The sight of fluttering eyelashes led FRANCIS DASS to follow his female friend to a beauty salon to observe how eyelash extensions are done.

ONE of the easiest ways to set a man’s heart aflutter is, of course, for a woman to flutter her eyelashes at him. But what if the woman is, err, “challenged”, in this department, and long eyelashes are wanting?

The place, then, to resolve this “shortness” would be Pink Passion. It is tucked away in a bustling commercial centre in the suburbs of Petaling Jaya’s PJU 1/3C.

Maggie Lim, the proprietress, was an interior designer, but her passion carried her into the beauty business. She is creating waves as one of the best practioners in eyelash extensions.

Make an appointment and you will thereafter enter Pink Passion’s premises. You will immediately be calmed by soothing New Age music, the colour scheme and the decor, as well as a delicious drink of boiled ginger, lemongrass and red dates.
Maggie feels that it is crucial to get customers to relax the moment they enter her beauty salon. “When customers enter our shop, we need customers to ‘go down’ to the alpha wave level. That is the level that you reach when meditating,” she explained.

Then, a short discussion and assessment of a customer’s eyelash needs and off to the private rooms where silk eyelash extensions of the desired length and colour will be meticulously attached to the existing lashes with a special glue. “The natural lashes are important as these are the anchors to which the silk lashes are attached,” Maggie explained.

Much to her credit, Pink Passion is not about fixing eyelashes only. She and her staff give solid advice about looking good. When a customer’s natural lashes are weak or have not regrown fully (eyelashes have a lifespan of three to six months; they are then shed and new ones grow), then the beauticians’ unanimous advice would be to rest well and get the eyelash extensions done only after new lashes have grown to a suitable length.

Beauty advice is also dispensed on the various eye shapes and the suitable fake lashes to match, i.e. big curls, long extensions etc.

For those who have undergone a fashionable eyelash upgrade, advice is given on caring for them (no rubbing of the eyes or washing the face in a rough manner). The up-side of this is that the women strain the muscles around the eye area less, resulting in fewer lines and wrinkles being formed around the eyes.

Truth be told, apparently there are some women out there who have no regard for (or understanding of) the delicate nature of the musculature around the eyes.

On a different note, Maggie, a 33-year-old soft-spoken feminist, also explained that the reason her salon is called Pink Passion is because she wants there to be a symbolic association between her shop and the global Pink Ribbon cause. (Pink Ribbon is a global breast cancer awareness campaign.)

Maggie plans to hold talks on women’s health as well as on cancer awareness by inviting qualified speakers from time to time to address her customers.

She has already set this plan of hers in motion. Her month-old salon is, for example, in the final stages of preparing a special area for such talks to take place and where her customers can be seated comfortably to listen to the proceedings.

Maggie and her staff of six also do facials, body massages, pedicures and manicures. Hair extensions are in the pipeline. All services are for female customers (the only males allowed are husbands or sons of the clientele.)

But for the time being, eyelash extensions has fast become the signature beauty fix from Pink Passion.

“We want our customers to look beautiful. Our concept is based on ageing beautifully!” said Maggie.

Pink Passion
No: 37-1, Jalan PJU 1/3C,
47301 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel : 03-78057285
Fax : 03-78057286
E-mail : mygroupsdnbhd @yahoo.com