The Keys to the Perfect Brows
Brows frame the face and as this incredible image shows, are critical to making you beautiful.
First, analyze your brows. Are they too thick or do you need to grow hair.
Too thick?
- Decide how you are going to groom them. You have three choices: waxing, threading, plucking/shaving. The first two you need professional help with. The last (plucking/shaving) you can do yourself.
- Always brush your brows before shaping them and before you put on makeup. Set them with a clear brow gel.
Too thin?
- Finally, there is a cure. There are brow grower products out there, and yes they really work. I use Revitabrow, which is a product one can use on the brow for growth. There are a lot of brow growers. Get one and get going. Use it every night. These things really work, so when you have to pluck, show some gratitude!
- You will need to pluck or shave errant hairs once they start growing in. I know, I know, it seems like heresy since you don’t have a lot to start with, but still, what you have needs to be shaped.
Shape
- No matter how much hair you have, the brows need to be shaped.
- If the brows are too short, your face looks small and your nose looks fatter.
- If the brows are too long, your face looks super thin and downward sloping tails on the brow can make you look like a sad puppy dog.
- Too high an arch = angry grand-ma. And if your brows are naturally straight, go with it! If you have an arch, it should line up with the outer edge of your pupil, in terms of where is starts to raise up. How high up should it go? The “Arch Peak” is approximately another full “open eye” from the base of the brow.
- The main area to worry about: unibrow territory. Line up a pencil on the outer edge of your nostril straight up. This is where the brow should start. Anything on the bridge of the nose has to go. (Men too!)
- If you need help, see a professional to get the shape right, and then just keep up with the shape yourself via plucking or shaving.
- Yes, you need a magnifying mirror!
Makeup
- The color of your brow should be a bit darker (1 to 2 shades) than your hair color.
- To fill in brows you have a few choices: powder, pencil or creme. Usually I recommend a combination as combo brow makeup will last longer and look more natural. For special events or to look more polished, take these extra steps. This means, for example, use powder and then pencil to fill in, or vice-versa. Use creme and then powder over it to fill in and really stay. Experiment. Find what lasts for you. Your brow makeup needs to last all day.
- Short, angled strokes are best with any of the above formats (pencil, powder or creme), and always brush afterwards with a clean spooley brush (these look like mascara applicators and come in bags of 20 or so at the drugstore).
- Remember the most important mantra when shaping brows: “Cousins not twins!”
