FASHION + BEAUTY
MICROBLADING :
AN APPOINTMENT WITH the Queen of brows
EYEBROWS ARE HAVING MORE THAN A MOMENT . THE VERY OPPOSITE OF THE GREAT PLUCKING DISASTER ( GPD ) OF THE 90S , WHERE WOMEN ALL OVER THE WORLD PLUCKED THEIR POOR EYEBROWS TO WITHIN AN INCH OF THEIR LIVES , IT ’ S NOW VERY MUCH EN VOGUE TO HAVE A THICKER , FULLER BROW IN KEEPING WITH WHAT SUITS YOUR FACE . VICTIMS OF THE GPD THAT NOW PAINSTAKINGLY DRAW EYEBROWS ON EACH MORNING SHOULD NOT DISMAY , HOWEVER , BECAUSE HELP IS AT HAND IN THE FORM OF MICROBLADING – A SEMI-PERMANENT , REPLENISHING BROW TREATMENT . POLLY HUMPHRIS MET KAREN BETTS , THE UNDISPUTED QUEEN OF BROWS , AND UNDERWENT THE TREATMENT TO FIND OUT MORE .
I ’ d heard about microblading before my appointment with Karen – how could I not ? It took America by storm last year and had travelled across the pond by summer 2017 achieving instant infamy among the beauty set . A semi-permanent brow treatment carried out using a small scalpel-like pen ( a micro blade ) that ’ s used to draw on individual strokes that mimic real brow hairs to create an incredibly natural-looking finish , it ’ s wizardry at replenishing sparse or lacklustre eyebrows achieves phenomenal results , finally moving brows away from the overdrawn , too-dark ‘ reality TV ’ look and into the much classier sphere where they belong .
The minute I was introduced to Karen , I knew I was in the most capable of hands . An extremely warm woman , she is also the consummate professional . One of the UK ’ s , if not the world ’ s most esteemed permanent cosmetics and microblading artists and one of the earliest pioneers in the highlyspecialised art of paramedical tattooing , Karen began training and supplying like-minded professionals in the art of permanent
Before
cosmetics ( under the Nouveau Contour brand ) in the late 90s . Today , Karen runs a beauty empire that includes High Definition , the award-winning beauty brand previously known as HD Brows and the award-winning eyelash extensions specialist Nouveau Lashes – the pioneer of the LVL Lash Lift . Karen ’ s latest venture - K . B Pro is a new permanent cosmetics and microblading brand that ’ s already rewriting the standards .
Fortunately , I wasn ’ t one of those teenagers in the 90s that plucked their eyebrows into
After
obscurity , so I had reasonably thick brows before my visit , but had always secretly coveted Keira Knightley ’ s low arch and soft , but bold angle . Having had my anesthetic applied over a cup of tea in the waiting area at Karen ’ s clinic – No . 1 Harley St , a heavenly , high-ceilinged space as resplendent as its address suggests – no sooner was I greeted by Karen with a beaming smile than she had her plan in place . The whole procedure is very simple : Karen measures your existing brows for symmetry , draws a very feint template which you then approve , discusses the right
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