We love to feature the people we work with, from models to customers to retailers. Lately, I have been connecting with Veronica Tran, owner of Pretty in the City to talk shop. This lash and brow bar is one of Toronto's finest, and one thing I love about this place is how pleasant and helpful all of the girls are there. I am always consulting with our retailers to learn which are the top products they are working with, and why. 

Learn more about Veronica and her specialty below:

Sara: Hi Veronica! Please tell us more about your business.

Veronica: Hi Sara! We are a small, boutique style beauty salon specializing in lash and brow services located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  Established in 2005, we have built and enjoy a fantastic reputation based on our artistry, innovation, quality of beauty services & products, and superb customer care. We carry only a very small selection of retail beauty products that we truly believe will benefit our clients.    

Sara: Tell us about how the Massive Length Mascara works with lash extension. How does it work with the lash glue and what are your thoughts/tips on the removal process?  

Veronica: Massive Length is one of the best lengthening mascaras on the market as it provides ample length to your lashes without the goopy clumps. I find it’s a great solution to fill in the ‘gaps’ in-between fills, where extensions are missing. Apply on natural lashes to build the length to fill in the spots and even out the lash line. Since lash extension adhesive has great tensile strength (meaning that it is difficult to ‘pull' off your extensions once on, but weaker strength if you rub side to side), warm water and gentle pulling to clean off mascara will not damage existing extended lashes.  After that, cleanse the lashes with a good, oil free cleanser to clear any oils that have accumulated over the course of the day. The extensions that do come off during cleaning were already loosened and ready to fall off anyway.      

Sara: I learned recently that you recommend our Liquid Brow Liners for some men over microblading especially if they don’t need it. Please tell us more. Again, your honesty in this industry really sets you apart and we are so grateful for this quality of yours. We are passionate about delivering exceptional customer service and being truthful is such an integral component to this!

Veronica: With the surge in popularity for microblading services, more and more people who would never consider permanent makeup are contemplating whether this service might be right for them.  Among this group are men coming to see me for this service.  Other than if he is suffering from partial or full alopecia (loss of hair), I personally don’t feel men should be getting microblading to ‘enhance’ their brows.  Any type of permanent makeup (whether it’s coined semi-permanent or not) is still somewhat permanent, regardless if touch ups are performed. This means that if you never touch up your tattooed brows again, it doesn’t mean the pigment in the skin will completely fade away. A better solution for men who only want to enhance their brows, say to fill in some spots that are lacking hair, or to lengthen a shorter brow is to use the Amaterasu Liquid Brow Liner.  This is my favourite product of all time.  Extremely easy to use, the sheerness of the colour allows for full control of how much colour is applied, and best of all it is SMUDGE proof! No more colour and shape shifting of your brows after a long day. It hangs on pretty well during a gym workout too! A quick and easy lesson on how to apply the brow colour and our clients never need to look at another brow product again.    

Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us Veronica! If anyone is in the Toronto area, do visit Veronica at the Pretty in the City to experience her amazing services or if you need to pick up your favourite Amaterasu products!