In a new episode of Elien does something she’s never done before: I tried the new and exciting microblading method and am here to report!

First off: what is microblading?

I had never heared of the technique until I stumbled upon a pair of perfect looking brows on instagram, of which the caption read something about ‘microblading’. I clicked through to the hasthag and was instantly introduced to a brand new world of amazing brows! The wizard responsible for all this perfectness was Neilly, aka the Eye Designer. The technique basically consists of semi-permanently tattooing your brows. Gasp, I know. But it’s a whole other world than the very one-dimensional tattooed lines that scream 90’s mistake. Microblading is perfect for those who want to fully reconstruct, define, cover gaps, or fill-in over plucked brows, because the technique is so natural and precise. Neilly uses a special microblading pen, that allows to draw on very thin, hair-like strokes.

I’ve always had very light brows thanks to my redhead genes, something I never really gave much thought until the revival of the big brow. Thanks Cara D! I started filling in my brows with a pencil or powder, something I eventually learnt to do quite quick and easy. But it is just make-up, and I still needed to check or re-apply every so often. So that’s the main thing that attracted me to try out microblading, next to the natural results: not having to spend several minutes in the morning perfecting my brows.

How it all went down

I drove to the center of Brussels for my appointment at Neilly’s studio. I must admit I was kind of scared, because it’s not like I get my face tattooed every day! Luckily I had done enough research and saw lots of Neilly’s work for me to trust her. Assistant Gisele welcomed me and gave me a tour of the place while Neilly finished up with another client. The lady came out and I immediately saw the result on her: a pair natural yet defined brows.

Now it’s my turn: I take of my make-up, revealing my very light natural brows, and Neilly starts her screening. She meticulously measures, draws, plucks and refines, until the perfect pair of brows appear on my face. The shape is amazing and my face already looks more open and fresh. This process takes about an hour to finish, since this is the most important part of microblading. I get to check my face in the mirror after every alteration Neilly does, and can say what I do or do not like. But I trust Neilly 100% and can see that everything will be fine. She then draws over my new brows in the darkest brown color ever, which freaks me out like crazy, but I’m being reassured this is just to ease the tattooing process.

Looking like Maleficient from The Sleeping Beauty, I lay down on the bench and try to relax. I’m being told that the first part of the session is without any anaesthesia, but the second part will be with a numbing cream. Okay, so here we go.

What you are all dying to know: did it hurt?

Auwtch! The first part without any numbing cream feels very uncomfortable, but depending on your pain level you will or will not freak out. I stayed calm, clenching my own fists for relievement, but it did hurt a little I must admit. I have tattoos on my body as well, and they felt uncomfortable too, but this was maybe slightly worse because I couldn’t see what she was doing or how long it would take… The microblading tool makes all these little scratches and that’s exactly what you’ll feel. Each brow took about 5 minutes or so – hard to tell because I was busy zoning out ;), after which each got treated to a layer of numbing cream, and was then ready for round two. I was so nervous to see the final result, but all my angst went away when Neilly handed me the mirror: there I was, with two perfectly defined brows above my eyes! The drawing was still very fresh and really defined, but I knew that it would take some time to heal and become more natural looking.

Neilly and Gisele gave me some after-care tips to follow-up, of which the most important of all is: moisturize. The scars will crust and fall of, taking with away most of the color, so it’s really important for the scars to be hydrated. It would take around 4 weeks for me to see the end result: the color will come back out and I am left with amazing natural brows!

It’s been four weeks since my visit, and I am very happy with how it’s all turning out! At first my brows were very harsh and then they went almost blank, because of the crust felling of. But now, things are looking very good! I don’t have to do anything about them in the morning and they look very natural. Totally persuaded by the technique of microblading and Neilly’s wonderful work!

Practical info

The price is 250 euros for the microblading treatment, 50 euros for the touch-up.

Interested in an appointment? Get in touch with Neilly and her team via Facebook or Instagram.