Review: Lash and Wow Brow Treatment at Strip Salon

(AD - Review) With each child my daily make up routine has shortened to the extent that as a mum of 3 some days I just remove the under eye smudge of yesterday's make up, apply powder and go. It’s not that I don’t want to look nice, but time is short and to be honest there have been days I have forgotten to even look in the mirror. There is no doubt that when I am looking my best I feel better about myself, but is there a way to save time and look amazing? I think I might have found a way.

Me standing in front of a window looking down with my hand in my hair. You can see the defined eyebrows from the wow brow treatment at Strip Salon

Post Wow Brow Treatment at Strip Salon

I have always thought of Strip Salon as a posh place to get waxing done. They were my number one choice last time I had a bikini wax because I was pregnant, had PGP and I was about to go on holiday. Their mama wax is meant to be more gentle and they allow more time so it wasn’t a painful experience despite not being able to get into the normal positions. When I was offered the opportunity to review a treatment at Strip I didn’t think a bikini wax would be the best Christmas present to myself, but I noticed that they have a range of treatments for brows and lashes which appealed to me.

What Happened When I Booked An Eye Lash Tint and Wow Brow Treatment at Strip?

I had to go into the Strip salon to get a patch test at least 24 hours before treatment (ideally at least 48 hours). This was super quick and involved having a bit of the dye rubbed behind my ear with a cotton bud. I didn’t have any reaction to it over the next day or so meaning I was fine to go ahead with my booking.

A corridor with black and white corridor and padded doors at Strip Salon Loughton

Strip Salon in Loughton

What Happens at the Appointment?

I had booked my appointment for 10am and headed out that morning with no eye make up on, if your aren’t feeling so brave you can remove your make up when you are there. I was shown into the chocolate room (so called because there is a bar of chocolate on the wallpaper, not because of any actual chocolate sadly) and I was asked to recline on the bed.

Keira and I had a chat about the shape I would like my eyebrows and the shade of tint for my brows and lashes. Until recently I used to keep my eyebrows neat, but they haven’t been plucked for months so it was hard to see what I normally go for beyond a bush.

I chose to have both treatments at the same time so Keira put the tint on my eyelashes then got to work on my brows. Other than attempting not to move my face much it was a painless process, even while waxing my eyebrows (like with most good waxers).

Keira is a brow and lash expert as well as a self professed perfectionist when it comes to brows. A claim backed up by the precision of her brows, so I was confident I would come out with a matching pair. She was easy to talk to and time passed quickly.

Me with my eyes shut, cotton wool under my eyes and black dye on my eye lashes for a lash review at Strip

Review: Eye Lash Tint

Post Appointment

The tint lasts a little longer on the eyelashes than eyebrows due to the type of hair, but they should last 4 to 6 weeks.

I have never had either lashes or brows tinted before which meant I wasn’t really sure what to expect. My eyelashes are blonde, but I normally wear black mascara so I absolutely love that my lashes are now all black (top and bottom). While I am still wearing mascara when I want to make an effort, I haven't bothered most days. I never used to wear mascara on my bottom lashes anyway because of it smudging so it's great that they are black too. If your eyelashes are a different colour to the mascara you wear I would absolutely recommend getting your eyelashes tinted and I will definitely be getting mine done again.

The Wow Brow treatment was a bigger change for me. I have had my eyebrows waxed once before (at a school pamper evening), but I generally pluck them. I have only used brow powder on a couple of occasions too so tinting was a bit radical really, but why not? I wanted to avoid that black slug look so we agreed a more natural brown colour. It took me a day or so of looking in the mirror to get used to it, but I like them. I feel more defined and fashionable even though I’m obviously not making any more effort with my make up, in fact I’m making less. My eyebrows look very neat and they are a similar shape to what I would go for.

It’s going to be interesting to see how I feel about my brows as they fade out and whether I want to get them tinted again, but because my eyebrows are blonde they will never look as defined if I just have them shaped and not tinted.

As you can see from the photo taken an hour after my treatment, my skin was only very slightly pink and nothing that anyone would notice. If your skin tends to go more pink from waxing then you can apply concealer while the skin recovers.

2 close up images of my eyes without make up on. The first is after having a wow brow and eye lash tint, the second is before

After and Before: eyelash tint and Wow Brow treatment at Strip Loughton

Strip Salon in Loughton

My experience at Strip was professional and slick. I’ve been to a salon before where I was asked to talk quietly to not ruin the massage someone was having in a neighbouring room. Yes really. Strip feels more luxurious than your standard salon, it is clean, but it feels warm and welcoming rather than clinical. I definitely recommend visiting to try their lash and brow treatments.

***Disclosure: I received the treatments at Strip in exchange for a review. I have previously been a paying customer at the Loughton salon***