09-05-2025
Hollie Parkes: the Claridge's expert turning eyebrows into art
What's the most valuable player in your make-up bag? For many of us, mascara has always been the one product we feel we can't live without. For others, it's a bit of concealer to hide the eye bags. But increasingly — and slowly over the past decade or so — eyebrows have become a priority. Our mothers plucked their brows, but they didn't style them the way we do now — which is why the appetite for brow products is growing at breakneck speed. The global market for brow gel was worth about $265 million in 2021 and is projected to reach $432 million by 2031.
Beauty cognoscenti know that the stealthy way to look as though you are ageing slowly is to address your eyebrows. Much like the hairs on our heads, they thin as we age — often not helped by periods of overplucking. With the correct products and professional attention, some clever browscaping can do as much for your face as a tweakment — only it'll be more subtle.
A friend of mine visited a well-known aesthetician for some nip-and-tuck advice a few years ago. She was asked to bring some photos of herself from 15 years before, the idea being that any adjustments should reflect how her face used to look, rather than using, say, Bella Hadid as the reference.
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The first thing the doctor told my friend was, 'If only you hadn't touched your brows — that's the most ageing thing that's happened.' We're all cottoning on to this now. In my make-up bag (OK, cabinet) Tom Ford's Brow Sculptor, Westman Atelier's Bonne Brow Defining Pencil and Merit's Volumizing Pomade are always on hand for almost daily use.
Walking down any high street in the UK, however, will yield evidence that many have taken the full brow look to the extreme. The puzzling popularity of brows that look like big slugs has understandably made some fearful of handing their brow architecture over to a practitioner. But there's a movement towards subtlety and understatement, particularly at the luxury end.
Possibly the most in-demand brow technician now is Hollie Parkes, who recently took up residency at the Claridge's spa in Mayfair, which is becoming a hub for London's finest practitioners, from acupuncture (Ross J Barr) to facials (Hadda). Parkes tends to the brows of CEOs and celebrities with the precision of a physicist, matching the brow to the architecture of a client's face as well as their style, rather than having her own signature look. There's an orderly queue forming for a 90-minute brow-perfecting appointment with Parkes (the £400 price tag notwithstanding).
I'm always cautious of letting professionals tinker with my brows, preferring to organise them myself with make-up and gels. I don't know what the brow equivalent of 'scissor happy' is called, but I have experienced it in salons over the years. But then someone I trust, who has immaculate brows, recommended Parkes and I took the leap. I was clear that I did not want to emerge from the appointment looking like a different person and that I am absolutely not a fan of Instagram eyebrows. I'm old-fashioned enough to want brows that look as though they are made out of hair. Natural is one thing, but there are a couple of tiny bald patches and a general creeping scarcity I hoped Parkes could address.
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Her own brows are perfect: full and natural looking, not aggressively edited. A good sign. Parkes listens to my worries with saint-like patience as she quietly studies the angles of my face. There's a deep cleanse in preparation, and a stress-reducing facial massage stops my mouth as I surrender to her expertise and the most relaxing brow tint, shaping and fine-tune tweezing I have ever had. Who knew a brow appointment could be enjoyable? I relax under a collagen-boosting LED light before the moment of truth when she hands me a mirror and an opportunity to edit her work.
I have no notes: a subtly organised, ever so slightly bolder brow with no empty patches. The real test comes later. Who notices I've had my brows done? No one. Who says I'm looking good or youthful or compliments my make-up when I am not wearing any at all? Loads of people. My upgraded brows pass with flying colours.
