As the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, and his wife Remi were greeted at Windsor Castle by the King and Queen at the start of their state visit yesterday, they could have been forgiven for giving Camilla a second glance.
For the Queen, joined at the event by the Prince and Princess of Wales, has quietly made a major change to her appearance which has remained secret until now.
A Belgravia beautician has revealed that she has been giving Camilla, 78, a cosmetic treatment to her eyebrows.
Suzanne Martin, who is based at The Lanesborough Club & Spa on Hyde Park Corner, London, posted a photograph of Her Majesty on her Instagram page with perfectly arched and preened eyebrows.
‘Our beloved Queen Camilla, always a pleasure!’ wrote Ms Martin. ‘Thank you for trusting me.’
Among the comments below was one by Basia Briggs, a friend of the royals, who wrote: ‘Smashing that your brilliance is now public! P.S. And thank you for my beautiful brows, too.’
Ms Martin, who has been described as the ‘Eyebrow Queen’, says she has been ‘discreetly working for over ten years for discerning clients’. She does not like to use the term ‘tattooed’ for her ‘semi-permanent’ procedure, which she describes as a ‘bespoke Couture Brow treatment’.
Its price tag may cause raised eyebrows: the two-part procedure costs £1,400, with an additional £800 for top-up visits every eight to ten months.
Queen Camilla’s eyebrows as they looked before treatment (pictured here in 2019)
Her eyebrows looked considerably more solid during her appearance at the state banquet for the Nigerian president on Wednesday – thanks to her tattoo treatment
Catherine broke into a winning smile as she took her seat next to the Nigerian president
President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu claps in his seat between Princess Kate and King Charles III, who is making a speech
The beautician, whose clients are said to include pop princesses Ellie Goulding and Dua Lipa, begins with an in-depth consultation and assessing bone structure and style before she sketches a tailored brow template using an eyebrow pencil.
Once the Queen approved her design, Ms Martin applied a local anaesthetic and began the cosmetic tattooing technique.
Using microneedles, she created semi-permanent, fine, hair-like strokes with a mineral-based, hypoallergenic pigment that has helped Camilla achieve the appearance of fuller, darker, more sculpted eyebrows.
‘I approach brow design as a creative director approaches couture: a work of craftsmanship, uniquely tailored to each client’s face, style and life,’ Ms Martin told the Daily Mail last night. ‘Brows are the most powerful feature of the face, enhancing natural beauty and bone structure – and they deserve a truly bespoke, considered approach.’
She added: ‘My intention is simple, to make my clients look and feel beautiful. But what works today might change tomorrow, which is why I use a semi-permanent technique that can truly evolve with your life, style and preferences.’
While her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, relied on skincare and make-up to maintain her look, Camilla has leaned towards natural, non-surgical beauty treatments.
For nearly two decades, she has been a devotee of the ‘bee sting facial’ created by British beauty guru Deborah Mitchell, which she has used to maintain a youthful glow. Costing up to £120 per treatment, the procedure uses bee venom to act as a natural, tightening alternative to Botox.
‘When I first met the Queen, I couldn’t even tell my Mum,’ said Ms Mitchell, whose Heaven and Beauty range of products and treatments was one of seven brands to receive a royal warrant from Camilla in 2024. ‘I would go off to Clarence House and all these other places in secret. She thought it was just another celebrity, nobody knew, and I couldn’t say a word.’
On the Queen’s skincare, Ms Mitchell added: ‘I can do a treatment, and so many weeks later, I’ll go back and just go, ‘Wow,’ because she really looks after her skin. I honestly think she is going back in time.’