I guess eyebrows must be pretty important if there are images of the most iconic eyebrows in the 20th Century floating around on the internet. However, most of us often make the mistake of thinking that brows aren't all that important, (me for one!) but like perfectly groomed nails, they give a more polished, over all looking you. In addition to this point, the perfect brow shape frames the face & making a significant difference in highlighting certain features, such as nose, lips, cheekbones & the eyes, which become more accentuated.
Modern day beauties with perfectly groomed & strong brows: Camilla Belle & Eva MendesI'll never forget the time when I was on 5am-ish journey to Paris on the Eurostar for work, none of my colleagues had even contemplated applying make up yet, but in the last 30 minutes of heading toward Gard Du Nord, there was OOC make-up frenzy. One of my colleagues (who had slightly over plucked eyebrows at the time) whipped out a compact with eyebrow stencils and got to work, she was done with minimal make up efforts in what must have been 7 mins flat - seriously, she looked so different and amazing! I was properly wowed! She then offered to pass on the different stencils for everyone to try out, how awesome? Admittedly, I've always been a bit wary of using stencils, in fear that I might look like a drag queen afterwards!
Kim Kardashian & Kate Bosworth - notice how even though their hair colour is slightly different shade to the eyebrows -but only a smidgen lighter/darker.Ever since I moved to Greece, I noticed that everyone (ok, majority of lovely ladeez) have such incredible and perfectly groomed eyebrows, not a stray hair in sight, I swear!
I'm pretty low maintenence in the day, but for little outings, I'll often play with slicking a bit of moisturizer (no need for brow gel, vaseline is just as good) over mine for a more groomed look or glide a small flat brush with powder for a more defined look.
Jennifer Lopez and Bar Rafaeli
image via anothermag.com
By understanding & identifying some of the problems, you can start to correct the brows with a new brow shape. If you have overplucked, fear not! Even though the wait for the hairs to grow back can be a complete pain for you to reshape, you can always use a pencil, or powder & brush to fill in the shape/missing bits! There are also nourishing brow oils to help speeding up the growth, see below.
Make you brows work it for you!
What you need: Equipment
- Trimmer Eyebrow
- Wax (optional)
- Stencils
- Tweezers
- Mirror (one with magnify is extremely handy!)
Do it! Some tips and tricks in creating the perfect brows. If you're going to pluck your brows, it's best to do this after a shower or a bath- it's so much easier & less painful. I found some awesome techniques or what I call the science bit in achieving the perfect brow shape for you, at LovetoKnow, see below:
Take a look at where precisely your brow should begin, arch, and end.
- 'The inner edge of the brow should vertically align with the center of the nostril'. (Line D on diagram).
- 'The arch of the brow is naturally over the outer third of the eye, roughly even with the edge of the iris (colored portion of the eye) when looking straight ahead.' (Line E) Tweeze gradually here, sharp lines or angular arches are not cool!
- 'The outer edge of the brow should align with the corner of the eye and should not extend into the temple.' (Line F)
- 'The inner and outer edges should be horizontally even to avoid unintentional expressions'.(Line B)
- 'Symmetry is critical between both brows to prevent a skewed, disproportionate appearance.'
If you're stuck on deciding what brow shape to go for, or what will look good on you or where to start, try using an eyebrow pencil to draw in the desired shape & edges of the brow as a guideline. Just remember to soften the pencil in your hand first as it'll be easier to work with. Then either tweeze, wax, or trim the brow to that shape.
Tips:
- Just remember to pluck one hair at a time, don't go tweezer-happy!
- Always pluck in the same direction to the way your hair naturally grows. (usually away from your nose).
- Try not to go more than 2 shades lighter or darker than the colour on your head. (Refer to Kim & Kate image above.)
- It's important to steer clear of trying to create an artificial shape, as you'll end up with brows that just won't work. Follow the natural shape of your own brows before attacking it with a tweezer/wax. - believe me when I say that i've tried this and it's a big nah aghhhhhh! I was young and so didn't know any better!
- There are no set rules on how thick or thin the brows should be, aim to go with a shape that will suit you. Having said that, uber thin brows (like Pamela Andersons) are a big, fat, humungous no no. Apparently thinner brows ages you.
- Use a non-alcohol based facial toner after plucking to soothe the skin. If you're in extreme pain or are intolerant to tweezer pain, I highly recommend that you use ice cubes to numb the skin first.
Not into DIY-brows? You can go thread, tweeze, zap & wax them into shape with the pro's at a salon.
Hip & helpful products:
- Bobbi Brown natural brow shaper
- MAC eyebrow pencil
- Soap & Glory Arch De Triumph via Boots.com
- Clavin Klein Duo brow palette via here
- Blink Nourishing oil via here
Celeb images via Just Jared