OCHI Beauty Studio is a place in Manhattan that specializes in semi-permanent makeup, eyebrows, and lashes. We heard a lot of positive reviews about OCHI and decided it was time to come in for the service.

Our expert came in for the Botox Lash Lift service and interviewed the salon owners Nelia and Elena.

– Nelia, how did your lash journey begin?

Surprisingly, I would say. 5 years back, I would’ve never envisioned myself in the beauty industry. I was studying economics and hospitality business and as a typical millennial had no idea what is that secret passion in my life, by pursuing which, I can “do what I like and I will never have to work a day in my life”, you know?

I was lucky enough to experience early adulthood at a young age when I end up moving to the US by myself. But working just for money wasn’t fun. I wanted to do something meaningful.

In the meantime, I started lashing (about 4 years ago) as a hobby, simply because I enjoyed working with my hands, and for me, the process of applying tiny details is somewhat meditative.

Later on, I realized that I actually enjoy working with a woman as well as creating different looks and would love to do it full time, so I started working in different beauty salons.

– What kind of services you like to perform and why?

I’m very result-oriented. I like to make a woman feel more beautiful and confident. Also, I’m a huge believer that every woman’s beauty is very unique and my job as a beauty specialist is to embrace what they have, not change them. Therefore I like to perform whatever will be the best match for my client.

– What brand did you use for our expert ‘Botox Lash Lift’ service?

I can say, that we’ve tried the majority of solutions available on the market. (And will never stop trying new innovations), because the beauty industry is developing very fast, so we have to keep up with it.

At this moment we find the Italian solution “In Lei” to be the best.

First of all, they are very gentle on natural lashes, therefore there’s no harsh smell, as you can experience with other “perm-like” solutions.

Also In Lei are the only solutions that have a Lash Filler method. Lash filler is a treatment, that will not only lift your lashes and add them a curl but will also improve the condition and health of your natural lashes.

And my favorite part about modern Lash Lift is super easy aftercare. I believe that the point of the beauty industry is to make a woman’s life easier, not more complicated. You won’t need to wait for 24 hrs before you can wash your face or apply makeup anymore. With our lash lift, you can wash your eyes or use makeup as fast as 2-3 hrs after the treatment.

– What’s your recommendation for keeping healthy lashes between the extension/lash lift appointments?

It all starts with a healthy lifestyle, of course. I know it’s obvious, but if you don’t have enough sleep, always stressed and your nutrition is bad, there’s no serum in a world that will make you look your best. That’s why most of my clients value the fact that they can get a 2 hr nap during the treatment:)

Rather then that, I recommend applying natural organic oils on your lashes every few days before you go to sleep. To be honest with you, most of the oils will do the work, but my personal favorite is Castor and Almond oil mix.

If you getting a Lash Botox, (a special serum that we can apply during Lash Lift) you don’t need to do anything extra, because the serum moisturizes and strengthens your lashes from inside and stays there for 8 weeks.

I’m personally against lash growth serum because during my practice I saw more harmful and unpleasant side effects than positive benefits.

And I would really suggest being mindful when choosing your mascaras! Especially with waterproof ones since those can make your lash hairs dry and cause them to break.

– How clients should take care of lashes after Botox lift treatment for a long-lasting result?

As I said earlier, there are no strict rules. In general, the less you touch your lashes the better it is. Result also depends on your natural growth cycle. Our lashes have different growth stages, and a healthy person loses up to 5 lashes per day. New lashes that will replace the old ones will grow naturally straight because we can’t change the genetics:) therefore the effect of lifting will fade gradually until all lashes will go through the full cycle of growth. Usually, it’s about 6-8 weeks.

– What brand did you choose for MyTopFace expert tint eyebrows process?

We have a big variety of colors and brands since each formula will give us a different result. In this case, I was working with a pretty good pair of brows – full and well-shaped, however, a little over plucked in some areas.

I’ve used a mixture of ash brown and dark brown from Thuya, professional line tint, which is known for its rich composition that promotes hair growth (KERATIN, ARGAN OIL, ALOE VERA, Vitamins A, B1, B6 and B12, Vitamins C and E).

– How did you come up with the idea to open ‘OCHI’ and what’s the meaning of this word?

After working in salons in NYC, I realized how much potential there is in the beauty industry. I really liked an idea of a beauty spot that feels more like a woman community, the place of power for the modern woman. At some point it became my idea X. I started to look for partners and soon enough Elena came into my life. We are very different, but we have a similar vision of how beauty studio should look, so we clicked. It took us about 3 months and our last savings to open up a place.

When it came to the name we wanted to keep it authentic and to be short and catchy. In Ukrainian OCHI means eyes, and I love the way it sounds, so that was a perfect match.

– Elena, how did you start your beauty journey?

I tried myself in different areas in the beauty industry before I found what I certainly like. I’ve started at “Nina Mua Makeup” school first. I got very good knowledge and put it into practice. Founder of the school Nina has a true passion for her job. She becomes my inspiration and role model in the business industry. We still keep in touch and I can always rely on her advice.

After one year of working as a freelance makeup artist, I decided to start my permanent makeup career. I think to be a really good technician you need a lot of practice, I have been working for free for a very long time. I wanted to make sure that my clients will get absolutely great results. Now I have almost 3 years of knowledge and I am still improving and learning.

– What’re your top three services to perform?

At ÓCHI we offer only two services of permanent makeup which are powder eyebrows or lip blush but more is coming soon.

– What’s your beauty credo?

I value natural beauty. I think permanent makeup should not affect your every day look but just enhance it. The beauty of permanent makeup is to make your life easier and feel more confident.

– How did you meet up with Nelia?

We met at the beauty salon where I was working as a permanent makeup artist and Nelly as an eyelash extensions technician. We got connected when I was doing Nelly’s eyebrows. We had the same vision of how the beauty industry should look like. We didn’t really know each other at that moment but we decided to meet and see what we can do with our knowledge. After a couple of months of hard work, we opened ÓCHI. We learned that everything is possible if you really want to do it.

– What’re your tips for our readers who wish to embrace their natural beauty?

Always stay true to yourself. Don’t follow the trends but do what makes you feel confident. I would also suggest looking for someone professional. The past couple of years the beauty industry grew so much and Unfortunately nowadays there are many technicians but it doesn’t mean that they have enough experience, especially in permanent makeup.