The Avon Call Heard Round The World
Any woman who has spent a mere fifteen minutes in the
company of eyebrow guru Eliza, of Eliza’s Eyes at the Exhale Spa
on the Upper East Side in Manhattan or House of Brows in Southampton,
has undoubtedly undergone a transformation. Not only physically, the
result of an artistic reshaping of the face vis á vis the eyebrows,
but also of the spirit and the mind. Eliza, who goes by one name and
needs no other moniker in the world of high-end beauty, shares not only
her ability to improve your appearance, but also her philosophy of positive
thinking and her views on what is truly beautiful.
“I love to talk to people, to understand their lives and concerns.
People see too much negativity these days. It is essential to turn it
positive, if you really want to feel and look your best. Beauty on the
outside comes from the inside, you know.”
She is an inspirational example, wearing little makeup and avoiding
facials and other treatments that can be harsh on the skin. She is clearly
genetically blessed, but works on her well-being in this way, from the
inside out. It shows. She upholds the European philosophy that is often
antithetical to our American approach to looking good. Her idea is to
“protect and nourish, and not cover-up your skin, and feed it
with the right foods and the right mindset.”
Proclaimed by Vogue magazine as “The Queen of the Arch,”
and “one of the most influential experts in the beauty industry,”
Eliza has developed a worldwide reputation and a fiercely loyal clientele,
who wait months for appointments and book ahead for an entire year,
unable to endure more than a few weeks without a visit. She sees almost
200 clients a week, over only four days, and turns away hundreds more.
Responsible for creating the imperative to sculpt the eyebrows, Eliza
has raised what was previously an afterthought as part of other salon
treatments to an art form.
“If the eyes are the windows to the soul, the eyebrows are the
frames,” she is known to say. And indeed, there is a multitude
of women who would agree. Eliza has a dozen books filled with thank-you
notes, whose messages range from “I traveled across the country
to do this and it was worth it,” to “I waited six months
and it was worth every second,” and “No one will ever touch
my eyebrows except you.” Particularly touching are the stories
she tells of women whose low self-esteem is holding them back, and her
attempts to free them and help them feel beautiful. “I am always
trying to help. The heart is expansive. If I tell it truthfully, the
more I give, the more I get. And I help using my own life experience.”
Indeed, the road to renown has been a challenging one. Eliza knew from
an early age that her calling and her interests were one. During her
childhood in Romania, she learned from her mother to sculpt eyebrows
and perform other beauty routines. Unable to pursue this passion in
that environment, Eliza earned a degree in accounting, but was “bored
to death.” She immigrated to the United States with two small
children in 1982, speaking no English and following her dream. Three
years later, she was running her own salon on the Upper East Side of
Manhattan, and ten years later, hair stylist to the stars, Frederick
Fekkai, trusted her when she said she could build an “eyebrows
only” business in his salon in Bergdorf Goodman. She was right,
and within nine months, there was a two-month waiting list.
Avon called in 1998, offering a lucrative partnership that would put
Eliza and her army of handpicked, personally trained eyebrow artists
in the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. And the rest, as they say, is history.
When Avon closed in 2006, Eliza decided not only to work with Exhale,
but also to open a business in Southampton, where she has a home. “I
love the Hamptons, and my clients are here. It was a very natural choice,”
Eliza said.
The word “natural” pops up in conversation with Eliza quite
often. She doesn’t follow the trends – skinny eyebrows,
fat eyebrows, a dramatic arch, no arch. She knows that the best look
for you will be the one that suits only you, and she will not replicate
from a magazine. With just a glance, she considers the shape of your
face, your age, your bone structure, the length and shape of the eyes
and nose and forehead. She is adamant, “there is no one size fits
all. This is the only way to change your face without surgery, and it
must be specific to your face.”
While known to be unwavering in her standards and dedicated to perfecting
the eyebrows as her will dictates, Eliza may be perceived as intimidating
– too beautiful, too smart, too assured, too successful, too self-made
to be accessible. In real life, however, Eliza is kind, patient, gracious
and gentle, and makes each client feel special and lucky. And when you
get an appointment, you will be lucky indeed.
– Robin Feman
Exhale Spa is located at 980 Madison Avenue, New York, NY. House of
Brows is located at 34 Hill Street, Southampton. For an appointment
you can reach Eliza’s personal booker, Natasha, at 212-561-6414
or go to www.elizaseyes.com. And in May, look for Eliza on “Everyday
with Rachel Ray,” performing an exciting makeover.
 |
