Well-shaped eyebrows are one of the biggest game changers when it comes to how we look.
The Marlene Dietrich pencil lines are hard to pull off and the Groucho Marx rugs a little over the top. The Frida Kahlo mono brow – forget it.
Eyebrows are the frames to our eyes and they emphasise our expressions.
The solution would seem to an easy one.
Follow a natural line and leave them well enough alone. Take away the minimum from underneath, allowing for a shaped brow and a clean canvas to apply eye make-up. It all sounds simple enough but the reality is a different matter. I know very few women who haven’t over plucked their eyebrows at some stage and find as they age the shape is far from perfect. Mine aren’t too bad these days but I certainly wish I had left well enough alone when I was younger. Like most young girls, I could not be told.
Eyebrows are like haircuts, if they are well-groomed we are ready to take on the world, a lack of care and attention and we want to stay home and hide under the covers.
To Shape
Imagine a line drawn from the outside of the nose upwards towards the brow. This will be the starting point. A line drawn diagonally from the outside corner of the eye will be the finishing point.
The brow should be bushier at the beginning and gently taper down to a soft point.
To 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 or two shades darker, depending on your preference.
I tint my eyebrows regularly and ask the beauty therapist to mix a slight amount of grey tint in with the dark brown tint. I leave the tint on longer than necessary so while the coverage is a bit too dark for the first two days it does ensure the tint lasts me well. One of my eyebrows is thinner than the other and this one I tint fractionally darker to create the illusion the brows are the same. To guarantee the best results I don’t wet the brows for 24 hours afterwards and cleanse around them.
To Apply
Even with a regular eyebrow tint, I still need to use an eyebrow product to fill in the gaps and shape certain areas.
Avoid harsh lines always and brush the brows outwards. When applying eyebrow colour use light, feathery dashes so the eyebrows are not a solid block. Follow the natural line of the brow using the eye pencil and don’t overextend the length as this can drag the face down. Remember your imaginary line. Once the colour is applied, brush over the brows with a light wand, to remove any excess.
To Use
The easiest and I think by far the best eyebrow sculptor is from Bobbi Brown. I use this in soft black to fill in any gaps and elongate the brow where necessary.
The eyebrows are a small part of our daily beauty but if well shaped, coloured and groomed they are the feature to make the most difference. My eye-makeup routine may have become more minimal in the last few years but my brows are a different matter. xv
