If you follow me often, you will have seen the No Mirror Makeover that I had recently at Q.L Northampton Salon where the lovely Louisa turned me from a boring natural hair colour (filled with lots of grey) into a rainbow copper goddess.

OH Dear…..

Makeup, nails, eyelashes and the hair transformation were all included and I walked out of the salon feeling like a brand new woman.

Rainbow Goddess

If you missed it… Where have you been?

Also, you can still catch it here!

Feeling like a true goddess!

Since then I have popped back and had a different spin put on my hair, an undercoat 0f scarlet with the copper top.

Ravishing reds

Whilst there, Louisa asked if I had ever considered having my eyebrows microbladed. I had to admit I had thought about it, but I really didn’t have a clue what it was all about and was a little apprehensive about it.

Louisa told me all about the process and that it would be pain-free, quick and last quite a while if I took care of them. As she has won numerous awards for her skills, it was obviously a no-brainer!

How could I resist, I booked in and looked forward to giving it a go!

I had a day off from work and booked in for the afternoon as I wanted to get my nails redone too. Arriving at 1200 I was promptly offered a lovely cuppa from Janine, Louisa’s partner in the salon and was then taken in to the room where the treatments are performed.

Louisa explained that to start with she would ‘map’ out the eyebrow shape with a series of lines and dots. This would mark where the brush strokes would be made and could be changed/altered before even a pigment had been opened up!

Before – No makeup, powder or colour at all.

For someone who didn’t really know what would happen, this was wonderful. Louisa taught me all about the whole procedure before laying a finger on me. I found this really refreshing, as although I had put myself in her hands, it is nice to know what is going to be done to you when it comes to something that is a little more permanent than a hair cut!

Starting to map. As you can see there is nothing at the front at all!

First of all, Louisa put a numbing cream onto my eyebrows so that the blade strokes wouldn’t cause any pain. To be honest, I wasn’t too worried due to the fact that I have several tattoos, I couldn’t imagine this feeling any worse than some of the delicate areas I have put under a tattoo gun.

The Cream is on!

I appreciated it though, as obviously it is quite a sensitive area and I really didn’t know quite what to expect.

Louisa explained that the process was manual as opposed to a machine and each stroke would be placed precisely within the mapped areas. It was based on a method called Tebori, a Japanese form of tattooing which uses stylus and varying sizes of blades to apply the colour into the skin.

Mapped and shaped. Ready to go!

She wanted to use a dark brown as my brows are quite dark, yet explained this would settle down to a lighter colour than initially expected. Louisa explained that when using the Tebori manual application, the pigment would go down to a depth of 0.75mm.

The Salon also offers digital application which goes to a depth of 3mm. This is in comparison with a standard body tattoo which goes to a depth of 6mm. This means that although the microblading will last quite a long time as a semi permanent treatment (especially if you take care of it) it can be removed by treatments if your tastes change.

I was more than happy with all of that and went to the treatment room. Louisa showed me the sterile blade that is inserted into a pen like stylus. Masks, hair covering and other sterile coverings were put on both of us and we were off.

Stylus and Blade

I decided I would like to video some of the process, something I have never done before as I genuinely have never wanted to be a vlogger; I genuinely don’t like the sound of my own voice on camera. However, I thought it could be quite an important educational tool for those who don’t know a lot about the process and could be nervous or apprehensive about taking such a leap.

Louisa took the first stroke. Whilst I couldn’t really feel any pain at all, thanks to the numbing cream, I could hear it and it did have a sensation to it.

The best way I could describe it was it felt like someone drawing a line with a pen on your skin. It didn’t hurt but it felt like a little dragging motion. As for the sound, it almost sounded like someone ripping apart from velcro, but not enough to be off putting.

Louisa started on one eyebrow before moving on to the next. She explained that there would be some natural hairs that would need plucking to get the best shape possible, however she would do that after the process. This was because if she did it first, the pigment would find its way into the open pores and leave me with little dark dots.

I found this quite an entertaining idea, but realised that from a serious point of view, it wouldn’t be a good look!

I have to say that I am a bit of a bleeder. Where are some people have light spotting, I bleed like a stuck pig so if you are watching the videos please do not be too concerned, it is just the way I am! Promise!!

Louisa finished both eyebrows and then explained that a layer of pigment would be rubbed across them and left to sit for around 10 minutes to settle.

Well, I couldn’t resist taking a video and uploading it to Instagram for the giggles. I certainly got the reaction I was looking for and it certainly seemed to cheer peoples days up!

Once the pigment was rubbed off, Louisa checked the measurements and the look. I could see by her face that she just was not happy!

She double checked and said ‘No, one needs a little more work’

Getting back down on the treatment couch she added around 4 more hair strokes before proclaiming that they were spot on!

Sitting up and looking at the full effect was simply amazing.

Having over-plucked my brows for years, to the point of not having much left at all, I had spent the last several years pencilling in the front section as my brows started half way across my eyes! I had nothing to work with at the fronts and sparse ends too.

Microblading them in has given me a natural, effecting, full brow. I know that I won’t have to spend hours trying to match them up with powder and wax, which I am rubbish at anyway!

Louisa advised that they would start to faintly scab over the next week or so. She gave care advice including not to get them wet and to not use make-up on them.

Full and Luscious

I have a top-up appointment in four weeks time to see how they have settled and to add any extra strokes that we both think are needed. This is all included in the initial price.

For a full set of Manually Microbladed brows with a top up after four weeks, it would normally cost £500. However, as a reader of my blog, you can give this ago for the bargain price of £275. This offer is valid until the 27th May!

Needs to settle a little

Even better, you can place a deposit during the consultation and then split the remainder of the payment over the two session. I love this idea as it doesn’t seem such a huge outlay all at once, yet you still get the same amazing, specialist service!

So, what does that mean?

Ten hours later…..

Well, I can literally get up and go. Eyebrows are the finishing touches to a face. Without them, your whole face seems out of whack. Drawn in or HD Brows can and DO look amazing.

For me, I just don’t have the skills.

I have tried all the brands., Anastasia Beverly Hills, Benefit Brow WOW and even the cheap stuff from Revolution. You can give the goods to a girl, but you can’t make her good! I have watched endless YouTube tutorials and I just don’t get it.

Bloody amazing!

Now though, I don’t have to try (and fail). I have a perfect set of brows, all courtesy of Louisa at Q.L Salon.

I honestly can’t thank her enough. I will do an update later on, showing the healing process, the scabbing and also the top up after four weeks. After all, you need to see the whole process to appreciate just how amazing and skillful this is.

All done

So, as always….

Watch this space.

Till next time,

SPSG xx

*****Although this treatment was gifted for the purpose of review, the words and opinions within are entirely my own*****