I first met Phuong years ago and she changed my life. My family convinced me to microshade my brows, things i never placed importance on before. I didn't even draw them in despite them being an uneven length and a bit sparse. But, brows frame your face and can be expressive. Think how they look when you're surprised, angry, or joyful. After my brows were filled in by Phuong, i noticed how much better my brows appeared in photos to complement my eye makeup, how much easier it was to shape my brows myself (i had struggled with this but afterwards i had an outline to follow!), and how much more i "naturally" looked put together if i opted for a no makeup day.
I'll give the shorthand review first and then a detailed review. Overall i don't trust anyone else but Phuong to do my brows (you can tell she really takes the time to make them perfect and she's really easy to work with in figuring out a look), she can microshade and microblade brows in addition to filling in the waterline and lips, she has upgraded to a suite which remains super clean and has chairs outside or inside while waiting, she's super affordable (personally i find her prices at least 50% cheaper than most places), you'll probably want to call to schedule an appointment at least a month in advance but she may be able to squeeze you in easier on a weekday, and since she's the only one running the place, she has to make and answer calls during your appointment but it doesn't affect her work as she does it hands free.
Ok so i was terrified that microshading would hurt really badly because it is a semi-permanent tattoo. However, she uses a lidocaine spray to decrease the pain, the pain is comparable to waxing or plucking your brows for an hour, and after a few minutes the discomfort just plateaus. Keep in mind, I dunno how it feels for the waterline or lips and i tend to have a high pain tolerance. It probably would have helped if i took Tylenol an hour beforehand but i didn't either times and did just fine.
The entire process took an hour. First, you tell her what you want and she'll pencil them in and let you look at them for the a-ok. Since she's been doing this for years, she just knows what looks good and can help guide you with a look. You also decide which color and how dark you want the brows to be. I'm more comfortable with a natural look so i didn't want mine as dark. She advised me that initially it'll look dark but will fade to the agreed color in a couple of weeks. Next, she lidocaine sprays you, you close your eyes, and then she microshades away. Afterwards, she hands you ointment that you put on the brows with a q-tip once a day for about 7-10 days until the skin peels off. At first, my brows look red-brown but its because they're irritated and after a week or two they look how they're supposed to, beautiful! I'm so happy with my experiences and the end results that i can't thank Phuong enough. She's awesome! read more