To quote a very famous man… and then shove the word “tint” into his timeless phrases: “To tint, or not to tint. That is the question.”
In India, there is a spa treatment that you can get where you flush out your nostrils with warm tea and tea tree oil to combat congestion and allergies. In Asia, there are many colourful and bizarre types of beauty regimens that vary from: fish pedicures, where you may place your foot in a giant tank full of tiny fish who feast among your dead skin cells; to the exotic and adventurous treatment which is a nightingale faeces-facial.
In America, we are just as wild in a literal sense where we practice the use of wild snakes as aids to massage and reinvigorate, and also using their venom from anything to beauty creams, lip plumping glosses to botox. Which leads me to the question, if the world, all around us: from the fishy pedicures of the East or the snake massages of the West are so audacious and daring, why do we consider eye-lash tinting and brow-tinting to be such venturesome and brave regimens?
Now Hollywood is no longer a question, be it Lindsay Lohan’s bi-weekly lip injections to every celebrity’s new fad diet proving and convincing me the modern woman nowadays, especially one under the microscope of the camera, is willing to be a little less vanilla and a bit more dark chocolate when it comes to keeping themselves looking preen and incredibly fresh-looking. You know? “Once you go Black Swan, you never go Back Swan”, sort of thing. So I know our Angelina Jolie’s and our Jennifer Aniston’s are getting their brows did and dyed left and right.
But how about the everyday woman? How about Betty from the office who always has a knack for picking out cute skirts, or Veronica from down the block who you are pretty sure you caught making out with Jessica’s boyfriend last weekend? These everyday women deserve the same secret weapons that Jenny from the Block has. We are ACTUALLY ON THE BLOCK, walking up and down to the office for our money, so let’s put it to good use! Let BBB tell you a little somethin’ somethin’ about our eyebrow and lash tintin’.
Here at BBB, we are firm believers that the face is what “makes our livings”. So when a gay man says “work”, in order to receive a “fierce”, one must remember not to forget the face. What BBB recommends is to make sure what frames your beautiful BBB face like your brows and lashes are at their prime. So you look awake and gorgeous but not too done up like those unfortunate orange children on Jersey Shore. For those with hair growth and light hairs, I would recommend tinting your brows before a shaping so we can shape with all hairs of the same shade for that dream brow shape instead of just the darker main section of accumulated hairs in the middle of the brow.
For those with curious and daredevil appetites for brow beauty, brow tinting can go both ways. Bleach brows are super-in right now, from Lady Gaga at Mugleur 2011, or the recent Alexander Mcqueen show in London, everyone who wants that exotic dangerous high fashion edge from Beyonce to Debbie Harry of Blondie are hopping on this fabulous bandwagon and living up to their legendary band names. And significantly darker brows for red and blonde or even light brown hair has been a staple at shows like Proenza Schouler or even, set by the example of the immaculate and divine Madonna.
For all you private school girls out there, Madonna and Mama Leroy knows that they don’t let you wear makeup to school and if you do, they have moist wipes reeking of vengeance on hand, so let me teach y’all a little ol’ trick of mine: Just tint them! Then, you will have these perfectly mascara-ed dark lashes that will never smudge and never run. They will be your dependable best friends when your house has been set on fire at 4:30 in the morning, and cute firemen have come to put it out and tell you how good you look for someone who has just been through such an experience. He will say “My, your eyes are beautiful. And your eyebrows! You must have gone to Bombay Brow Bar. We should have dinner on my private 130 feet yacht.”
And the great thing about lash and brow tinting at BBB is that it only costs $19 to $21, and it only takes 15 to 20 minutes! So nothing is stopping you from having those perfect Angelina Jolie eyebrows, or those long Jennifer Aniston lashes. Not even those strict private school nuns and their wet-wipes! It’s a sea of love, the world is your oyster so bat those waterproof butterfly kisses away.
Your BBB Friendly Neighbourhood Leroy Wan
BEYONCE BLEACHED BROWS
LADY GAGA WITH BLEACHED BROWS
MODEL IN MILAN WITH DARK BROWS, LIGHT HAIR
Dear BBB Addicts,
So recently, Mama Leroy was at this bar out in Langley. You know, just to observe the wildlife. Yaletown and Kitsilano will always be my first two loves; but sometimes, when you have been eating steak and filet mignon for too long, you just want a good ol’ burger. And whilst sitting on the sidelines, I was thinking about guidelines.
Of course, I had to ask myself one of the most important, realistic and honest questions everyone (and I mean, EVERYONE) has on their mind every day: “How do I look?”
Now, as I watched guy and girl comingle, a one sided courtship began. And ‘how it looked like’ to me, was once again, womyn did more work. Womyn put more effort in. Womyn were more immersed in the world than the men.
Now, an inexperienced Leroy would have said: “Dog Consarn it! Men should do more!” But in truth, that is not my truth anymore. What I believe and what my religion is, is: Life is like a party at a bar or a club. You can sit there and mope all you want. But the more fun you allow yourself to have, the better and more extravagant and more fantastic your last Friday night will be.
And the womyn were allowing themselves all the fun. The womyn were careless and free. And since Bombay Brow Bar is all about empowering men or womyn or anything in between through beauty, this brings me to my point which is:
“Why men should act more like womyn.”
Now at this bar, the men weren’t allowing themselves to dance the way they wanted to. They weren’t sincere, original. Men are praised for uniformity, womyn are cursed and martyrs to the standard. But they still find the courage, the heart, to BBB bring themselves to do whatever they want to do, be it going out to get a lip waxed or to stand up for a cause they believe in. So this is Lesson #1 man should learn from womyn: “B Yourself.”
Lesson #2 is a simple one, but so forgotten. That lesson is: “Enjoy yourself.” Sometimes it’s hard to forget about the haters, and really focus on your own time, your own life, despite what others think. So ask yourself, why are you giving this power away to a person you probably won’t see the next morning. So Enjoy Yourself. If you want to wear that shirt that no one else thinks you should wear. Wear it. Wear it for yourself. If you want to get your brows done, but your macho men have told you: “You have met your match.” Meh. Do your own thang-thang. Follow your own road. Womyn realize life is short and stressful, so sometimes, a little splurge here and there is more than deserved. So once again, enjoy yourself.
And Lesson #3, learn that femininity is not weakness. My personal opinion (my personal generalization) is that, a common idea that men or society has is femininity is weak. Subconsciously, a man might want to date a womyn that is more feminine so that they have someone to instinctually protect. Or a man may think that a homosexual femme male walking down the street may be weaker than a heterosexual masculine male walking down the street. And the truth is, this trait is an attribute. Not only do I believe without the hindering of the male ego in the way, womyn or femmes in general learn a new level of communication, a new level of tolerance. Most of all, some femmes (be it womyn or man) are some of the strongest people I know. By strong, I mean the confidence, the energy, the ambiance they carry around them is so unapologetic. I believe, the hip-hop community would call this aura your “swagger”. As in, get your swag on. Or, that chick has some real swagger.
So men, learn from the femmes. There are so many things womyn do that you may also really enjoy! Because at the end of the day, when the sun dawns and money or ego don’t matter anymore, all that matters is that you had a good time on this big but small planet of ours. Don’t let a matter of pride get in the way of you tasting new food, buying new clothes, trying new experiences, meeting new people. She will sit through your Rose Bowls and you will come to their pink Brow Bars. A match made in heaven. Sounds like a double date! See you soon.
From Your Friendly Neighbourhood,
Mama Leroy
- tragic shoe = PAY-WAY-LESS
Dear bbb addicts,
My name is Leroy Wan; I am Sagittarius, struggling vegetarian, and am now a brow artiste and blogger at Bombay Brow Bar! How very nice to meet all of you!
The some things y’all should know about me is that I’m a drama geek, thus I love any kind of make-up from day-to-day to stage looks. But most importantly I am completely obsessed with brows! From the shape to the colour to the technique you use to shape them, I’m addicted!
So through this blog, I thought it would be real neat to have you bbb boys and babes go on this journey with me. Maybe a journey within one’s self? Could be a journey about exciting esthetics and beauty trends? Could be a guide to everything fab, not drab, out in our native Vancouver for all us fashaholics and shopaholics out there?
But at the end of the day, if hopefully a reader read what I wrote and it helps them figure out which eyeliner to wear on prom night, or where to buy that to-die-for LBD, so you have that boost of confidence, and that I have contributed in some small way to make your already beautiful self really shine, then my blog has done everything I wanted it to do and more. Because I want to share with you all that beauty is all about empowerment, and that is what Bombay Brow Bar is all about.
I will be making daily updates about our precipitating promotions, crazy contests and entertaining events coming up. Along with these, I will blog and hopefully get to talk to some of you out there about all the coolest, most lavish and impossibly fresh things in Vancouver so you can not only support your local designers and merchants but to also do it at a great price, having a great time.
Get ready! Coz Mama Leroy is in the bbb house! And we are rocking your brows 7 days a week, 12 months a year.
With all my bbb love,
Mama Leroy
Dewy, not bronzy skin:
So jersey shore took the glam out of the word Bronzer. We all know.
So leave it to the Jennifer Lopez’s and the Beyonce’s out there show you: anyone can pound on some orangey bronzer and look “Oompa-Loopa Chic”; But dewy, not bronzey skin is forever. Also, coincidentally, the coveted look of the season.
And the trick is all in the preparation. Now the dewy skin looks best with less coverage, so one would have to exfoliate all those dead skin cells off with a scrub. Then moisturize.
The interesting thing is, for the dewy skin look, different formulas give you different results. A cream would absorb into the skin, making it look plumper and hide fine lines, but would also leave you with zero shine until your natural oils set in. A thicker gel, like the Bombay Brow Bar Rosewater Gel, imported straight from India is a perfect solution. Not only does it smell divine, but this nourishing, organic and all natural product is a natural antiseptic, contains aloe to soothe and tone the skin after your exfoliation and delivers the perfect amount of moisture to your skin. It also acts as a primer, so it will leave that thin natural almost glossy sheen to the skin which Hollywood and Bollywood is all about right now.
Good tips are drink plenty of water, I don’t care how many trips you have to make to the bathroom. NO POWDERS. So only cream blushes, dewy sheer foundations and so on for the face. Even oily skin types need moisture too, and the BBB Rose Gel is perfect for all skin types so don’t be afraid! Just be wary of richer formulas like butters and thick night creams. And to highlight, a creamy great one-shade-fits-all highlighter is actually the BBB White Shimmer which comes in a fair-sized pot for only $14.
For an adventurous dewy look, apply a long wear lip gloss sparingly to the lids.
And like Mama said before, less is more. So let your natural skin shine and get your BBB behind back in action for the season. Summer is over, but fabulousness is just a BBB away.
The Straight Brow:
In Hollywood, people are asking for two things right now: Starbucks and “The Straight Brow”. Every model out there knows that the new in-shape for the brow in that thick straight brow we have seen sported at fashion weeks all over the world.
Thin brows age you. Thick brows add youth and a prominent compliment just like a full thick head of hair would.
And if you just are in love with your arch, and don’t want to wax, thread or tweeze it away, just concentrate on concentrating that hair growth! The 21st century is the century of thick but groomed brows.
So if Alexander Wang and Oscar de la Renta have given their blessings, here is the BBB how-to:
Say Goodbye to a few hairs at the top of the arch to straighten the brow on top. Remove a few rows of hairs on the bottom of the inner brow to remove the downward slope of the line of the brow from the arch to the nose. This creates a straighter line and gives a boxy, square appearance to the brow, making it more visceral, enticing and powerful.
We would recommend seeing BBB for at least the 1st time to properly shape them. We can draw it out with a white pencil to mark all the areas of hair removal. We can customize the trend to your face, to make sure it is the look that suits your face shape best and will enhance, not hide.
