Eyebrows

I‘ve written about the different types of brow products, and how to stop over tweezing and get your natural brow shape back, so here are some general tips when shaping and enhancing your eyebrows.

1. Shopping for colors. When shopping for brow products, it is said to chose a shade that is one shade lighter than your natural brow color, so it doesn’t look too harsh.

Also, be careful with brow wax, it is the heaviest of all the products and the oily texture can make your brows look too dark and harsh. 

2. Reducing the pain. To reduce pain when pucking, there are a few tricks:

• Tweeze your eyebrows right after the shower, when your skin is still warm and soft and the hairs can be pulled out more easily.
• Use your finger to pull your skin to the side slightly (don’t distort the shape though!) to reduce pain. What I do is hold down the root then pull it out with the tweezer – doesn’t hurt at all!
• Rub some ice on your brows to numb the area to reduce the pain. 

3. Great Eyebrow tools. If your eyebrows need trimming, I recommend a small scissors that are curved. This is better to follow a natural arch and curve of your eyebrow. Tweezers with a slanted tip are highly recommended for their ease.

4. Check your work! When doing your brows, stop every few seconds and take a step back to look at what you’ve done, so you can monitor the shape you are doing. If you don’t, you could risk creating weird shapes and over plucking. 

5. Keep your face normal. Don’t make funny faces or contort your face while tweezing. It can mess up the brow shape and you could be creating an arch that looks completely off when your face is natural.

Hope these tips helped a bit! Any other eyebrow tips you’d like to share?

Image: No source. Please let me know if you know where this picture is from!

{ 3 comments }

I‘m sure everyone has had that painful period of trying to grow out a mistake they made with their brows! I got my eyebrows tweezed for the first time at a professional place when I was 15. I can’t remember what made me suddenly aware of them, but I walked into the first beautitian I could find at a popular mall and simply said, “Tame these monsters!”

BAD MOVE. The lady gave me the thinnest brows with the highest arch. I remember feeling that I looked like Ursula from The Little Mermaid – that permanent evil look. This taught me that yes; what they say is true – eyebrows really make a difference to your face!

That was the last time I ever went to somewhere professional. Unfortunately, at 15 I was still clueless about anything to do with ‘beautifying’ oneself, so afterward, I just kinda tweezed what I felt like tweezing, and even though the evil arch eventually disappeared, they were still too thin.

Fast forward to last, last Summer. I was just turning 19 and decided to just not touch my eyebrows for 6 months – I just wanted to start over everything and get my natural shape back. To tell you the truth, I never thought anyone would notice, much less MEN for that matter. Wrong! All my guy friends started calling me everything from Monkey Man to Bush Woman! One friend, who hadn’t seen me in a while, greeted me with, “Holy eyebrows, Renee!”

What gentlemen I hang around with …. But honestly, it did look a little scary after awhile.

Needless to say, it all grew back (thank goodness!) and I was really careful about tweezing a natural shape this time; keeping it’s original thickness, but creating a very slight arch. Now, I even get compliments on my eyebrows and I’m proud to say it’s all done by me – so Bush Woman gets the last laugh!

Here are my tips on breaking out of the tweezer-happy addiction and getting back your original shape:

• No touching! Don’t touch them for at least 4 months. Resist the urge, woman! I would say a full 6 months, but 4 months is the least. If it’s really getting unsightly, just tweeze those absolute necessary ones that seem to look completely out of your whole eyebrow area.

• Condition them. Apply some kind of conditioning formula. I tried applying some Vaseline on them for a bit and I really noticed a difference in the actual hairs, they seemed much healthier, thicker and darker. I stopped after awhile due to laziness, but I would really recommend using something; Vaseline or not, to condition them. There are plenty of brow conditioners out there on the market today that you could try out.

• Try hair growth formulas. I read this tip from Allure editor Linda Wells. I haven’t tried it myself but I would expect it to work: Dip a Q-tip in some Rogaine (or any hair loss formula) and rub it on any bald spots you might have. Be EXTREMELY careful to not let it touch anywhere near your eyes! Also, those popular eyelash-growth serums work on the eyebrow too.

• Makeup tricks. In the mean time, fill in empty spots and mistakes with a brow pencil or powder. Or, if some parts are starting to look insane try using a clear eyebrow gel to keep them looking neat – for more information on the different eyebrow products on the market, you may want to check out this post.

• Patience. Patience. Patience really is key – you are literally just waiting for hair to grow! In the meantime, give your itchy fingers something to do – pick your nose instead!

• Prepare for your next session. If you’re going to go to a professional, make sure you don’t end up with crazy thin eyebrows like mine. I shudder at the thought, it was that terrible. Instead, before going, find a photo of a person’s eyebrows you do like – you can’t get the exact shape, but visuals are always helpful with stylists. And when explaining what shape you want, try using words like “natural, low arch, full, thick, slight arch,” whatever you fancy. Just remember to avoid looks that are too thin and too arched – not a good look on anybody, really.

Here are some celebrities whose eyebrows I love, and perhaps you can get some inspiration from. They all seem to stick to a fairly thick, natural look – and it frames their beautiful eyes perfectly!

Left to right: Keira Knightley, Camilla Belle, Megan Fox and Eva Green.

Alright ladies – ‘fess up. Have you ever gone a bit too tweezer-happy in the past? Any funny stories to share? I want to hear!

Images: JimHillMedia.com, JustJared.com, Celebtopia.com

{ 8 comments }

They say eye brows are important because they frame the eyes; the windows to our souls!

To get perfect arches, the first step is to tweeze/wax any extra hairs that are out of place. Then, cosmetics will help achieve a more arched, clean look.

However there are quite different products in the market today for eyebrows, and I hope my guide will help you out.

Different brow products:

• Brow pencil. Gives great definition to the brows. Also, probably the easiest to use – the pencil gives a very controlled application. Perfect for achieving light, subtle strokes that look very natural.
   
• Brow powder. When using powder, choose a slighter lighter shade than your natural brow color, as powders can look very hard. Use brow powder with a slanted, angle brush to get a flawless arch. For even more intensity, you can apply the brow powder wet.
   
• Brow gel/mascara. Clear or colored, brow mascaras are just like your typical mascaras. With brow mascaras, however, they are used to shape your brow hairs and keep holding them in place for hairs that are unruly.
   
• Brow wax. Brow wax is applied over brow powder or pencil to keep hair in place. Very similar to the brow gel/mascara, just a different texture that is up to personal preference. Usually looks more natural than gels/mascara.

What do you use to groom your eyebrows? I’d love to hear what you all think is the best option!

Image: Bobbi Brown

{ 6 comments }