Bueno Brows reshaping beauty service experience

Any stroll you take in downtown San Mateo will show you several new businesses that did not exist 10 years ago. The talk of the town are the new restaurants and niche tea spots, but some business diversity still exists. Fresh entrepreneurs are bringing richness to the city with lived experiences that shape their style of business.

Upon visiting Bueno Brows on Ninth avenue in Downtown San Mateo, there is a floor-to-ceiling wood slat with rows of straw woven fans to the left and a cushioned seat to the right with decorative pillows and a blanket. The studio is Filipino inspired, from the visual decorative aspects to the friendly, calm service she provides.

“I love my Filipino heritage and want to share it with my clients,” Bueno said.

The studio was perfectly timeless, and far from being another trendy spot.

Before officially opening her own studio in October of 2025, Bueno spent four years perfecting her craft at a Benefit Cosmetics BrowBar at Ulta. For any beauty lovers, Benefit is the “it girl” of eyebrows. Its BrowBar was the first time I got my eyebrows done at 13 years old and it is often the first beauty service a teen girl will do.

Corporate beauty companies are all about keeping up with trends, finding the hottest brands that people will love, and providing quick beauty services to fit as many clients in the chair a day. Although corporations are great in terms of employing more people, being part of the stock exchange and being open to innovation, I cannot help but love the care and attitude among small business owners. Their gratitude and service is unmatched, with greater focus on the customer instead of the numbers. At Bueno Brows, a standard brow wax is 25 minutes, giving Bueno the opportunity to engage with clients while executing complement worthy eyebrows. “I feel like yes, some people do want that quick service … but especially brows, it is a very personal thing and it does change the way your face looks … . Rushing that can also lead to all the mishaps,” Bueno said.

Creating a business from concept to reality does not happen overnight. When Bueno decided to branch out of corporate beauty and open her own studio, it took her four months to welcome her first client. Entrepreneurship felt foreign at first. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from San Diego State University, but throughout her four years, she was unable to answer the big question, “what do you want to do after college?”

Instead of working for a firm after college, she accepted a job at Ulta, not knowing where it would take her. Four years later, she is sitting in her own studio, and has her partner to thank for easing her self-doubt and taking the leap even when she did not feel “ready” to do so.

When I walked in, she joked about not having a sign yet, but I admired the willingness to start before having every little detail complete. Sure, you might think having a sign is bare minimum for a new business, but I prefer having a seamless user experience with booking online and having great service to match it.

The most recent trends in consumer research show that people are going longer in between their beauty services which is common with economic hardship. Beauty trends on social media are rapidly shifting with new products, brands, and services every day, but interestingly enough, consumers are experiencing mistrust from brands using artificial intelligence for their marketing. They don’t want to see A-list celebrities in advertisements and prefer smaller creators with niche audiences that are more relatable.

There is so much to consider when being the brand and the face of your own brand, but Bueno is taking the marketing ropes day by day and plans to showcase Filipino businesses, being an ally to her roots.

She is a breath of fresh air in business and starting in February 2026, Bueno Brows will be open all week (visit buenobrows.com to book). I can confidently say your brows will never look better.

Let’s talk about beauty! Message me today:

giselle@smdailyjournal.com.