When it comes to beauty, I'm pretty much the most low maintenance girl on the planet. I wear makeup maybe twice a year, I live for my activewear, and I take 5 minutes flat to get ready. I'm also incredibly frugal, spending most of my money on my family instead of myself.
But when I was planning my wedding for August, 2018, I knew my usual routine just wasn't going to cut it. And the truth was that I always wanted to try tinting my eyebrows and getting eyelash extensions, but have never found the right "excuse" to splurge. Well, what better time than your own wedding, amirite? As a redhead, my brows and lashes are pretty much invisible (see evidence below), and I really wanted my wedding photos to pop.
Ginger = invisible features
Having been the long-time blogger for Byōōdē Bar, I knew I wanted the Byōōdē team for my transformation. All the techs there are amazing, and I'm especially appreciative of the multiple certifications and ongoing education they seek in order to always be on top of their game. Their studio is clean and beautiful and bright, and I never question that safety is their top priority.
A few days before my wedding, I showed up for my appointment. First, the brow rehab with Ashley. I lay down on the bed, and Ashley got to work sketching out the perfect brow shape, cleaning up my brow peach fuzz with a quick wax (which, by the way, didn't really hurt at all), and threw on some tint to add some colour. A half-hour later and I was done—what a quick process!
Next were my lashes. I had no idea what kind to ask for, but Dru is the expert and knew exactly what to recommend. In the end, we agreed on volume lashes with a wispy cat eye to create a lot of lash coverage without being too overbearing. Dru hooked me up with soothing undereye gel pads and got to work, while I barraged her with a ton of questions. When can I get them wet? Not for at least 24 hours. How can I clean them? Baby soap and a gentle down-across motion, or spray the lash wand with a water/alcohol mix before I brush them. What should I avoid? Standing too close to a hot fire or barbeque, rubbing my eyes, waterproof makeup. How long will they last? 3-4 weeks before they start to look patchy.
After about an hour and a half, Dru's magic was done. And just like that, in under two hours, my transformation was complete. And boy, was it dramatic.
Uh...wow!
The wedding was great, the pictures are amazing, and Byōōdē Bar's help was exactly what I was looking for. But, confession time...I had no intention of ever getting my brows or lashes touched up—remember my low-maintenance personality and aversion to spending money on myself?
Except virtually every single person I saw post-transformation raved about how amazing I looked. My lashes were the first thing that people noticed, even if I hadn't seen them in years (true story). And what I didn't realize going into this whole thing was that both my brows and my lashes catered perfectly to my low-maintenance routine, because I didn't have do anything at all and I still looked amazing. I wake up looking bright eyed and bushy tailed, and still get ready in 5 minutes flat. As frugal as I may be, that sounds like money well spent.
So, maybe needless to say, I just had my first touch up last week. And I may just have my new guilty pleasure. It's sad to think that I probably never would've discovered the magic of Byōōdē Bar had I not gotten married, but learn from my mistake and don't wait for the "perfect" moment to invest in yourself. You're totally, completely worth it.
I woke up like this (really).
