My Second Visit To The Benefit Brow Bar!

My regular readers will remember that just prior to Christmas I had my first visit to a Benefit Brow Bar. Whilst I was away I decided I would give them another go and see how my two experiences compared.

On my first visit you will recall that the Benefit team tried to sell me everything but the kitchen sink but the service I received was great. I wish I could say the same this time. Upon walking into the Myer Store the actual assistant that ended up doing my Brow Shape was standing outside smoking. After signing into the brow bar she returned inside the Brow Bar and called out my name. Thankfully she did use some hand disinfectant before commencing my brow shape.

I took my seat and told my service consultant I just wanted a brow tidy. She was very rough with me and I can't remember feeling so much discomfort before during a wax. She was slapping wax on and ripping it off very roughly, not even applying pressure for some relief after taking the wax strips off. Thankfully my ordeal was over in under 7 minutes. We conversed very little. What truly surprised me was that she didn't try to sell me anything. I was a little concerned that she didn't bother to freshen up my makeup or conceal any of the redness which stuck out like nobodies business after she had finished. I didn't care I just wanted out of there!

The next day I had red bumps all around my brows. I have experienced this before on a few occasions but it isn't typical. This settled within a few days and in general I was very happy with how my brows had been shaped. Now a week later they look great. However the unpleasant experience really wasn't worth it.

My general thoughts are that I will not be returning to a Benefit Brow Bar again anytime in the near future. I would much prefer to stick to a Beauty Salon where I am made feel comfortable and welcome. I am really disappointed because I love Benefit as a brand. I think that I will stick to just purchasing their products in the future.


Note: I am not sponsored by Benefit or Benefit Brow Bars. My service was fully paid for by my own money and all opinions are exclusively my own.

My Visit To The Benefit Brow Bar

I recently made my very first visit to a Benefit Brow Bar. Having never visited one before I had no idea what to expect. I approached the Benefit Brow Bar in at Myer with caution as I wanted to suss things out before I committed to the experience.

The first thing I noticed was that there was a hive of activity around the Brow Bar. There seemed to be people everywhere both on seats and looking at products. I thought this was a positive sign but continued to lurk in the background trying to take as much in as possible.

Finally I was busted by a Benefit Staff Member who asked if there was anything they could help me with. I explained I wanted a brow shape and before I knew it my bum was on a hot pink seat and I was holding a hot pink mirror in my hand.

The first part of the process at a Benefit Brow Bar is to sign in. You sign your name in a book which puts you in order of waiting line. In my case there was no waiting time at all and I was taken straight to a Brow Station. The next step is to discuss whether you want your brows waxed or shaped using tweezers. They will also offer you a tinting service. A general brow shape using wax costs $25 or $30 for a shape using tweezers with no wax. Your service also includes a full mini makeover at the conclusion of your service.

The first thing I noticed was how clean everything looked at all the stations. There were bottles of alcohol and hand sanitiser everywhere. All sets of tweezers were all removed from sterile bags and every brow pencil was sharpened again after use on a client. This was all very important to me. The staff were also beautifully presented in their black and hot pink outfits.

In total about 15 to 20 minutes was spent waxing and shaping my brows. My consultant was extremely friendly and made me feel instantly at ease with her. She talked to me like a best girlfriend all the way through my brow shape. She did a great job of my brows and they were immaculately groomed at the end of my consultation. I was extremely happy with the brow shape provided.

However I sensed from the time I entered the Benefit Brow Bar that I was going to have Benefit products pushed onto me throughout the entire service. My hunch was spot on. Being very familiar with the Benefit brand and owning quite a lot of their products didn't seem to help me much because despite owning most products my consultant tried to sell me everything that I didn't have regardless of whether it suited me or not!

In the end it became quite uncomfortable. Every product she suggested she proceeded to collect from the stock cupboard and put in a pile for me to purchase at the end. I was sitting there thinking to myself ''how the heck am I going to get out of buying this stuff''! I ended up buying over $300 worth of product from the Benefit Brow Bar, some things I really love but others I certainly didn't need or even want for that matter.

My Mum also decided to get her Brows shaped and tinted so I had to wait around for her. To my horror despite having just had my brows done and purchasing $300 in products I had the very same girl that shaped my brows as well as two other Benefit girls trying to get me to buy more products. It even got down to them trying to bribe me with Gifts With Purchase if I purchased more items. It made me very uncomfortable in the end.

Overall I was really happy with the level of technical service given to me at the Benefit Brow Bar. These girls certainly know what they are doing when it comes to shaping brows. The entire team is incredibly friendly (there were about 11 girls working there on this day probably as it was so close to Christmas). I love that you don't need to book, you simply turn up and wait your turn which is so convenient. A little tip I was given was to avoid turning up between 5 and 6.30pm because that's when a lot of people finish work and it gets ridiculously busy.

However I must admit that I was turned off by the pushy sales assistants. They really put the hard sell on me as far as products were concerned and trying to get out of buying their suggested products that I didn't want was rather embarrassing and uncomfortable.

Benefit Brow Bars also offer services such as Body Waxing and False Lash Application.

Note: I am not sponsored by Benefit Brow Bars and all opinions are my own.