When it comes to Jimena Garcia, there’s more than meets the eye.
The brow artist, who is based in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, has become a go-to for the downtown set and nabbed a contract as Chanel’s brow artist in the process. But her journey to her range of services, which starts at $275 for brow shaping and $395 for brow shaping, tinting and eyelash tinting, started before she opened her studio.
“People come to my studio with no idea what they should do. I almost see people as characters, and my job is to play to that,” Garcia says. “It’s like watching a movie — are you wearing a pointy-toed shoe, or a square toe? Do you want to look sexy, or soft? That’s how I look at brows.”
She derives inspiration from pop culture as much as she does from her educational background, when she first studied fine arts and art history. “I think of David Bowie or Madonna — there are seasons of our lives, and what do we want to portray?” she says. “We art-direct everything in our lives and I think like that, too. It’s what differentiates me from other people who just go to aesthetician school.”
Although Garcia doesn’t necessarily have a favorite period in art history, she often finds herself referencing the Bauhaus movement. “The reason why is that it shows that details can say everything. And that has to do with brows, too,” she says. “Art history in general has expanded my mind, opened up how I see things and I think I would be too simplistic had I not had that exposure.”
Her suggestions run the gamut from a few plucks here and there to some more adventurous moves, depending on the client. The craziest thing she’s done? “Really thin out the brows and color them blue,” she recalls. “A lot of brow artists wouldn’t have done that, or told the client they can’t grow them back after that. But this wasn’t about that — it was meant to be theatrical.”
Color plays as much of a role as shapes do for Garcia, who also throws in a few different tints to better complement a client’s undertones or eye color. “It’s similar to doing your makeup — it’s about character and building character,” she explains. “In the world of today, we should experiment with it. That means we can experiment with ourselves.”
Her reception has been strong, and her client base is broadening. “Men’s brows and lashes are becoming much bigger,” she says. “I can take 10 years off of someone’s face. I know that sounds wild, but it’s what a graceful, soft or strong brow can do. We all have to care for ourselves, and that’s becoming a thing that’s more talked about.”
Jimena Brows, 110 Greene Street, New York, New York 10012. Appointments available at jimenabrows.com.
