Au naturel

“Eyes are key to completing an overall look, but we live in a fast-paced time-poor world and we are constantly looking for ways to save time, cut down on our make-up routines and make our money go further. Convenience and affordability are going to be key to the future success of lash treatment.”

“For many years mascara has been the hero of the make-up bag. “For many years mascara has been the hero of the make-up bag.”

As lashes and brows lean towards a more natural trend, the experts explain why they think this is and how you can achieve this less bold look on your clients.

Lynsey MacDonald from the UK’s leading light in developing semi-permanent eyelash treatments, training and stunning professional and retail products, Nouveau Lashes introduced us to LVL – the natural lash solution. The treatment gives length, volume and lift for natural lashes without the need for mascara or extensions. It only takes 45 minutes and the results are instantaneous with the effect lasting up to 8 weeks. LVL only requires low maintenance too. Lynsey said: “A quick lick of our lash and brow conditioning serum on a morning and/or evening is all you need to do to keep your LVL lashes hydrated and healthy.”

Lynsey highlighted Nouveau Lashes aim which is: “To create beautiful lashes that do not look ‘fake’ and are appropriate for the client’s personal style.”

To achieve the less full/dark style of lashes Lynsey said: “We teach our lash artists to not overload the lashes and work with the finest of type to imitate a natural look as best as possible. It goes without saying that the LVL lash lift creates the most natural effect but for those that want that little bit extra and can handle a little bit of maintenance then SVS creates the most beautiful fluffy and voluminous set in as little as an hour.”

We asked Lynsey as an expert within the lash industry whether they are seeing more of a trend around natural looking eyelashes to which she answered: “Most definitely and you don’t have to just take our word for it. According to Pinterest one of the world’s biggest websites, 2019 is all about the lash lift with a reported 100% increase in searches for the natural lash lifting treatment.”

She continues to explain that lash lifts provide a great alternative to mascara, not only in terms of convenience but long-term savings. She added: “I also thing fashion plays a huge role and this season we are seeing a lot of ‘lash-less’ looks on the catwalk and Instagram.”

Lynsey revealed that as a very successful lash company, they often see trends changing around lashes. Lynsey added: “Eyes are key to completing an overall look, but we live in a fast-paced time-poor world and we are constantly looking for ways to save time, cut down on our make-up routines and make our money go further. Convenience and affordability are going to be key to the future success of lash treatment.” Which is why she believes natural looking lashes still with volume are becoming more sought after.

There has been a huge increase in the past couple of years with lash extensions and Lynsey explained that she thinks there are several reasons for the rise in popularity of lash treatments. She said: “These include advances in techniques; enabling looks to be customised, the quality of the products and length of time they last. But most significantly is the effect of social media. Platforms such as Instagram enable brands to reach their target audience quickly, demonstrate their products to millions and collaborate with influencers and celebrities.”

Nouveau Lashes have just announced their new consumer focused campaign Super Natural, in partnership with award-winning Actress Michelle Keegan. 

Michelle said: “I’ve been a long-term fan of the Nouveau Lashes LVL treatment, so I was thrilled when they approached me to work with them. LVL has been a must-have part of my regime for years now. I love how it makes my natural lashes look longer and voluminous, meaning whether on set, or even on makeup-free days off, my natural lashes are looking at their absolute best.

Nouveau Lashes new ‘Super Natural’ campaign intends to take your lashes from ‘natural to super-natural’ with LVL. In as little as 45 minutes you can say goodbye to mascara, maintenance and streaks and hello to 24/7 lash perfection.

Bridgette Softley Director Nouveau Lashes said of the campaign: “For many years mascara has been the hero of the make-up bag. I for one couldn’t live without it and it was this passion for the effect of mascara that set my business partner and I on the path to develop something that gave a mascara effect but that didn’t require the need to apply and remove it daily. Fast forward 10 years and LVL has become one of the best ‘not so secret’ secrets of beauty press, influencers and celebrities.”

HD Brows is a bespoke brow treatment tailored to each individual to give them their perfect brows. The treatment includes a consultation to understand how the individual wants their brows to look, followed by tinting, waxing, threading, tweezing and makeup application to achieve the desired look. HD Brows was founded in 2008 and is pioneering and award-winning British luxury beauty brand, voted the number one in salon brow treatment in the UK.

Jamie Long, Lead Brow Stylist as well as International Brow Expert for HD Brows has worked across the 7 HD Brows training academies teaching the course to students, as well as offering the treatment to influencers and VIP clients in their clinic at No1 Harley Street. Jamie works alongside celebrity makeup artists and for big names such as Little Mix, Stefflon Don and Didi Conn ‘Frenchy’ for events such as Eurovision, Love Island, Dancing on Ice, MTV EMA awards, Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor.

Jamie explained that although he doesn’t feel natural brows are exactly a ‘trend’ at the moment he has noticed people embracing their own individual looks – he said: “More people are opting for a more natural look and steering away from overplucking, however as far as trends go I don’t feel like natural brows is a huge ‘trend’ at the minute but is more a part of a bigger movement around embracing your individuality (similar to our recent “love yourself more campaign”)  and I’m seeing this a lot with peoples brows in that they are deciding to wear them however makes them happy.”

Jamie told us that he has noticed more messaging around body positivity and self-love, so people are more confident to let their brows grow bigger and bushy, not having to keep them perfectly groomed or filled with too much makeup, but instead are embracing them growing full and opting for softer brow makeup. In the same way one of the most recent trends we’ve seen in makeup around glowing skin and soft, natural coverage is gorgeous for complimenting features rather than covering them up and really embracing natural beauty, which goes hand in hand with these natural brows as part of this bigger movement.

As the brow industry continues to grow Jamie explained that he has seen everything from the heavy coloured in brow, wavy brows, feathered brows, no brows, bright coloured brows, brushed up brows, to heeled brows and more. 

Jamie explained that there is a variety of different ways to achieve a more natural look on his clients. He said: “I would consider a natural brow to refer to the makeup applied. For a super natural look, my number one go to product is the HD Brows Pro Pencil, its unique pull-string and shave design allows you to create an ultra-fine tip that you can then use to mimic real brow hairs and achieve an incredibly natural look. This natural finish can be used on brows of any shape or size.”

HD Brows are shortly adding microblading to their list of treatments. Microblading uses a handheld tool with ultra-fine pins that create a channel in the upper dermis of the skin, in which pigment can be implanted. The traditional digital method of permanent makeup also uses needles of different sizes and configurations, but these are implanted into the skin performing micro perforations in the shape of a fine hair stroke. Both microblading and digital permanent makeup achieve beautiful and truly realistic looking brows. Recently, Nanoblading has become one of the most requested treatments both in training and in clinic because of the incredibly natural brows it creates. The super fine hair strokes and natural finish that Nanoblading achieves are down to the finest single needle on the market used in a digital machine used with a specially developed technique, for the most realistic brows possible. 

Annie Brown, owner of PinkFishes – an eyelash company, owned by two friends Tina & Annie. PinkFishes explained that they can cater for clients’ natural needs as they supply 21 different styles of strip lashes made only of the finest quality PBT Silk materials. Annie said: “Our wide range ensures there is a strip lash for everyone, we also sell a range of lash thicknesses for technicians to use and now stock the finest thickness being 0.03 which can create the most natural of looks to the most dramatic.”

Annie told us that they are seeing a trend in natural lashes amongst their clients and firmly said: “This is definitely going to be the trend for the summer.

“Big, heavy, dramatic lashes are not always ideal for day to day wear. The upkeep is also more than natural lashes would be and we believe with the summer approaching, less makeup will be worn so the lighter people are starting to go with the lashes.”

When we asked Annie what product PinkFishes would use to achieve a natural look and how this lash would do so, she said: “If we were to recommend natural looking strip lashes, PF3, PF5, PF13 and PF18 would be the best option. Clients that are looking to have eyelash extensions applied have a few different options. They could have the silk black lashes, or we also offer silk brown lashes. It would also depend on the shape of their eyes to determine the best style to do and length of lash would come in with that.”

Don’t forget to show us your au naturel brows and lashes looks on Instagram @thesalonmaguk.