The Beauty School Blog talks a lot about exciting new innovations in beauty, but sometimes it’s important to go back to basic topics, such as eyebrows.
Eyebrow trends, maintenance and importance have been hot topics for the past couple years. Everyone wants to know how to make their brows look fabulous and flawless, striving to find that perfect balance between too thin and too thick. Since eyebrows frame your face and set the stage for how the rest of your makeup will look, make sure you maintain them properly.
NYFW Runway Trend: Bold Brows and Berry Lips
As seen on the runways of the most recent NYFW, pairing bold brows with berry lips has been huge. This look was seen on Rebecca Minkoff, Nanette Lepore and Naeem Khan models, just to name a few.
The bold combination of the two makes the top-notch fashion being showcased that much more eye-catching. If your brows are looking sharp and your lipstick is bold, then there’s no need for an extra makeup besides foundation, since your brows and lips will take center stage.
Celebrity Trend: No More Skinny Brows
In the 1920s and 1930s, eyebrows were very thin. The women of the 1920s kept them straight in addition to thin, while women in the 1930s added a sharp arch that only seemed to harden their look.
Infamous celebrity eyebrows like those belonging to Lily Collins and Cara Delevingne have shown us that the newest trend in eyebrows is simply maintenance. No longer do we need to worry about having tadpole brows that matched those of the models and girls in the magazines.
Personally, I’m very thankful for this new brow trend. When I was a freshman in high school, I trimmed and plucked my thick Portuguese eyebrows to a disgustingly thin and extremely skinny line that made my face look completely out of proportion. Please don't judge this picture too harshly!
Now, many years later as a sophomore in college, I’m happy to simply maintain what I have, since that’s beautiful too.
Not everyone has naturally thick brows, and trends keep changing constantly, so just make sure that you’re doing what works best for your face. Simple brow maintenance is what will make your eyebrows uniquely beautiful.
Brow Maintenance – Finding Out What Works For You:
Maintaining your gorgeous brows only requires a few simple steps. SheKnows.com has some great tips for eyebrow maintenance to keep your brows looking bold and beautiful.
The first step to brow maintenance is choosing a grooming method. Your options include plucking, threading and waxing. Note that shaving your brows and using a depilatory are not options; both are dangerous and can lead to long-lasting consequences.
Plucking: This takes some practice and a proper pair of tweezers, but it’s the cheapest of the three methods. If you choose to pluck, avoid over plucking by only getting the stray hairs under your natural arch. Plucking does require the most time commitment, as you’ll need to be checking up on your brows one to two times per week, depending on how quickly your hair grows back.
Threading: This process uses a thin cotton thread to remove multiple hairs at once. It tends to be the most painful of the methods, but it is the most precise.
Waxing: One of the most common forms of hair removal, waxing is quick and easy. Just like threading, it can irritate the skin around your eyes if your skin is sensitive, so be sure to take proper precautions.
After you’ve figured out which grooming method will work best for your habits, budget and pain tolerance, the next step is to determine your face shape. From there, you’ll be able to figure out an eyebrow look that works best for you.
For Square-Shaped Faces: To soften your bold jawline, shape your brows accordingly. The more defined your jawline, the more angular your brows should be.
For Oval-Shaped Faces: To complement your face, shape your brows using a soft arch to maintain the natural shape of your face.
For Heart-Shaped Faces: To help soften the point of your chin, create a low arch with your brows. This will add more length to your forehead and can balance your other facial features.
For Round-Shaped Faces: To lengthen your face and enhance your natural features, create a more defined arch with your brows.
Finally, fill in your brows accordingly. I spoke with my friend Aubrey for some more assistance on this, as she’s basically the brow goddess of our college. Her brows are always on point. Her boyfriend Andrew did a great job capturing this photo of her bold brows, beautiful blue eyes, and cute smile.
To fill in her eyebrows, Aubrey’s routine is fairly simple.
“I just use any dark brown eyeliner pencil and outline the shape I want. Then, I go back and fill it in, trying to concentrate the color more on the arch and outside. Then, I take a typical spooled brush and go over them to blend the color” she said.
The choice of color that Aubrey chooses matches her hair color precisely, which is critical, otherwise it can look unnatural. If you have darker hair, choose a pencil or powder that is similar in color to or slightly lighter than your hair. If you hair is blonde or another light shade, choose a pencil or powder that is darker.
Following these simple steps will keep your brows looking neat, clean and gorgeous — good luck!