Oops, soups sarz for the major delay in posts. I was too busy trying to wear all of the outfits I purchased during quarantine.
Soo, I had my brows microbladed by Arch Envy Studios back in October of last year (2020), and I LOVE them. I recently went in for my 6 month refresh sesh, to fill in any brow lines that didn’t take the first time, or those that had faded a bit over the months, and now I EXTRA LOVE them.
Let me break it all down for you:
Arch Envy’s founder, Ronli Bechutsky, is a talented little lady! Ronli specializes in eyebrow machine microblading, ombré powder brows (and combination brows), and lip blush (a tint that can last up to 2 years). She uses machine PMU techniques, which take more skill than manual techniques, are more comfortable for the client, and have longer-lasting results. She’s also a delight to chat with and has created an adorable (IG-able) studio space.
Ronli also runs an academy, teaching monthly classes in her studio classroom, for those of you interested in lip/brow training programs.
I had a wonderful experience with Ronli at her Arch Envy studio, which commenced with fun gab and cutesie photos in the grammable space. I decided on the machine microblading, but depending on each person’s individual needs, the ombré or combination brow may be a better fit. For me, microblading turned out to be exactly what I wanted.
The first appointment takes about 3 hours, which is much longer than the return touchups, because the brows must be measured, temporarily filled in to get an idea of the shape to go with (an app is used to measure symmetry), and then outlined with a subtle shade that fades away over time, and finally machine microbladed. Each microbladed stroke must be gone over 2-3 times to define it. There are plenty of color choices to match all brow needs– 10 shades that range from platinum to dark brown and red, which can also be mixed to produce a more customized shade. No need to stress over color though- Ronli knows exactly what to do. And if you are worried that your brows will be forever changed…don’t. The goal is to utilize all of the eyebrow hair and only use a razor trimmer to remove hair outside of the line, so that this whole process is simply adding to and accentuating the brows you are currently rocking.
Overall it’s painless process (numbing cream is applied to the area as needed) that achieves a very natural look. Instead of using a manual tool to create scratches in the skin (traditional microblading), Arch Envy uses a single needle with the permanent makeup machine which causes less trauma to the skin, and creates a hair stroke tattoo (it’s like poking the skin vs. scratching it). Honestly, I’m not quite sure how Ronli has such a precise and steady hand, but she does! And her work is gorgeous.
There’s a healing process with dos & dont’s following the service (Arch Envy will fill you in and guide you on that), and the brows look different throughout the various stages of healing. It really only takes about 1-2 weeks to heal, and my brows always look normal enough to go about life per usual during this healing process. You will notice that the lines are darker immediately after the microblading, becoming oddly lighter (don’t worry, the lines pull through eventually!) before settling into the final, optimal shade.
Touchups are recommended every 6 -12 months, and these sessions only take 1-1.5 hours. At these sessions, because the shape has already been mapped out, all that’s left to do is go over the preexisting strokes. Of course, you can opt to tweak the brow shape, go bolder or darker..
Ronli decided to go a bit darker with her shade selection at my touchup appointment (which I was all for), and now I’m bopping around with beautifully shaped, symmetrical brows that compliment my face. It’s pretty great not having to spend time on my eyebrows each day. Sometimes I will use an eyebrow pencil to add more volume/intensity for nights out, but my daily grind only includes applying a quick swipe of a brow gel to keep some of my longer hairs in place.
So, to sum things up…HUGE FAN of Arch Envy microblading. Thank you so much, Ronli!!
Please follow & like us