Back in 2016 when the full face of extreme makeup looks were taking off, a new trend that would stick around for years was emerging.
'The Scouse Brow'
Liverpool is known for its fashion forward thinking and being a nationwide trend setting city. The girls from the north certainly know how to do glamour. The term scouse brow was derived from the abundance of girls/ women from the city wearing heavy yet defined eyebrow makeup.
This was serious business for makeup enthusiasts and eyebrow tutorials mania swept through YouTube and social media!
Now, there are people out there who are born and blessed with the big bushy beautiful brows, and for them this wasn't just a trend that could pass them by. They could relish in the fact that their eyebrows weren't fake and were now in fashion after the 90s & 00's had the complete opposite trend.
For its time, this was new and exciting and the trend itself began to catch on nationwide if not worldwide. However, around this same time, microblading was also taking off as the new 'in' thing in the beauty industry.
Putting these two trends together has resulted in what my clients refer to now as 'Slug Brows'.
What should have been a temporary fashion statement has become more of a nightmare to us permanent make up artists.
When first done, they took out the hassle of matching up those defined precise shapes, but once aged, they are messy, blurred and faded to funky colours.
Almost every single client I have in my chair for a consultation has the same request, 'No Slug Brows Please.'
This is because 8 years on we are still seeing the repercussions of this trend and the aftermath that this has caused.
There are so many ladies now out there now, with outdated blue/black/red stains where their eyebrows should reside.
Speaking to some of these ladies myself, they thought it was a good idea at the time but weren't told at said time that microblading is in fact a form of tattoo and therefore is essentially permanent.
Yes permanent makeup pigments are designed to fade, but whenever and ink/pigment is put beneath the skin is carries the risk of being permanent. Especially if not done correctly.
There are also artists out there that can give impeccable results and still offer the large fluffy saturated brows that still look natural to clients who have the ability to pull this look off. I admire their work and one day will train in the hope to be able to offer this myself. But I know my limits and wont just 'give it a whirl' on a clients face!
So, now I am trained in laser removal, I have clients walking through the door that have had oversized, deeply saturated and more often than not, black eyebrows recently done. (Blonde Clients too I might add)
They aren't looking natural or fluffy, they wont fade away as their artist told them they would. And the clients are left hating their appearance and confidence at an all time low. Its not nice to see, and as you may or may not know, laser can be painful, so are left with the choice of a painful and costly removal process or to live with the look in the hope they will fade.
If you have read this and didn't know there are options for removal, then look into it. Get in touch with a local artist and see if they can recommend any one to help or ask to see their work.
If you are a die hard big brow lover, and are still thinking of having this style of brow, then please do your research. Big Fluffy eyebrows can be beautiful, and can age well when done with the correct technique. Like I mentioned earlier, I myself am not ready to apply them to a clients face but I can recommend outstanding artists who can!
Research is key when looking for a permanent makeup artist. Check out their work, ask for recommendations and go and meet them!
If you would like to discuss any of these options further, get in touch!
Scarlett x