tech, yeah, pick your consultant technician, whatever they're called, artist properly. And and learn to to know what to expect and that it's not gonna look the same in two or three days.

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Because you don't realize that the eyebrows are a very big focal, but they do change they can change the um circumference of your face really easily.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

Yeah, and when people look at you, I think that's one of the first things they see, right?

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Well, it's your eyes, it makes a difference to your eyes. Yeah, it's made my eyes pop. Um and like another thing that you I've noticed is too is that a lot of women get uh the eyebrows a lot like a lot like quite long. And for women like me who was in their fifties, it's probably not a good idea because it actually makes your makes your eyes look like you're or you're pushing your eyes down. Do you know what I mean? Like it's like it's your face is drooping. So it's the whole idea is to keep them shorter. Yeah. It's an the whole eyebrow thing is just new to me entirely. Like I just didn't pay any attention to eyebrows.

SPEAKER_02 21:43

But you know, sometimes I think like okay, now that for a few for a few years now the trend has been this thick. I see, yeah, that's right. Yeah. But I'm thinking like imagine if that goes out of the trend and you tattooed this huge Eyebrows on your face. I I mean I d I do have a friend who has removed them because she had Really? Yeah. She had done them and they didn't you know like uh what the stroke wasn't good or no the old technology, like I'm talking about maybe t eight, ten years ago, they used to just tattoo it.

SPEAKER_01 22:21

They didn't have no no no. It's like a blade, it's a blade, a lean blade.

SPEAKER_02 22:31

So a lot of these tattooed eyebrows have turned kind of grayish, yes, not natural. Yeah, so um a lot of people are now removing that and then doing this new technique on top of it because it just doesn't look good anymore. You still have to draw over it, which is what's the point then, right? Because it looks so grey. So there are people that do remove the old tattoos, but you know, I'm just thinking if you've done these huge eyebrows and now you have to remove them because yeah, you don't like them anymore, like that must be a lot of work.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

I was so afraid to do it mainly because I thought that they shaved your eyebrow and then started from scratch, and I was not having that, like I was I was petrified. And once I learned that they just went over your current um and that already made me feel a million times better. And these days, if you go to the right place, they have incredible um pigmentation, like pigment to match your current, you know, your natural hairline. It's fantastic, but but it is all about it's so about research. Yeah, so about research.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

So yeah, please do your research, yeah. Take your time and make sure you find out. Eyebrows and new face lift, though. Yeah, yeah. So um and uh yeah, definitely. I think it does make a difference, and it's easier, like to, you know, when you're putting makeup on, you don't need to worry about doing the eyebrows. Are you like did you color them too much, or you know, did you is your pencil like right? I think it makes it easier for everyday uh makeup use. But yeah, you need to really know what you want. Yeah, um, how do you want to how do you want them to look um and what suits your face? Yeah, that's very important. Yeah, yeah. You don't just go with the trend.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Yeah, I mean, I would I would always advise going. I mean, you can get consultations nowadays where you can um get them just drawn on your face. Yeah. So that way you've got an idea of what the shape. Yeah, but um, yeah, and you sort of got an idea on what if it frames your face or not straight away. But there are like with this one I didn't, but it was just the way she made me feel. She was so confident in she took one look at me, knew exactly what's what's shape, and yeah, but imagine if she gave you like some eyebrows. And plus, yeah, I know. You would have been like mortified, mortified, mortified. Because I've seen so many of these videos. We can see people's faces who are horrified, yeah, and they've gotta go, yeah, they're really great. You had one almost one of those moments. Oh my god. You thankfully yours aren't like yours were not you know permanent.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Yeah, that's why I didn't really like think that through so much, but still, you know, two months is also a long time.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Yeah, absolutely, especially when they're combed upwards. It's like why do you look stunned? Why are you oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_02 25:40

But yeah, hopefully this episode has given you some insight.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

Insight, if you want to eyebrows eyebrows are the way to go. It's a it's a good alternative. Like I said, I paid 200 over 200 euro for it and I I love them. Yeah. I love 'em.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

You did a good job.

SPEAKER_01 25:57

Good job after all that. After all that. All right, lovelies.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

Thank you for listening to our podcast.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

Um, do rate us on uh yeah, review us on your podcast, yeah, Spotify or Apple. There's a play on the bottom of the page apparently, or midway through the pages of review, so we can go up in our algorithm. That'll be nice.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

And yeah, let us know if you have any funny or good experiences.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

We'd love to hear some eyebrow stories. I mean, I think there'd be there'd be there'd be a few for sure. For sure. There is some that they wouldn't want to mention exactly.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

And we shall see you next week.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

Yeah, we'll see and hear from you next week. All right, bye. Thanks for tuning in. Bye bye.