6 QUICK TRICKS FOR THE BEST BROWS OF YOUR LIFE
Great eyebrows aren’t something everyone’s born with. Ha, if only! However, great eyebrows are something everyone can learn to master. Yes, even if you got way too excited with the tweezers in your young, innocent, should’ve-known-better teenage years.
But back to the present. The key with eyebrow grooming is never to think of them as an afterthought. Ask any makeup artist and they’ll tell you that your brows are just as important as the rest of your features. They frame your entire face, so why spend time on a fabulous skincare, haircare and makeup routine if you’re going to leave your brows to do their own thing? Because unless you’re some kind of superhuman being of perfection, chances are they’re going to benefit from the same level of coaxing, taming, defining or enhancing as the rest of your face.
The truth is, your eyebrows are a very big deal. They can take years off you or, well, quite the opposite. So, how do you ensure you’re doing right by your brows? Simple. You just need a little knowhow, a good dose of patience and some great makeup tricks up your sleeve. And that’s where we come in.
Read on for six simple eyebrow tips to turn yours from average to awesome.
1. Stop Obsessing Over Symmetry
Ever heard the phrase that eyebrows should always be thought of as sisters, not twins? It’s one we encountered years ago, and it’s just as valid today as it was then.
The point is that you should never sweat over trying to make your eyebrows look exactly the same. Yes, their shape, thickness and color need to be balanced and in the same ballpark, but they don’t need to be absolutely identical. An endless pursuit of brow perfection will do nothing but have you going back and forth over and over again, over-plucking or over-filling in an attempt to make them look exactly alike. It’s kind of asking for trouble.
Instead, concentrate on making sure the start and end points of each brow is roughly the same, then work with their natural lines – filling, tweezing and grooming them into the shape they were born to be.
2. Enhance, But Don’t Dramatically Change Your Brows
Dreaming of owning the thick, beautifully dark brows of Cara Delevingne or Lily Collins is fine, but if yours are slightly pale and way thinner, then the dreaming should honestly stop there.
Your best brows should be better versions of the ones you were born with, not a copy of someone’s else. Of course, you can make them slightly bigger, subtly thicker or less wayward but don’t go nuts. Otherwise it’ll be glaringly obvious that they’re not natural – and that’s not the look we imagine you’re going for.
3. Always Apply Color Up Not Across Your Brows
When filling in your brows, it’s tempting to draw them in using horizontal lines. Big mistake. Vertical or slightly angled lines are much more natural-looking because this is the direction in which your hairs typically grow. It’s as simple as that.
Also, remember to use tiny, light strokes that are no longer or thicker than your natural hairs. Use the natural shape of your brows as a guide and never overextend the outer tip, create too strong an arch or exaggerate the edges. Harsh. Way too harsh.
4. Use Powder For The Most Natural Look
Brow pencils are great if you like their waxy finish or want just a small amount of accurate detail, but for a softer, more natural-looking fill-in job that creates the illusion of denser brows, you can’t get better than powder – especially if your eyebrows are fairly sparse and need more than the average brow.
To apply brow powder and get it exactly where you want it, you’ll need to use a good angled brush to really ‘push’ it onto the skin. Anything else will just fall flat. The good news is, you’ll find nothing but the best on the end of our Essential Eye Brush, Arc Brush, Corner Brush Eye Stamper, and even on our Eyeliner Wheel – because we’re thoughtful like that.
Pick up just the smallest amount of powder (you can always tap the brush on the back of your hand to make sure you’ve not piled it up too much) then work it over your eyebrows in small, light, upwards strokes. Don’t press too hard, though: overdo it and you'll find that it’s virtually impossible to remove it without ruining your entire brow work.
5. Stick With A Brow Color That’s The Same (Or Slightly Paler) Than Your Natural Brows
When choosing an eyebrow color to enhance and define your brows don’t make the grave error of going darker than your natural eyebrows. This is a classic mistake but it’s one you should really avoid as looks super obvious and is extremely harsh on the rest of your features. Hey, nobody wants their brows to walk into the room five minutes before they did, right?
Overly dark eyebrows are also extremely aging. Enough said.
To find your perfect, most natural-looking brow color, stick with a shade that’s close to your natural eyebrows or one shade lighter. Also, don’t go too warm if you have a pale complexion with cool undertones. Your brows need to complement your skin, not work against them. So, if you have warm, olive or tanned skin a warm brown like our Truffle Eye Shadow will be perfect. But if you have cooler skin tones, stick with cooler browns that have more gray in them. Ganache Eye Shadow is a great shout if that sounds like you.
6. Fill First, Pluck Last
Finally, a great trick for ensuring you don’t overpluck is to fill in your brows with color first. This might feel like all kinds of wrong, but it helps you see how your brows will look when you’re done and, crucially, it'll stop you from overthinning them. Which is not a mistake you want to make (*aaand we’re literally back in 1984 all over again!).
