Eyebrows are an important feature for any face… they are a frame for our eyes… they emphasise our expressions.
French women appear to me to do a good brow… not neglected, yet not over plucked. They follow a natural line… they leave them well enough alone… taking away the minimum from underneath allowing for a shaped brow and a clean canvas for eye make-up.
From my observations French ‘eyebrows’ have always tended to be on the heavier side… other than those of Coco Chanel and Edith Piaf, I couldn’t find a pencilled pair anywhere.
French women tend to wear them darker to highlight the eye socket… even if they are of fair complexion.
These famous French women, featured here, have very natural looking eyebrows… never over worked… and from all my hours of French ‘people watching’ I have much the same theory.
When it comes to French style… fashion, make-up and even eyebrows… it’s all about looking fresh… looking classic and keeping it simple…
As we know looking natural is not as easy as all that… and French women do make and take the time.
I want the perfect French ‘brows’ but it does take application and maintenance.
Eyebrows are like haircuts… well groomed and we are ready to take on the world… lack of care and attention and we want to stay home and hide under the covers…
I asked my make-up artist guru ‘how to’ for those beautiful French brows…
For The Shape
Imagine a line drawn from the outside of the nose upwards towards the brow… The start, the middle and the end of the eyebrow should always line up.
The brow should be bushier at the beginning and gently taper down to a soft point.
For The Colour
With dark hair the colour used should be one shade lighter than the eyebrow hair colour… for lighter hair, it is advisable to use one shade darker.
For The Application
Avoid harsh lines always… Begin by brushing the brows outwards.
When applying eyebrow pencil use light, feathery dashes… the eyebrows are not a solid block of colour.
Powder can be used but it requires an additional brush and is not long lasting.
Follow the natural line of the brow… Don’t over extend the length as this can drag the face down… Remember your imaginary line…
Once the colour is applied, brush over the brows to remove any excess.
What To Use
The very best and easiest to apply is the Tom Ford Beauty Brow Sculptor
Even for tinted brows… to fill in any gaps and elongate the brow if necessary…
The Brow Sculptor comes in four shades… Blonde, Espresso, Chestnut and Taupe…
Taupe is the easiest for blondes, redheads and brunettes…
Chestnut and Espresso are for very dark hair and skin types.
To brush and set the brows… For touch ups and when time is limited…The Mac Brow Set
This one is always in my make up bag… I never leave home without it. A quick touch up with this and the brows feel well groomed… the eyes less tired…
The Tom Ford Brow Sculptor is avalable from Nieman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks
The Mac Brow Set from Nordstrom
Eyebrows… who would have thought I could have so much to say about les sourcils… xv
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