Beauty,  Beauty Advice

Best in San Francisco Bay Area Beauty — “Browsing” in Oakland

brow-lounge-logoWelcome to a new feature of my blog — Best of Bay Area Beauty. I have been giving much thought to how I can support others in my industry, in particular female entrepreneurs.  I love a great beauty treatment and my standards are pretty high.  So when I have fantastic service from a wonderful person, I think it’s my duty to tell the world.

So I’m starting with one of my favorite beauty artists in the Bay — Alresa, owner of Cloud Nine Total Body Salon and her newest venture, The Brow Lounge. As a makeup artist, I’m completely anal when it comes to my eyebrows.  I rarely entrust ANYONE to shape my brows.  After more than a few mishaps over the years — half-brows, burns, pencil-thin brows and more, I pretty much decided that I needed to just keep my own brows up.  But with the advent of turning 50 and near blindness, waxing, tweezing and trimming my own brows became a nightmare.

img_2471Enter Cloud Nine. This adorable little salon, situated right where I opened my first makeup studio (that should have been a sign Alresa was fabulous) is within walking distance of my home.  It’s cute and so is Alresa.  If I was in my 20’s I’m sure I would be a tad bit jealous of this gorgeous girl.  How on earth can you be a size 2 with a bomb body?  Oh, yes, in addition to being a business owner, Alresa models part time.  And if you have been in any Sephora, you have seen her.  I will leave it at that…Anyway, back to eyebrows.

So I gave Alresa a chance.  And guess what?  I think I have a girl crush! Alresa is a perfectionistwhen it comes to brows!  Not only does she wax, but she tweezes or threads strays, then trims the straggly uneven hairs.  Just the way I do brows!  And the icing on the cake, Alresa also perfectly fill in your brows where needed with powder for brow excellence.  Run, don’t walk to Cloud Nine or Brow Lounge for heavenly arches. You won’t be able to book with Alresa on every occasion, but she does have a well-trained staff that is just about as great as she is.  And don’t complain if there is a wait.  Just think of the restaurant that’s always booked — it’s a good sign.

Cloud Nine has been serving up fabulous eyebrows for over 7 years now and the Brow Lounge is Alresa’s baby, having  just opened in May.  What a busy woman — Alresa isn’t even 30 yet!

Okay, now for some more props for Alresa.  If you are in the market for some serious waxing in the southern hemisphere, Alresa is the one.  Trust!  Alresa’s equipped for all skin care services, but her specialty is waxing.  For meticulous bikini or brazilian waxing, or for any other body part, she is just awesome.  And if you don’t want to believe me, just check out the reviews and 5 star rating on yelp.

And I think that if she wasn’t busy waxing and modeling, Alresa could be an interior designer.  He salons are so chic and she designed them herself.

Check out Alresa working her craft.  Photos taken at The Brow Lounge.

Sahar (client) and Alresa standing
Sahar (client) and Alresa standing
img_2508
See Alresa smiling, guess what? She's really, really nice too. Sounds corny but true. One stop in her chair and you will be bff's.

Look at Sahar, she knows her eyebrows are HOT!
Look at Sahar, she knows her eyebrows are HOT!

brow-lounge
Brow Lounge Menu of Services
Cloud Nine
Neighborhood: North Oakland
5495 Claremont Ave
Ste A

(between Clifton St & Grove Shafter Fwy)
Oakland, CA 94618
510.350.0634
ww.cloudninesalon.biz
Brow Lounge
Neighborhoods: Rockridge, North Oakland
5916 College Ave
Oakland, CA 94620
510.428.9888

Do you have a favorite beauty haunt?  Spread the love!

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