Crystal F is absolutely the best and consistently provides exceptional service. I've seen her for extended bikini waxing, full leg waxing, as well as brow lamination and tinting, and every appointment has exceeded my expectations. She is incredibly sweet, professional, and makes you feel completely comfortable throughout every service. Her attention to detail is outstanding, and she always shares helpful beauty tips that I truly appreciate. You can tell she genuinely cares about her clients and takes pride in her work. I highly recommend booking with her! read more

I had an amazing experience at Benefit Brow Bar! As a natural ginger, getting the right brow color can be really tricky--but Jasmine absolutely nailed it. She talked me through the entire process, made me feel completely comfortable, and clearly has a passion for what she does. Not only did she match my brows perfectly, but she also made the tinting and threading experience feel safe, quick, and supported. Threading can be painful, but Jasmine's encouragement and nurturing energy made all the difference. Plus--she smells amazing, which somehow made the whole thing even more pleasant! Highly recommend this spot, and especially Jasmine. She's a brow magician and a total gem. Will definitely be back! read more

See all

Sam is amazing! Personalized experience... suggested products that worked well for my skin and did a great job on my brows. Definitely worth the money. read more

One of my favorite Benefit locations that has the best services for brow waxing, arm waxing, and a lot more! Everyone is so sweet and helpful. I recommend coming here to use their services. I love how they pay attention to how they will wax your brows and just double-check with you on how you want your brows to be done. They recommend some products too if you're looking for a little glam and such and help you test them out! read more

After 3 years in Vegas with a 1 year layover in LA, I'm back with Cole for a brow wax. Brought my sister in for a tuneup too. Cole, after 20 years, is working two days a week. I'm back on track with a six week standing appointment. My sissy, is going to have a facial. read more

I had an appointment with Cole for 12:05 yesterday. The boutique calls me an hour before my appointment to say that it's Cole's birthday and someone messed up the schedule. Call back to rebook. So I do, and they act like I don't exist in the system. So strange. I arrive for my normal appointment time. The person doing my service applies the tint so sloppily- I have dye all over my face including a large dot on my eyelid. I had to ask him twice to remove the tint after using my phone to look at my face. Cole ALWAYS gives me a handheld mirror to check the work. While asking if I'm paying for card or cash, they charge me for the tint and brow wax and then ask if I want to tip and how much. Is this standard protocol? Why not hand over the device and let me select the tip. . . I tipped 20% btw because this is the Bay Area and everyone deserves to make a living wage. When I got back to my car, I was absolutely shocked to see the tint up close. Frantically I tried to scrub off all the dark tint from my face because I was going to brunch with a friend (luckily I had QTips in the car). I should've followed my gut and canceled my appointment. The whole service from start to finish was a nightmare. read more

RELAXING BROW EXPERIENCE. I made an appointment on a rainy weekend and had an overall great experience getting my eyebrows cleaned up. I walked into a selection of Benefit Cosmetics products for an opportunity to go shopping before and after taking one of the services they offer. The staff were quite friendly and accommodating the entire time. My service started off with some under-eye patches before I got my eyebrows waxed and ended with some Benefit makeup to touch up my brows. I left the store feeling great with my brows looking fabulous! Even though I've switched from waxing to threading my brows, I had a great experience and would still come back for the other services they offer like brow tinting and makeover. read more

Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & BrowBar - Cosmetics & Beauty Supply Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Nancy did my brows today and recommended various products for my brows. Greatly appreciated it

Lovely, welcoming space. The gals are super nice, and do an exceptional job on brows and related services.

I don't come for Benefit's, I come for Cole's services. Period. Cole is the only person I will let anywhere near my eyebrows (including myself lol). I've been coming to her at this location since I was in my late 20s (just know that wasn't recently) and have seen both staff and managers come and go, but Cole has been the constant, a pillar, the bedrock of Benefit Berkeley's success, and my B-town Queen deserves all her flowers. She's warm, she's friendly, she's professional, she's patient as a saint with these people (customers, iykyk), and she's simply the best at what she does, hands down. If Cole was Jerry McGuire, I'd be Dorothy Boyd, and I put that on these fabulously shaped and tinted eyebrows by Cole. read more

I had the most amazing experience at the Benefit Brow Bar! Priscilla waxed my eyebrows and did an under eye treatment while she did my brows and I absolutely love them. Priscilla is amazing, professional and hilarious. She's Latina like me and absolutely amazing at doing brows. I highly recommend her for eyebrows, the Benefit in Berkeley was immaculate. It was VERY pink (my favorite color) and not busy at all, but I did go on my birthday, during the week, around noon with my boyfriend. I will definitely keep going back to get my brows done with Priscilla! read more

Emily made my brows beautiful! Benefit was able to fit me in for a walk in and I left very happy with the result!

I had such a wonderful experience at Benefit Cosmetics in Berkeley! The store has a fun and welcoming atmosphere, and everyone there makes you feel completely comfortable. But I especially want to highlight Catharine -- she is absolutely amazing! Catharine is professional, kind, and truly talented at what she does. She took the time to listen to what I wanted, gave me helpful recommendations, and made sure I was happy with the results. You can tell she really cares about her clients and loves what she does. My brows (and confidence!) have never looked better. read more

I just had to give a shoutout to my girl Kim. I've gotten multiple compliments on my brows this week!!!

As someone who takes her brows seriously I was so let down by how my eyebrows were done. I usually get them threaded but decided to have them waxed as they provide a cleaner look and last longer to grow back. I legit came in with the bushiest outgrown eyebrows to get the cleanest look possible as I am traveling soon. I was let down by how uneven they looked, cousins? Yea no more like step sister! The trim was not great and all in all I let them grow out for nothing. I hate saying anything negative but man oh man am I just sad about my eyebrows. Hopefully it was just a bad day for Travis. read more

They always do such a good job waxing. I went in for my birthday not long ago, and usually I don't have to pay because they have the free eyebrow wax for your birthday. Has anyone experienced that they no longer do that? Anyways, the guy was nice and the result was great compared to the before. My eyebrows were so bushy before. read more

Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & BrowBar - Eyebrow Wax - Cosmetics & Beauty Supply Near Me - Berkeley, California

After not having anyone say hello or even acknowledge me, I waited while a person who was an hour late got seated. I then was told I could take a seat and the person who I assume was doing my wax proceeded to help another woman shop for makeup. I left 30 mins after I arrived and 25 after my appointment time. So sad to see another of my favorites lose their way ... not the first time but definitely the last. I left my six products I was going to buy in the counter and will find a new local spot. read more

I have been going to Benefit since it opened in the Marina in San Francisco. I don't even know how many years it has been. However, today was a first. Around 1:30 I walk in for a brow wax and trim. I did not have an appointment. I always walk in. I was told if I wait, I could be helped in 15 minutes. No problem. I was waiting. Then another employee (I decided not call her out, she knows who she is along with the other employees) asked me wait longer. I said no problem and when should I return? Come back at 2:15. I walked around and returned at 2:15. The lady who had a 2pm appointment was still waiting. Since I arrived as a walk in, I had been asked numerous times what I needed done. I was then told I need to be patient (which I had been for over a half hour) and do I need done. Again, I said brow trim and wax. I've told at least four times. Well, I must had hit a nerve and she started raising her voice to me. That I need to be patient and why didn't I make an appointment? I explained that I didn't know I should. I just assumed when they told me to come back at a specific time, that meant I had an appointment. Her attitude was rude and she was completely disrespectful to me as a customer. I felt uncomfortable and said I was leaving. She then told me I was just about to work on you. I would never let her touch my brows. I will never go to benefit and I will be letting others know about this situation. My suggestion is to never just walk in for a service (even though they encourages them customers to do so) read more

Yasmin was particularly fantastic, very considerate of her customer and did a very thorough job.

Coco does the best tint and wax job on eyebrows. Period. I find that WHO you see here really matters. read more

As I have aged, my eyebrows and eyelashes became white and barely visible. I visit Benefit periodically to have them tinted and to restore some definition to my face. They generally do a good job, although I prefer the careful work of some aestheticians more than others, because they do a better job of tinting the hairs and not tinting random skin here and there. read more

This is the best Benefit shop. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. It is always well stocked and seems very well managed. I had my brows threaded, lashes tinted, and a makeover by Keiyanna. (I felt like I needed a little beauty overhaul.) She was wonderful and easy to talk to. I knew we were on the same page as soon as we discussed what I felt I needed. She recommended colors for me that I would normally shy away from-- but after she did my make up with them I could see that she was right. I really trust her opinion. (Her face was flawless!) She is my go-to brow queen now. It's awesome to have a place to go that is so clean, comfortable, and friendly. Thank you to Benefit Berkeley and Keiyanna! You made me feel so fab. read more

Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & BrowBar - What I purchased. (Thanks Keiyanna!!) - Cosmetics & Beauty Supply Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

This Benefit is very welcoming. Simone has been doing my brows for awhile now and every time she Is so sweet and makes me feel very comfortable! I drive from SF just to come to this location read more

I'm really upset with my whole experience at Benefit, so upset that I don't want to be seen in public. I had called the store Friday night and spoke with a really sweet lady. I was trying to get my eyebrows threaded and tinted before the holidays. She assured me that waxing was actually more precise than threading and assured me I'd like it better. I took her word and booked for a eyebrow wax. When I arrived to my appointment, Travis did my brows. Really sloppy job at tinting so much that the tint was very blotchy on my eyebrow. I even had to point out parts to fix. I've gotten my eyebrows tinted many times in the past and it has NEVER looked this bad. Waxing was terrible too. One eyebrow is shaped very different than the other and the top of my brows are not straight. He also didn't trim my hairs properly, one eyebrow has hairs cut nicely and the other is all wonky. I'm so upset as it's the holidays and I was really expecting my eyebrows to look fantastic. I'm never coming back here again. read more

Cole is THE BEST. I just started tinting my brows a year or 2 ago-- I'm new to the whole brow thing. :-) I read the reviews here, and decided to go to Cole. Boy am I glad. She is just amazing, and a lovely, funny, and warm person. That's the reason she books so fast. The appointments are sometimes running late, so keep that in mind. Thank you Cole, for being so wonderful. :-) read more

I came back after a long absence to get my brows done and the woman working on them was really nice. I explained why I stopped coming and my previous bad experience but when I saw her and one other person working there, I figured that I could come back and I was right. They were totally nice and the stress, pain, energy usually spent when I'm getting a wax wasn't a problem. I will be back again, but only to see her. Name isn't mentioned on purpose. read more

go to this location all the time and my girls NEVER miss! Keiyanna and Camila are my usuals . They're always kind, and professional and keep my brows looking flawless. Today, I went in for something different though. I got my brows laminated for the very first time by Cole and I'm OBSESSED! read more

Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & BrowBar - Cosmetics & Beauty Supply Near Me - Berkeley, California

Travis is an artist. This is my second appointment with him for a lash and brow tint. He's so careful and the color match is natural. It makes a big difference to have this treatment done so well, particularly if you're a little older as it's just a small pop of color that goes a long way. read more

I understand that the sale of one goof proof brow pencil is not exciting, but I was not even allowed to buy it. I walked in, and the sales person immediately helped me as I told her what I was looking for and what color. Unfortunately, they were out of the regular size of my particular shade, but did have one mini left. It took quite a while to find the one mini. Once we had, she took me over to the cash register, where I believe a manager was training what looked to be a new sales person. They were checking in someone or having someone pay who had had or what would be having a service done. It was taking quite a while, and then the customer had not properly checked in so had to go to another computer, do something, and come back. All the while, I waited patiently, as it really wasn't a problem. The manager lady told me that their Apple Pay wasn't working and I said it's fine, I have cash. When it was finally my turn, she taught the new worker how to look up the price, put it in the computer, etc. and then asked me for my name. I said I didn't have an account, I'm just paying cash. She said it didn't matter, she needed my name. I asked her if that was really necessary just to pay for my product in cash. She said yes, she had to have my name. So I said, OK, no thank you and she curtly said "OK thanks for coming in bye". Wow. I get asked to sign up for every single program at every single store, but I have never had anyone refuse to let me purchase if I did not give them my private information. And let me be clear, my name is my private information. Obviously, you have my name now, because I choose to give it to you in the form of this review. But should I choose to not, you should honor that. Benefit corporate, do better. read more

I really wanted to treat myself to a day of beauty before meeting my new boyfriend's family and was looking forward to getting my eyebrows waxed and a little color with a spray tan. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong place to get it done. The women working here are very nice. But sadly that is the only good thing I can say. I have been getting my eyebrows waxed for a long time but this was the first time I was immediately red and irritated afterward. Turns out, like others have mentioned skin was ripped from underneath my eyebrows and I got bruises and scabs the next day (not the look I was going for!). I can't tell you how mortified I was to meet everyone in the bf's family looking like this! The spray tan didn't go any better. It was splotchy and uneven all over. When I mentioned it to the salesperson she said it would dry even and be smooth the next day. Not so! This ended up being a waste of money and time. The store was understaffed and despite having an appointment I still had to wait a long time. read more

Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & BrowBar - Splotchy spray tan. - Cosmetics & Beauty Supply Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Kim , Travis , Annie , Cole , Precila, and Emely are all truly amazing ! They always keep it fun and give a true girly fun experience without it feeling like im talking to someone from corporate or trying ti be sold products .they always strive to do they best and make sure every Customer is satisfied . Kim has been doing my services for a few years now and for me to still go back to benefit and see her knowing how I feel about the company speaks volumes ! these employees should be extremely proud of themselves for maintaining this business successfully ! if it wasn't for them, this benefit location would be closed just like the sutter location . My five stars are specifically for the employees working there ass off and not for the actual company read more

My 14 year old step daughter and I are regular customers but had a horrible experience last week with Samantha. We had a 1:20pm appointment for Sunday, August 13, 2023. She had lamination, tint, and wax treatment done by Samantha (we had originally made an appointment with Coco but she called in sick that day and couldn't do it. In the past we also had great experiences with Emely). Samantha was extremely rude throughout. After I finished my brow wax, I went over to check on my step daughter to make sure everything was going well. Samantha complained that I was "hovering" and in her way even though I was standing at least two meters away and well out of her path. She then told me she would work slower as long as I was watching, so I walked over to check the brow pencil. A few minutes later she declared "I think we're done now" so I came over to look and was shocked to see the poor quality of work, there was basically no tint, the brow shape was unsymmetrical and messy, there were also lots of hair sticking out as if she didn't do the lamination at all. I was shocked Samantha thinks that's a job done, especially comparing it with Emely's work. I pointed out the issues and she reluctantly started to fix it. Ten minutes later she again declared she was done but the work was clearly uneven and not symmetrical (see attached photo). I told her she did a great job on the left side, and politely asked her if she could fix the tail on the right side, she responded "thank you, but this is not your eyebrows so it's okay if you don't like it. She's the one who should be making the decision." This is my 14 year old step daughter, I was paying for the service, and had signed in as the legal guardian so it is absolutely my business. Perhaps she was confused because we are different races but this is no excuse for her poor attitude. Then after she finished and had treated me so rudely she had the audacity to demand I pay promptly so she could go on her lunch break while I was still looking at products to also purchase. I politely told her I wasn't ready and then paid with a colleague I think named Keiyanna after Samantha left. When we got home and my step daughter had a chance to look closer, started crying saying she can't go to school that way and asking if we can find another place to fix it that night. She also said that, after we pointed out the poor quality of Samantha's work the first time, Samantha started to be a little grumpy and made her feel intimidated, even though she didn't like the final look, she was too nervous to voice her real opinion out of fear. After Samantha left, I told another staff about what happened and she gave me the manager's email. I emailed the manager immediately that night (Sunday) but today is Friday I still haven't heard anything from her so I guess she doesn't care? The second and third picture is what my step daughter took after she washed her face after 24 hours of the lamination and tint, you can see how the tint all pretty much faded just after one wash. read more

See all

Came in looking to re purchase a new brow-volumizing fiber gel and walk out with that and their amazing deal on two full-size brow pencils for the price of basically one (plus extra of course)! Their customer service is amazing and they helped me color match my eye brows and tested the recommend colors on my eyebrows for me to decide which to go with! Never been in a benefit cosmetic boutique but I highly enjoyed it!! read more

Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & BrowBar - Browmazing deal Gimme brow+ - Cosmetics & Beauty Supply Near Me - Berkeley, California

When I arrived at benefit, I told the woman doing my brows that I wanted them cleaned up lightly and not reshaped. I left with misshaped very sparse brows that I am unhappy with. She did not check throughout the waxing process to see if i was happy with them- and seemed to go overboard on the waxing. Service was okay, the woman just seemed to not be paying attention to detail or really listen to what I wanted. Pretty disappointed with the results. read more

Not quite COVID ready. It was my first visit time visiting this location; which had been recommended to me by both colleagues and friends in the pre-pandemic world. Under non-COVID circumstances, I would've been very satisfied with my experience. Unfortunately, I did not feel entirely safe with my experience one day after Alameda county opened up. Upon first entering, I was pleased to note that the front door was propped open and there was a good cross-breeze in the shop. There was only one other customer in the store and the seats at the brow bar were well separated. Unfortunately, the individual assisting me did not go de me to one of the seats in the front area, hut instead escorted me to a small enclosed room towards the back of the shop (and far away from the the well ventilated entrance). While the service was completed in a timely manner (less than 20 minutes total), I was anxious throughout due to the unventilated location. After I paid, I noticed that the individual who did my brows did not change their gloves between me and their next customer; which increased my overall anxiety with the experience. I am pleased with the shape and tinting of my brows, but don't think I'll be returning again until after I've received the vaccine and feel safe in small, confined spaces with strangers! read more

I stopped by, hoping they could take me as a walk-in around 12:30pm. The staff was friendly, and told me they had a spot at 1pm, and I told them I would be back, and was willing to wait, since I did not have an appointment. I come back at 1pm, and they said, to actually come back at 1:15... I come back at 1:15, and all of the staff is busy, and the person who told me to come back was like, oh, do you have an appointment.... I told him no, like I was just here and you told me to come back at this time. There was no available staff, and I felt very dismissed, despite being told there was a slot at 1:15. I'm sure they do great brows, but I won't be coming back. Parking is also a nightmare in this area. read more

I've been coming here for at least a dozen years for brow waxes. I always see whoever is available since the work has been so consistently good no matter who I've seen. Until today. I got a brow wax and the person doing the service dropped the wax stick in my hair. He had to use a lot of oil to get it out. And yes, the oil did drip on my jeans. He said it comes out of clothes. That is not my experience with oil and clothes. I know it was an accident. And he couldn't have known I had freshly washed hair and was wearing new jeans. But rather than comp the $30 service, he gave me a 20% discount and had the nerve to ask if I wanted to add a gratuity. I had to interrupt my day of errands to go home and wash a quarter of my head (super fun!), change my pants & then pray to the fabric gods that the oil will come out of my brand new jeans. It sucked. I'll go back, but I'll make the effort to select someone specific who is not that guy. read more

She took off way too much of my eyebrows, instead of just removing the fizz. Don't go there if you like full brows

*****Update***** I can't believe I got her name wrong. Cole was the one to my brows and she did a WONDERFUL JOB... read more

Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & BrowBar - Brow wax and tint - Cosmetics & Beauty Supply Near Me - Berkeley, California

I've been going to Benefit for brow waxing off and on for many years now. While my usual place is my local nail salon (can't beat the price) or the Benefit in the Sunvalley Mall, Sunvalley is a little far for me and my local nail salon does the job but doesn't deliver that wow factor. I feel like I'm searching for that Benefit quality brow service while keeping it somewhat close to where I live. I'm always in Berkeley, so I decided to give this place a try based on the reviews. I made an appointment online with Elizabeth due to her marvelous yelp reviews and how yelpers said she takes her time to get her clients brow's right. I certainly felt that during our consultation as she noticed that my right brow is thicker than the left brow. She told me she would clean my brows up, but not go in so much on the left brow to give it the chance to grow in and catch up with the right brow. I was impressed with her attention to detail and her catering to my brow "goals" so to speak. My feelings changed upon further inspection of my brows... when she finished, it looks like she went in too much on the right brow (originally the thicker one) so now my brows are uneven. How ironic given the goal was to even them out. I come to Benefit because I trust in the name and expect to receive better brows, but perhaps this location ain't it. Given the price of $22 + tip I feel I can get better brows elsewhere for a better price. read more