Review: Eyebrow Embroidery at Allure Beauty Saloon

I was very lucky to be invited to personally try the Eyebrow Embroidery at Allure, located at Tiong Bahru Plaza.

Previously, it was a procedure I've never really considered, cos I was blessed with naturally full brows with a nice arch. And also, because be it embroidery or tattoo, it's considered permanent/semi-permanent, which would mean if the artist f*cked up and thought that what she drew is "Oh my god, this looks SOOOO good on you!" when in actual fact it's way far from what I wanted. God-forbid, it might change my very nice eyebrows to fierce/horrendous-looking ones. *shudders*



So you can imagine I had like a million questions when I received an invite in my email. I'd rather deal with pencilling in the small bits of my brow than living with unsatisfactory brows for 2 years (that's how long I was told it would last). Also, did I have to shave off my brows? Will it affect the growth of my own brows in the future? Will I be able to change the shape of the brows if I don't like it?

The kind lady was patient with my paranoid behaviour and answered to my concerns. Thanks Mistical!

So here's the information I gathered, for those who have sparse eyebrows and have been toying with the idea -

Eyebrow Embroidery is not tattoo. Tattooing involves injecting ink into the dermis layer of the skin. This causes reaction between your cells and the ink, and the pigments will migrate deeper into your skin over time, hence the effect is permanent. (You can wiki "Tattoo" and go read it yourself, in case you fall asleep reading scientific medical terms on my blog.) Thing is the colour will change after some time, turning greenish or bluish. I'm sure you've seen the effect on some aunties who had OBVIOUSLY done eyebrow tattooing. Should you want to remove it, the only way is to get a skin doctor, or specially-trained personnel, to laser it.

Eyebrow Embroidery however, involves penetration of colour into just the top layer of the skin, which I'm assuming is the epidermal layer. The eyebrow artist will customize your brows and the arch to suit your face shape, and add colour to your brows using fine strokes (similar to those in a Chinese painting). The ink used by Allure, I'm told, is imported from Japan, and contains nanotechnology. It's special in the sense that it fades away after about 2 years. You think it's troublesome that after every 2 years, you need to go back and touch up? I think it's smart! Simply because our face shape changes. Imagine, if you become skinnier 2 years later, your face will become sharper right? Or what if you suddenly become rich and decides to do some facial aesthetic surgery like make your nose bridge higher or do a facelift? Won't you want your brows to better match your face then? Food for thought~!

Camwhoring while I was waiting for the therapist while she went to grab lunch. Also, this would be my before picture. 

Tea was served! Score~

I noticed quite a number of magazine articles on Allure's founder, Angela Tnee (pronounced nee).

Impressive.

She was the first person in Singapore to introduce the creative eyebrow embroidery skills using the stroke by stroke techniques which has become Allure’s Signature Eye Brow. Pioneer leh!!!

She was even prettier in person, as she came and had a small talk with me. 

She applied anaesthetic cream on my brows, which she told me would take about 20 minutes to half an hour to take effect. So when Coco, my Embroidery Artist was ready, so was I.

Some info about the artists - 
Before a beautician becomes an Eyebrow Embroidery Artist in Allure, she will need to go through a series of intensive training. Firstly, she would begin her practice on synthetic pig skin for a period of six months and has to pass this stage to receive her approval from Ms Angela Tnee, the Principal Trainer for Allure Beauty Saloon before proceeding to practice on volunteers and finally on the clients. 
 

The three stages of practices before proceeding to perform eyebrow embroidery on clients is to ensure that every Eyebrow Embroidery Artist in Allure Beauty Saloon becomes competent, precise and skilful to deliver the best looking pair of customised eyebrows for every client. So you know you're in good hands. =)

I accidentally saved the words on the wrong part of the picture. Then I can't restore to the older version. 

Anyway this is me, barefaced with anaesthetic cream and cling wrap on my brows.

Coco analysing my brow shape.

Drawing the brows first. This is to determine the exact shape to be embroidered. My brow shape was good so she just had to pencil in and make the brows look more defined.

Done drawing! 

Now I'm ready for the procedure. Was I scared? Nope! Cos I was told it wouldn't hurt at all. And that having your brows plucked was more painful than this.

 

In Allure, there is no sterilization involved in case sterilization was not done properly. They use a brand new blade for each new client. No hygiene issues at all.

My right brow done! Got difference?

She reapplied anaethetic cream on my right brow before setting to work on the left, in preparation for the next step, which is adding colour.

She even sat me up to make sure it looks right when I'm upright. That's how precise it is.

细腻的功，才会确保漂亮的作品~

*loves*

I know this picture super ugly. Shows all my freckles, sans makeup. Only thing pretty is what I wanna show you - the brows~ Looks damn natural right!? It's really stroke by stroke, imitating my own hair growth! 

And there's NO BLEEDING OR SWELLING throughout and after the whole process.

Coco explaining to me how to take care of my newly embroidered brows and what to take note of.

Basically, in the first week, try not to let it come into contact with water. Use a wet towel to wash your face, avoiding the brow area. This ensures the colour, because it has not set into the skin, will not fade prematurely. Also, in a few days' time, I would expect to see flakes of the scab coming off. DO NOT go and itchy hand, try to pluck it or scrape it off with your nails. Let it come off naturally.

I was told to return 2 weeks later for touch-up as the colour would fade about 30%-50% after the first day. After which, my embroidered brows should last me between 18-24 months~

The whole procedure took me just about an hour!!! One hour in exchange for almost 2 years of perfect brows, not a bad deal~ ;)

With Angela Tnee, the pretty Founder cum Managing Director.

I seriously like her new haircut. Makes her look sharp.

This was the Creative Director Coco Qi, who did my eyebrows. I think she's very pretty too!

Updates: This post was in 2010, and I have since gone for another session last year (2014) as some of the colour has faded, and this time I wanted thicker-looking brows. You can read more about that experience here, where I have posted better pictures thanks to my camera upgrades. =) 
Oh, also, they have new outlets now. 

ALLURE BEAUTY SALOON is located at:

Tiong Bahru Plaza
Next to Tiong Bahru MRT Station
302 Tiong Bahru Road, #05-04A
Telephone: 6270 8845

There's another outlet at:
City VibeNext to Clementi MRT Station
3151 Commonwealth Avenue West, #02 – 04A
Telephone: 6779 2242

You can also email them at allurebeautysaloon@yahoo.com

HairInAllTheRightPlaces,
That Silver Girl