Photography courtesy of Caitlin Schokker

There’s a lot to love The Junction, being one of Newcastle’s most bustling suburbs, the family-friendly spot is filled with nothing but love for small businesses from a multitude of eateries, boutique stores, and even all the best hair and beauty studios.

Wander down Glebe Road and you’ll find yourself walking by The Junction’s go-to brow and skin experts at High Brow Studio.

Brought to us by Newcastle local, Sheena Applebee, High Brow Studio first opened their doors back in September 2016, and over the past five years the beauty space has organically grown their client base, expanded its service offering, and in the past six months, the local salon has grown from a solo run business to a dedicated team of three.

“I’ve worked in beauty since I left school, so I’ve been doing it for fifteen years. I’ve worked in so many salons and have done such a broad range of different treatments and training that I knew I wanted to have my own salon so I could nail down on just one thing that I liked and that I was passionate about.”

With her good friend, and hairdresser looking at opening up a space in The Junction, it only took a short conversation and Sheena had her arm twisted to kicking off her very own business.

“It had always been in the back of my mind to start a space, but just hadn’t really put in any effort into doing it. Mitch who owns the Hair Society next door actually bought this space and he did the fit-out, with the intention of making it a collaborative space.  He just dropped the idea to me one day and over six weeks, I pulled a business together.”

Over the years, the space has seen many changes but has been reconfigured to now host not only Sheena’s brow services but a range of facials and make-up services brought to you by the two new recruits: Nicole and Jacki.

“My focus is the brows and the cosmetic tattooing. That’s the side that I work on the most and I’m the only one out of the three of us that does the tattooing. That’s my focus. The girls do brows as well, but Nicole’s passion is skincare and Jacki is a talented make-up artist.”

Trained and passionate cosmetic tattoo artist, Sheena is all about good-looking brows. If you’re after the traditional approach, High Brow offers all your typical wax, tweeze, thread, trim, tint, and styling services. But if you’re looking for that extra brow appeal, you’ve got to consider Sheena’s cosmetic tattoo service.

“I love the way brows can so simply enhance the natural beauty and shape a face. I believe in a tailored service to each client, whether you like to maintain your natural brows, regrowing a shape, or would like to learn about cosmetic tattooing.”

Don’t know a lot about Cosmetic Tattooing? Neither did I before Sheena filled me in. Basically, it’s the art and science of implanting colour pigments beneath the first layers of skin to give a more defined, youthful, and radiant look that lasts for years. So, for those of you who are forgetful in the appointment department, cosmetic tattooing might just be for you.

Into the skin department, this is where Nicole’s passion really starts to shine, offering a range of facials to LED light therapy, peels, and micro-needling.

“We want people to come in and start talking about their skin. Everything that we can do is completely customised and we choose products and treatments based on your skin type.”

The cosy studio makes for an intimate, judgement-free space. Whether you’re dropping in for your monthly appointment or need a little bit of extra TLC; High Brow Studio does not disappoint.

“When you go to a beauty salon, it can be really intimidating. When you’re the one lying on the bed, you’re more vulnerable. We’ve really tried to make sure our clients are comfortable and that the space is always friendly and inviting.”

If you’re wanting to take a little bit of High Brow Studio home with you, the girls have also curated a range of products available for purchase, all of which are tried, tested, and regularly used by the girls not only in the studio but at home as well.

“We recently got the Medikat range in. They’re from the UK and they’re all pharmacy-grade cosmeceuticals. We’re really loving that brand and that’s what we use in our facials as well.

“We stock some of the Poni Cosmetics brow products and we’ve also got the Jane Iredale make-up range. They’re an American brand but they’re all-natural. They are a skincare-based make-up range.”

With plans to keep doing what they’re doing, we’re excited to watch High Brow Studio continue to organically grow and make themselves known in our local beauty industry. So, whether your brows are in desperate need of some love, you want to dedicate some time to your skin, or interested in cosmetic tattooing; High Brow Studio are the crew for you!