Brow Lessons From A Brow Date With Wink x Makeup Factory

I'm no brow expert. I admit to not knowing what shape or weight looks good on me. So despite my journey of learning to DIY everything, brows are something in the distant future. Let's see... I can tick off waxing everything below the neck (except bikini!), threading my ladystache, nail spa and hair dyeing. But never brow grooming.

Thankfully, one can always amble on down to Wink and have that taken care of ;)

L-R: Holly, fabulous Wink owner and Liz, contemplating her iced tea (which was YUM!)

Last October 26 (oh boy!) I was one of the lucky people invited to the Wink x Makeup Factory Brow Date. The program was pretty simple: brow waxing care of Wink and brow makeup tutorial care of Makeup Factory. CHIKAS and LAMON (small talk and pig-out) in between :P Here are the three biggest brow lessons I've learned:

• Overplucking is real. And it sucks. And it will get in the way of your quest towards the perfect AeBrows. (Get it? 'Cause I love Ae and her gorgeous square brows :P)

photo grabbed with permission from Ae's Shu hard pencil post

Here's Ae from An Artechoke. She has officially toppled Jes Roque as my brow muse. Though Jes' skill is still GOD-MODE in my opinion, I am magnetically attracted to Ae's style because it's more on-point with the trendy Korean brow: square and thick, yet wispy.

Please take a moment to observe Ae and her gorgeous perfection. She was is my brow peg.

BACK TO ME. I had caveman-esque regrowth littering the upper half of my lids in time for Brow Date, but it was still too much. Or rather, not enough.

Apparently, my last eyebrow tech over-did my brows even though I had the session about four weeks prior. My Wink attendant could not properly shape them because there was not enough hair where there should have been. We ended up waxing off the stray hairs, but the shape wasn't highlighted as much as it should have been because my brows were already half bald.

Goober me and FLAWLESS Ae!

Ae was kind enough to style my brows with the Makeup Factory tools on-hand. I think she did great especially since my brows weren't even groomed yet in this shot. This is the squarest my brows have gotten and I haven't been able to come close despite following her awesome brow tutorial.

• Eyebrows are sisters, not twins.

This piece of advice struck me BIG TIME. I've always felt like an ugly freak whenever I tried to get my brows exactly the same. It felt off and oh so wrong. For now, I just follow my natural brow shape as they frame my eyes instead of "chasing" the left after I've drawn the right.

Ms. Melody from Makeup Factory affirmed my little habit when she told us not to fuss about perfectly mirroring each side of our eyebrows. 

Ms. Melody going over some basic brow shapes. Fleur, our model, taking a "before" selfie.

I think it's because everyone's face is slightly asymmetrical. And if one element of it suddenly becomes perfectly symmetrical, it makes the asymmetry of everything else even more severe.

• SCOUTED: Makeup Factory Eyebrow Intensifier

THIS, I was not expecting to like. Though I don't know much about what weight and shape of brows would look good on me, I still have certain expectations on how eyebrow products should perform. I don't like overly creamy pencils that allow an onlooker to trace each stroke I made from two feet away; I hate gel-powder combinations that leave brows looking painted on; and I don't like brow mascaras if they leave my brows looking clumpy.

Makeup Factory Goodies!

I was overjoyed to randomly discover this product! Well actually, it was Ae who used it on me but pft. MINOR DETAILS!

It's liquid, sure. But wow does it ever leave such a wispy, natural-looking finish. It's mostly what Ae used to give me AeBrows and I was just gobsmacked with the wonderfully natural finish of this liqui-pen. Definitely something to keep on my wish list :)

Speaking of Brows...

Here is a cautionary BONUS lesson: don't take brow risks. Your face is like a billboard announcing your presence. Would you like to make a GRAND ENTRANCE or forewarn a MAJEUR TRAIN WRECK? 

How 'bout I not keep bringing this up, eh?

Uh-huh. I thought so. Read about my most ridiculous brow moment here.



And if you're curious, here are some random shots of the other lovely people I got to enjoy the event with!

Marianna, Frumpy (the eighth dwarf) and Ae

I've seen Marianna in some other posts before but I've never gotten around to checking her blog, The Beauty Bee. She is so energetic and friendly. She seems like a really fun seat mate and I regret not chatting her up more when I had the chance. And in case you're blind; she is so beautiful I want to kill myself!

A candid moment: Ae, Tina, Marianna and Bea

I think this is the first time I met Tina of What Tina Loves. She carries herself very intelligently and I have this feeling of needing her approval- LOL! She has a queen bee effect though it's mostly the air competence, and not any actual high-schoolesque bitchiness. She's super nice!

Bea, as always, is a barrel of laughs. She told me I looked like a bat / butterfly that day because of my fluttery oversized shrug. I'll take butterfly, THANK YOU! And I would make a similarly funny quip on her outfit except, she looks so vogue- AS USUAL! Check out The Dalaga Project for some awesome funniness!

Ae, Marianna, Tina and Dior

Dior of Dior Co Makeup Artistry is a former makeup artist who eventually settled with the more lucrative freelance work and teaching. I first met her during the Asian Secrets Lulur Scrub event. Previously, I told her I was considering a professional makeup career and she taught me a lot about how she forged her own, though cautioned me that it's all very different nowadays!

Marianna, Liz, Me and Ae

What can't Liz Lanuzo (of Project Vanity) do? The hostess with the most-est set this whole soiree up. I try not to kiss her ass as much because I believe we have a better relationship than that, but honestly, what's not to love? My boyfriend has met her and finds her tres cool. She's so Miss Independent but never makes you feel inferior. In fact, she has given me some of the most kick-ass blogging (and life) advice!

I also bumped into Shari and Genzel but I don't really have flattering pictures of them. Still, I feel weird not giving them a blurb, so here goes:

Shari of The Misty Mom is the most eleganza young mom I know. She's very nice and is someone you can count on to be an automatic friend. I first met her here, yet we were already comfy trading jokes and little comments. I hope she births more babies to spread all that cute around. Hear that, Miz Shari? The world needs you!

Genzel of Genzel Kisses is always pleasant. It's like: people walk this earth with such a mean countenance and Genzel takes whatever she takes and is automatically a ray of sunshine. We weren't seated near each other but it's so nice to see a friendly face. I got to talking with her a bit after the event. She's very attentive and I love catching up with her!

These girls are the penultimate of awesomeness and they're a huge part in my decision to keep the blog alive. I can't let them go until I infiltrate the most intimate fabrics of their lives, mwahahaha!

You may visit Wink Laser and Wax Studio at:
3rd Level, C2 Building
7th Ave. cor. 28th St.
BHS Central
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

You may contact them at 808-7258 or (0917) 303-9465.

You may also visit their site at winkstudio.ph;
tweet them at @winkstudioph; and
follow their Facebook page, Wink Laser & Wax Studio.

*Disclosure: I was invited to a Brow Date with Wink x Makeup Factory. Bloggers were fed, given complimentary brow waxing from Wink (worth Php 330), promised a future underarm laser session (worth Php 2500) and treated to a brow makeup workshop by Makeup Factory. We were given coupons and other press material to work with after the event. I was not paid to write this post.