Review: Benefit Gimme Brow

Benefit Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Gel
$22 0.1 oz.

Brow Wow!!!  

I read about Benefit's latest brow product in September's InStyle. It was tested and reviewed by their beauty editorial staff, who swooned over Gimme Brow's ability to create lush full brows. 

Added bonus??? The gel fibers fill in sparse spots and adhere to the brow...

Think magic.

Naturally, I had to check this out for myself, STAT.

The Brows Have It

Julianna Margulies

My beauty escapades now seem to have there own life force and they are moving at the speed of light.  I can't believe it is nearly 3 years since I first met Danielle Sampieri, the eyebrow artiste extraordinaire, who taught me the necessity of a well groomed brow, (http://www.divadebbi.blogspot.com/2009/10/just-brow-zing.html).

At the time Danielle was at the Benefit Brow Bar at Bloomingdales in White Plains. I was faithful to her, until she left to work in their SoHo branch for awhile and work with her colleague Dahlia at the Brow Bar.  


The Brow Bar is a busy place that requires appointments. On Saturday,  I looked at the two, shapeless rectangles on my forehead and sighed.  Though I had to go to Bloomingdales to pick up a new "Soar" lipliner from MAC (the perfect pink nude, that should be standard in any cosmetic collection but is as rare as a Siberian tiger), the chance of getting squeezed in for a tweeze was probably nil.


To my great good fortune, I caught a lull, and Dahlia sat me down and got to work, (she knows I now know better and I much appreciated that she skipped the hand wringing and lecture, though we both knew she had her work cut out for her).


As I sat there, I thought of Danielle who introduced me to this world. She taught me how a well shaped and defined brow adds structure to the face and opens up the eye area. That it requires routine maintenance and a bit of daily work, but that it adds a finish an refinement to the face and that the effort is worth it...she's that passionate.  And she is that right.


The very next morning, I got an lovely email from Danielle.  She thanked me for how much my blog helped her build her clientele and wanted to let me know that she had returned to the area. I thanked her right back for sending me to brow finishing school and let her know I (mostly) kept up with all of her edicts.


Hallelujah!


For a brow consultation and appointment with Danielle Sampieri, call her at her new location: Salon Savior at 195 E. Post Rd. in White Plains 914-761-9292.


And tell her DivaDebbi sent you. Beauty has a beautiful karma all it's own.  Pay it forward...


xox,
DD

Brilliant: Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel

Anastasia Brow Gel $21

When it comes to brows, I was a late comer.  Brow grooming for me entailed a basic clean up at my nail salon three times a year.


The lovely ladies at the Benefit Brow Bar taught me the necessity and art of regular grooming, brow powder and wax...


YES, (big sigh), it's another step in my daily beauty routine, but the difference that a finished brow makes cannot be underestimated.


A few weeks ago, I purchased an Anastasia Beverly Hills eye shadow palette, despite the fact that Anastasia is the Queen of Brows.  Not only are the shadows beautiful, but they also contain anti-aging treatment ingredients.  Good stuff...


I was at Sephora on Saturday and decided to revisit Anastasia's brow products this time. I had never tried a tinted brow gel before and decided to go for a swipe (after dousing the brush in alcohol, naturally).

Review: Maybelline Eyestudio MasterShape Brow Pencil

Maybelline MasterShape Brow Pencil ($7.99)

I have finally worked my way to the bottom of the treasure trove of new Maybelline offerings, that I received in a generous goodie bag at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.  Maybelline is one of their featured sponsors.

For a Girl whose been fixated on all thing maquilage, since the age of 12, I am a later comer to the world of brow styling.

It started with my obsession with Julianna Margulies eyebrows on The Good Wife. I realized that my brows needed an over haul.  My 3 annual visits to anywaxeravailable in anynailsalon anywhere was ripe for improvement.

Julianna Margulies:  Brow Goddess

Holiday 2011: A Few of My Favorite Things

It's that time of year again, for giving, receiving and treating yourself.  Though it seems like yesterday, literally, that we were clinking glasses toasting the end of summer at a Labor Day party, come turkey day, we have officially turned the corner into the "Holiday Season". All I did was blink.

One of the things I love most about the season, are the gorgeous Holiday Gift Sets that are created quite successfully, to tempt us.  The best marry gorgeous neutrals in pretty packaging, that offer so much value it makes no sense to leave them behind.  They truly do make beautiful gifts and take the guilt out of my favorite holiday shopping maxim,"one for you and one for me".

Here is a round up of some of my favorites that I have spied and tried:

Just Brow-Zing....again.

Wowza! Time does fly...  I knew my eyebrows were starting to look like two hapless rectangles on my forehead, but until one second ago when I checked my blog archives, I would not have guessed it's been a year and a half since I had my brows professionally tended.  I did have an excellent experience at the Benefit Brow Bar at Bloomingdale's in White Plains and the $22 fee is unbeatable for the service your receive. Why not return???

Just Brow-Zing

"Chickens get plucked, people get tweezed", or so I was told by Danielle Sampieri, the aesthetician at The Benefit Brow Bar at Bloomingdale's. Geez! You learn something new everyday.

I recently became obsessed with eyebrows, after I started watching the wonderful Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife. It's a fine show, but it might as well be on mute, because I cannot take my eyes off her eyebrows. Could a fetish be developing? Yup. I am bonkers over the arch in her left brow and the way it frames her face. Mine look like a pair of parenthesis.

Dashing in on a separate mission, the Benefit Brow Bar has its own adorable window display and in store set up, smartly capitalizing on the brow craze that is sweeping the beauty world. Danielle sweetly approached me for a consultation and I promised to visit on the way out---No doubt, she hears this all day long, because she look surprised when I returned.

"I'm archless and I'm obsessed with Julianna Margulies eyebrows...is it hopeless"???, I whined.

"Challenging, but not hopeless".

"What can be done"?

"Tweezing will help, but you will have to learn how to fake it".

"No problem, get plucking please uh, I mean tweezing".

I watched with a hand mirror, as Danielle showed that a brow should arch, right where the outside of the eyeball ends. Her implement of choice is a slanted Tweezerman, that would not have looked out of place in an O.R. She showed me what needed to go and what needed to grow.

Next she taught me how to use a slanted brush to apply brow wax, and to fake some additional length, thus creating the framework for my coveted arch. She then tapped on brow powder and brushed it gently, to achieve a natural look. The final touch was the addition of a pink hued highlighting powder, under the brow following the arch.

Voila!!! "Groomed and gorgeous", just as Jean and Jane Ford, the Co-creators of Benefit promised! The full service Brow Bar offers professional, reasonably priced waxing, tweezing and lash services, all without an appointment necessary. I was impressed with Danielle's skill and loved her self-confidence, that she will find fame in the brow world .

Until then, I'm glad she has found a home at Bloomingdale's in White Plains. I purchased the Brows a-go-go kit and did a reasonably good job of replicating her handiwork this morning.

All in all, I'm feeling preetay, preetay good about my brows, or I will at least until next Tuesday at 10, on CBS.

xox,
DD