‘Kilay’ chronicles

Here’s the sad truth: When it comes to eyebrow maintenance, I am Jon Snow. I know nothing.

Brows have been tagged as the beauty obsession of the decade. But mine have been left behind in their unkempt, sad and sorry state.

I refuse to wield a blade near my eyes, lest I accidentally blind myself. I refuse to pluck in fear of, one, the pain; and two, having no eyebrow left when I’m done. And so, I’ve lived with messy brows, pretending that looking like the love child of Frida Kahlo and “Sesame Street’s” Bert is acceptable. My eyeglasses hide them anyway. Or so I tell myself.

But any makeup artist who has had the unfortunate task of making me look presentable has also had to battle against my killer kilay. (They usually go for the quick fix—a shave.)

How do you know your eyebrows are a total disaster? When even the guy you’re dating offers to tweeze them for you. Thank God he didn’t have to.

I found myself sitting at Benefit’s Brow Bar at Central Square in BGC, watching as Rose, one of Benefit’s brow experts, prepared hot wax for my treatment.

“Does it really hurt?” I asked, realizing how silly the question sounded from someone whose arms are covered in tattoos.

“No pain, no gain,” Rose said.

“You’re honest, I like that,” I told her.

Rose started by mapping my brows.

Celina Fernandez, Benefit’s National Brow Artist for the Philippines, later tells me that brow-mapping is essential: “It will help you define the shape of your eyebrows, where it should start, where your arch should fall, where it should end. Everyone should do this before applying makeup to their brows.”

Using a brow pencil and my nose as a guide, Rose made measurements and quick marks on my eyebrows.

Celina said, “We measure from the tip of the nose and straight up and that’s where your eyebrow should start. Find the natural arch of your brow by measuring from the dimple of your nose. The highest part is where your arch should fall. That gives an instant lifting effect and accentuates your cheeks.

“To find out where your brows should end, measure from the outer corner of the nose. It should be parallel to the tip of your eyes. It frames your face and gives proportion and symmetry and balance.”

In case brow-mapping is beyond your skill set (like it is for me), you can visit any Benefit store or counter for help.

“Our brow experts can give them brow mapping for free. It’s part of our consultation,” Celina said.

Banish the fuzz

“Should we wax your upper lip, too?” Rose asked. “Even a little fuzz can give our face an appearance of darkness.”

I nodded and told her to go for it, pain be damned. I may be hooked on “Narcos” but I have zero dreams of looking like Pablo Escobar.

Rose tested the temperature of the wax on the back of my hand. “Too hot?” she asked.

I shook my head. She applied wax to my upper lip, patted a strip of cloth over it, and, in one swift motion, pulled it off, along with tiny strands of hair. “It’s tolerable,” I said, surprised. And it was. She repeated the steps on the rest of my upper lip two more times.

Then it was time to wax my eyebrows. I asked: “Is this more or less painful than waxing the upper lip?”

“It depends on the person. But more people say it hurts less.”

Rose worked her magic on my eyebrows while I tried not to imagine tiny little elf hands pulling on my eyebrow hair. At one point, she asked, “Kaya mo pa, ma’am?”

The anticipation of the pull was the worst part, but because Rose moved so fast, I didn’t really suffer. Truth be told, the plucking of stray strands was more painful than the waxing.

She insisted on applying makeup on me even though the sexiest thing on my agenda that day was going to the supermarket. Then Rose said something no one has ever told me in my life: “Your eyebrows are on fleek.”

I believed her. After all, these Benefit girls are serious about eyebrows, so serious that they have transformed an old Kombi into the BeneVan, which they are using to spread word about their new Brow Collection which promises “instant solutions for every brow dilemma.”

We boarded the pink BeneVan (it is just as pink and as adorably girly inside, complete with feathers and balloons) and, as we drove around BGC, talked eyebrows.

Common dilemmas

“Overplucking, tadpole eyebrows and sparse brows are common dilemmas for Filipinas,” said Celina. “I also notice that a lot of people choose the wrong color… A lot of people use black eyeliner for their eyebrows which is a big no-no.

“Even if our hair is black, we don’t go for black brows. When your hair is dark, you go one or two shades lighter. If your hair is light, you go one or two shades darker.”

Benefit has all kinds of brow products—kits that tame and shape (Brow Zings), a conditioning primer for healthier and full brows (Browvo!), ultra-fine defining pencils (Precisely, My Brow Pencil), brow color (Ka-Brow!), a setting gel (Ready, Set, Brow), highlights (3D Browtones) and highlighting pencils (High Brow, High Brow Glow).

There are even products for newbies like me—like the Goof Proof Brow Pencil (“This is a brow beginner’s BFF. It’s waterproof pa. It just

glides on,” said Tasha Santos, digital and PR executive for Benefit) and the Gimme Brow brow-volumizing fiber gel (“We call this a Swiss army knife product because it does all—it tames, it adds volume, it adds thickness to your hair,” said Celina).

And Celina’s best advice for eyebrow novices like me? Don’t DIY. “If you really don’t know how to maintain it, number one tip is don’t do it yourself. This is why we have brow experts who really undergo rigorous training. You have only one pair so you really have to take care of it. It really changes your face,” said Celina.

“So kilay isn’t just kilay?” I asked.

“Kilay is life,” said Tasha.

Spot the BeneVan as it drives around BGC, Makati and Ortigas until Nov. 15. Post a picture with #benefitbrowsph and get a chance to claim samples and win goodies. Get more details on Benefit’s Instagram @benefitph.