Tint and tweeze

Beauty treatment trends wax and wane in popularity but there’s one consistently high maintenance face place – the eyes.

It all started with brows. Back in the early Noughties, one-size-fits-all waxes were superseded by speciality shaping services. Next came perming and eyelash extensions about which I’m still yet to be convinced.

But tinting is another story. It’s old-school and effective. And at Australia’s only Benefit store, a full brow and lash service starts with a tint. Dark brown for brows, blue black for lashes in my case. My lovely aesthetician Alani has travelled to Benefit’s home in San Francisco to experience this brand’s very own way of doing things. Like sitting up for the treatment, which means the tint doesn’t seem to irritate eyes to the extent it can while lying down. Genius.

Finally, my lashes are judged dark enough and Alani carefully rinses the colour off with saline solution while I hold a tissue underneath. As I blink a few times, the brow paint is wiped away and the shape of my brow assessed now those previously blonde baby hairs are visible. That’s the point of tinting first, you see.

A quick wax between, above and below my existing brow line and we’re nearly done. Alani uses tweezers to extract a few extras but wants to see me one more time before accentuating the arch I’m so keen on refining. It’s this kind of approach that confirms I’m in very safe hands.

Still, she can’t resist finishing the task with Benefit’s Brow Zings eyebrow colour kit to emphasise the shape. But for me, the point of this service is being able to go without make-up.

And I can. Today there’s nothing but a light dusting of powder and a slick of gloss between me and the world. Talk about time management.

How do you feel about brow and lash treatments?