A little - friendly - competition between sisters in Monroe County
By Jessica Spies, staff writer | Greece Post | Oct 08, 2009
Photo by Carrie Ann Grippo/Messenger Post
"Dueling eyebrow divas" and twin sisters Deborah Netti and Deanna Netti Cahill duel it out with their tweezers. Deborah owns BrowBiz in Greece at 2450 West Ridge Road and Deanna owns Brow Diva in Pittsford at 3025 Monroe Ave. They have a friendly competition with their brow sculpture businesses.
Greece, N.Y
- In addition to their almost identical looks, twins Deborah Netti and Deanna Cahill share the same passion and trade - the eyebrow-sculpting business.
- The duo from Fairport own the only two such shops in the Rochester area - and they compete with each other.
- Netti recently opened BrowBiz in Greece, while her sister has operated Brow Diva in Pittsford for four years.
- Netti, of Brighton, moved BrowBiz to its current location, on West Ridge Road, in August. Before that, she rented space in a salon on Long Pond Road. Before making the move to Greece, though, she asked her sister, Cahill, for permission.
- "When she first asked if it would be all right to me if she opened her own eyebrow business, well, it still brings tears to my eyes," Cahill said.
- The two share a similar business philosophy - bringing positive energy and acceptance to customers - and they have a friendly, "east side versus west side" competition.
- The two women are half-identical twins; babies who grow from the same egg but different sperm cells. Semi-identical twins are more genetically similar than typical siblings or fraternal twins, but are not necessarily as similar as identical twins.
- In the case of Netti and Cahill, however, the two appear so similar as to be identical.
- This made it confusing when the two worked together running Jumelle - French for "twin" - Makeup Co.
- "Our clients couldn't tell us apart," Netti said.
- Netti said it was partly because of the confusion that the direction of their business started to change.
- "We had more brow than makeup appointments," she said. "When I went through my personal reorganization three years ago, I decided I wanted to do brows."
- It was in her 20s that Netti realized she wanted to get into the makeup industry. She was a portrait artist and started to get involved in makeup.
- "Makeup came so naturally," she said. "Doing makeup was my moment; my life-changing inspiration."
- Cahill, of Webster, was at a crossroads in her life and had a "great desire" to start her own business specializing in solely eyebrows. Brow Diva opened in February 2005 on Monroe Avenue in Pittsford.
- Sculpting is a niche business, the two say, and different from waxing. Waxing is hair removal, while sculpting is shaping eyebrows, Netti said.
- "Some approach it like a side dish, rather than an entree," Cahill said. "It's on your face; it's very important. It's not a side dish."
Deanna Netti Cahill (Brow Diva) tweezes the brows of receptionist and client Michelle Chaba of Greece. (Pictured to the Left)
Here is a bit about Deanna Cahill:
Q: The movie, TV program or song that best portrays what your business is like:
A: "ÔField of Dreams' - ÔIf you build it, they will come.'"
Q: What is always in your fridge at home?
A: "Soy milk."
Q: If you could have dinner with one person, you'd choose:
A: "John Lennon, but there's a lot of others I would like to have dinner with. He was way ahead of his time."
Deborah Netti (BrowBiz) tweezes the brows of receptionist and frequent client Nicole Denaro of Greece (Pictured to the Left).
Here is a bit about Deborah Netti:
Q: The movie, TV program or song that best portrays what your business is like:
A: "Mulan."
Q: What is always in your fridge at home?
A: "Juice is always in my fridge."
Q: If you could have dinner with one person, you'd choose:
A: "Leonardo da Vinci. To be in the presence of such an incredible artist would be awesome."
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