Long ago in the dying moments of 2013, we had Friendmas and merrily exchanged gifts over the traditional holiday Boston Pizza table. Renee was declared the winner of Friendmas, as she had gifted we ladies with a brow and henna session at Indian Brow and Henna Boutique – and last Friday, we descended on the shop to have our brows tamed and our skin made for fancy times.

I was the last to arrive (it’s fashionable to be stuck in traffic), so I missed the hand massages. I’m okay with that as I am Weird About Massages, and it gave me a great chance to take some pictures while the girls were getting their henna on:

gill getting henna’d

shan’s shoulder henna

renee put a bird on it

heather’s ridiculously gorgeous henna work

my boobs, because boobs

All the henna is done freehand , which is baffling given the intricacy of the designs. While we were there, we relaxed with some delicious tea and great music while the IBHB ladies worked on our skin and brows, staying open a little later than usual so we could all get our fill of art and grooming. I had my brows threaded and shaped, and since I couldn’t decide which arm to get done, I had them henna my chest (which was a better plan in theory as opposed to practice; more on that in a bit). The staff were amazing and more than accommodating of our silliness, and we had a great time – so much so that I’m thinking of going again next month to have more henna applied, because it’s so gorgeous.

Getting my boobs henna’d was fun, but I really wish I had opted for an arm instead. For whatever reason (my own molecular defects or the difference in skin type), the dye didn’t take to my chest very well and is barely visible, even after settling for a day. In comparison, the henna applied to Heather’s hand and arm is crazy dark and awesome so next time I will go traditional and see if my skins reacts better.

My brows look awesome, though. I bought some brow makeup to try and duplicate their work at home, and also a packet of henna powder for hair. I normally get my hair henna from Henna Sooq, but they’ve been out of stock for AGES and my roots were really awful, so when I found out IBHB sells henna I jumped on it. I applied it to my hair yesterday, not really knowing what to expect – the prep time was only 30 minutes (compared to the 12-24 hours my usual stuff requires), and the recommended head time was an hour (as opposed to my normal 4-8). I figured I might end up with green roots, but at least they wouldn’t be white so I was okay with it. I mixed up the henna, let it sit, and donned the traditional Sunday Saran Wrap Hat .. and two hours later, I had some crazy bright bombastic red hair. I LOVE IT! It’s SO RED! I will definitely be getting more head henna from IBHB. It is my new favourite ever.

We really did have a great time at IBHB, and I would recommend it in a heartbeat to anyone looking for something fun, relaxing, and a little outside of the norm. They have man services, too! Super fun.

Unnecessary disclaimer: This was not a sponsored post. IBHB did not give me free services in exchange for my words; I went with friends and had a great time so I wrote about it. Not all bloggers are shills – some of us still have integrity. Integrity, and pretty pretty eyebrows.

whee!