My eyebrows are my life's work, and once I discovered what I could do with them, you couldn't hold me back. Born with the bushiest eyebrows known to woman thanks to my father's Italian heritage, they were never my finest point growing up. In fact, at the age of thirteen my friend Nicola held me down and plucked the two caterpillars above my eyes to within an inch of their lives. I fought her, but once she was done I had those thin slips of brows so popular in the 1990s, and was delira with myself.
Me and my browsI then bought a tweezers and continued to overpluck for the following nine years,until I started working in the meeeeeja, and realised that my brows were so passe. I discovered filling in and growing out and am now in possession of a pair that often receive compliments. Yay! So here I pass on the brow wisdom gleaned over the past few years.
1. If your arches are overplucked, try investing in a growth serum like RapidBrow - discussed here. It should fill in some gaps and give you a broader brow. I'm using it now, and I notice some difference so far - mine are still ridiculously sparse though.
2. If you've barely touched yours and they're badly in need of a shaping, get thee to a threader, stat! There's a lot of chat about HD brows and their ilk at the mo, but threading is at the core of all of these treatments. Threading will shape your brows to suit your face, and give you a maintainable line to work with in the future.
3. Now the shape is right, maintenance should be easy. Avoid letting them grow back like bushes, and pluck yourself with a tweezers when you see a few little hairs pop up. Do it after the shower and before bed, so your pores are open and you don't frighten anyone with red eyebrow skin.
4. I don't think there's a set of brows in the world that wouldn't benefit from some filling in, except perhaps Lily Collins - I can't decide if her's are gorgeously full or a little furry. I think pencil is the easiest for beginners, and also has the most impact. I love Estee Lauder's Automatic Brow Pencil Duo - the pencil is fine and the brush spreads the product evenly across your brows. For those on a budget, Rimmel's eyebrow pencil is also brillo. Estee Lauder's needs a heavier hand; with Rimmel, go easy. Apply the pencil in light strokes, as if you're drawing on hair by hair.
5. If you're good with a brush, use a clean flat, angled brush (like MAC 208) and a shade of eyeshadow one lighter than your hair. Use the same technique, stroking on hairs. I find this looks more natural, but hasn't the same drama as pencil.
Advertised
6. I find (as a sweaty Betty) that sometimes my brows er, come off after some particularly vigorous walking or dancing. Keep them in place with a slick of clear mascara on top, or using Givenchy's Mr Eyebrow fixing pencil.
7. Make the most of your manicured brows by highlighting your arch. I use Benefit High Brow Glow, or even a smidgen of my undereye concealer, L'Oreal Lumi Magique. Faaaaabulous.
8. With bold brows, you either have to commit to a full on bold look a la Lily Collins, or let your strong brow do the talking with relatively simple make-up elsewhere like the stunning Jennifer Connelly. You decide - I'm all for the lashing on of the make-up, obvs.
Lily Collins doesn't shy away from slap.
Jennifer Connelly lets her arches do the talking.9. When I take my make-up off, alas my brows disappear with it. Eyebrow tinting is grand, but it doesn't last long on me, and being more fair than I allow myself to look my bold brows don't suit my make-up free face. I'm trying to grow my natural brows out, but I fear I ruined them for life. My solution if I must leave the house sans slap is to comb them through and put a little Vaseline on my brows to keep them from fading into my face.
Advertised
How about you? What's your brow personality, and how do you show 'em off?
