We caught up with eyebrow artist Suzie Mcintosh to talk about all things eyebrows…
An architect of the perfect brows, Suzie Mcintosh has created a reputation for crafting the perfect archways on the faces of her clients, building a thriving empire and picking up a long list of celebrity and high-profile clients along the way.
Suzie has also been hosting her own masterclasses in Australia and internationally including Canada and Los Angeles. In January 2019, Suzie relocated to Sydney to begin working on her new Sydney location, set to open on June 10 at La Porté Space in Rosebery.
Suzie, can you tell us about yourself and your background. How did you end up becoming one of Australia’s most sought-after eyebrow artist?
Of course! It all started back when I was about 16 and I was going to the salon with my mother and sister who would get their brows threaded! I would watch the beauticians do it and I was just fascinated by how the brows can really make a difference to your entire face. Then I started watching videos on threading and taught myself.
Once I had that down pat, I would then do all my friends brows at school during lunch, which then also became a staple part of my lunch breaks when I left school and started working a corporate job where I would do all the girls eyebrows in the office boardroom. Needless to say, I quickly realised I was in the wrong fied, and took a side step into the beauty industry. Then it all just snowballed and now here we are!
Eyebrow trends come and go however what would you advise those who are looking for eyebrows ‘that last’ – the classic eyebrow if you like.
I always recommend keeping as much hair as possible to maintain thick brows, trends come and go… stick to what’s natural and you won’t regret it!
It’s not about removing a lot of hair when you see one of our professional brow stylists, we remove the ‘right’ hairs to create the perfect shape individually tailored to you. Removing less hair also means your waxes last you 4-5 weeks rather than just 2-3 weeks.
Talking about trends, this year we’ve seen the feathery texture, straight tails, soft arches and au natural. What’s your take on these trends?
I love what’s trending at the moment, it’s classic and timeless, soft arches, and feathery textured brows… you would never look back on photos and regret that… Au natural brows, always!
I hope if the trend changes, no one follows it!
Generally speaking, how do you determine which eyebrow shape suits which face shape?
We never redesign a client’s brow, generally, we go with the client’s natural brow shape and bone structure and make slight changes within reason to give them a bespoke set of arches.
One thing we always try to do is lift the tails by removing hairs underneath. Another important thing is finishing the tails diagonally aligned with the outer corner of their eye… keeping their brows short and lifted is like giving your client a non-surgical facelift!
Once the right shape is accomplished, presuming there are products needed to keep and enhance the shape. Which products do you recommend?
I absolutely love the texture and colours of the Brow Guru Pencils by MECCA MAX in fair and medium shades. These are what our brow stylists use at our salons to finish our brow sculpts.
We fill in the gaps and define the shape. Mecca has nailed the tones of the colours and the smooth texture of this pencil glides seamlessly without leaving behind any sharp lines.
They’re very affordable too! We recommend them to all of our clients. Our girls then use the cover FX concealer palette to highlight their arches and conceal and redness caused by waxing, so they look fresh and on fleek when they leave the salon.
Are there any natural organic products you can recommend to achieve a great result?
Henna Brows are a great semi-permanent natural option for your brows. Henna is a natural product used to stain the skin and create a “shadow-like” finish behind your existing brow, filling in the sparse areas. The great thing about Henna is that it has longer lasting results in comparison to regular tinting!
Do you have any top tips to those with an active lifestyle and for frequent travellers who which to keep their eyebrows looking fabulous?
Permanent Makeup! Feathering or Ombré Brows will be the best investment for those with an active or busy lifestyle. Low maintenance, sweat proof, smudge proof brows with a shape that’s so easy to maintain, you can even pluck the strays and maintain the shape yourself.
