Were skinny brows really THAT bad?

Brows. We all have them, and if you had them in the early noughties, they were probably pencil thin. But were skinny brows really that bad?

There are definitely a few '90s/noughties beauty trends we'd rather forget. But are skinny brows one of them? I'm asking - seriously - were they really that bad? Back in the late '90s and early noughties, we all thought they were great. We plucked and plucked until only a thin line of hairs were left. Or, alternatively, we left a small clump at the front so it looked like two little hairy sperms, or upside down Nike ticks.

I, for one, distinctly remember being 15 and having my concerned mother ask me if I was ok. She was staring intently at the ten hairs (five on each side) that I called my brows. As a nurse, her first thoughts have always turned automatically to medical conditions and before she could even finish the word "alopeci...a" my face had gone red. I knew then, that maybe the tweezing had gone a little far.

So, yeah. Looking back, maybe skinny brows weren't that great. Of course, some people managed to pull them off. And you can always pretend you were ahead of the curve, going full-on 1920s style á la Rihanna on the latest cover of Vogue? A stretch, I know.

Of course, there are people who naturally have fine or thin brows. And if that's the case, then usually, what's natural will suit your features. But for the rest of us, it's been a long road to try to grow them back over the years.

But are today's trends for HD and heavy Insta-brows going too far in the other direction? Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of amazing brow specialists out there at the moment who are achieving beautiful, natural results. And I can appreciate a full set of Cara Delevingne-style brows as much as the next person. But it does seem that we (in Ireland particularly) have been embracing the theory of bigger is better recently.

So, what's the lesson here? Well, personally I think it's down to doing whatever you want. If you want natural, bushy brows go for it. If you want perfect, sharp arches go for it. And if you want to wear a fringe to cover up your slightly messy brows that you're too lazy to tend to (em, that's me by the way) then, yes, go for it!

Do you have any nightmare eyebrow tales of your own from the '90s? Are you a fan of HD and defined brows now? Let us know down in the comments.