These permanent cosmetic and beauty service studios in Pittsburgh's Allentown neighborhood are doing one thing better than anyone else- inclusivity, and it’s making them stand out in the crowd.
Pittsburgh is home to a lot of beauty studios and first dates with a new hair salon or brow studio can be scary. That's why sister studios Brow & Crown Collective and La Marie Brow Club, two beauty businesses on E Warrington Ave in the Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh, are dedicated to bringing the most inclusive and accessible services in the city to their clients.
Owners Jess and Laura stand out when it comes to the awareness and expertise they bring to their cosmetology and cosmetic tattooing which includes brows, lips, eyeliner, freckles, and areolas. For some people, permanent makeup means they can cut their morning routine in half by waking up each day with eyeliner, brows, and lips all looking exactly the way they want. For others, such as breast cancer survivors and LGBTQ+ individuals, these services mean they get to see the truest versions of themselves when they look in the mirror.
“Areola tattoos mean the world to individuals that have gotten mastectomy surgeries and reconstruction. Similarly, LGBTQIA+ clients often look for lip coloration or brow shaping to better represent their identity," explained Laura, "It’s not just about vanity, but making our clients’ features perfect for who they are."
Jess and Laura of Brow & Crown Collective and La Marie Brow Club know beauty is not a cookie cutter process but a journey unique to each individual. Jess, Laura, and their team of professionals all offer intimately curated services that keep the individual in mind, working closely with each client on exactly what their goals are without pushing any trends or beauty standards. “I get sad when people apologize for their appearance when they first come in. I’m always working to make them feel comfortable.", said Jess, explaining that she will meet her clients wherever they are on their beauty journey.
Brow and Crown Collective sprouted out of La Marie Brow Club because of how closely tied permanent cosmetics are with other professional beauty services. Owner Laura wanted to be able to offer a full range of hair and non-tattoo brow services for clients safely. “Many salons see the popularity of micro-blading and think they can just add it to their services, but no one should feel safe getting a tattoo on any part of your body in the same place with hair and chemicals all over the place. We do it right by keeping those services just a few doors down from each other”
Marie Brow Club is a professional permanent makeup studio located at 813 E. Warrington Ave that offers brows, lips, eyeliner, areola and freckle tattoos. We strive to enhance individuals' natural features by creating the right brow shape for their face, skin tone, and hair color. The studio was created to provide clients with a one on one experience in a calm, sterile, and comfortable environment.
Brow and Crown Collective is a hair and brow salon located at 827 E. Warrington Ave FL 2 that was created by two friends who both happened to be small business owners in the beauty industry, but practice very different artistry. They came up with the idea to combine their experience and open Brow & Crown Collective, a hair and brow salon under a cosmetology license, to complement La Marie Brow Club. What’s even better is they found a space only a few doors down from La Marie, so going back and forth between the two will be a cinch for clients.