Ever since I saw Sienna Miller strutting her stuff with a pixie cut and full eyebrows, playing the oh-so-fabulous Edie Sedgewick, I have been a little obsessed. I fell in love with the difficult stray hair above the eye. Watching Factory Girl inspired me to grow mine, and two thick eyebrows have been permently fixed upon my face.
The eyebrow has the strength to change your face shape completely – it should never be over looked, and it certainly wasn’t on the Spring/Summer 2012 ready-to-wear shows. The beauty this season, just like the clothes, is playful and pretty. A strong eyebrow doesn’t always deem androgyny. Perfectly brushed-up brows were seen at The Row and Derek Lam, and they never looked more girly.
Caroline Frazer, a celebrity make-up artist told me the best way to keep your eyebrows groomed…
“Brows are big news for Spring/Summer. Spending a little time on getting the right shape and grooming your brows can result in a polished and lifting effect on the face.”
“Always pluck brows in natural daylight and use a large mirror and don’t rush! Start by brushing your brows in an upward direction so you can see where the hairs naturally lie and also check out the length.”
“Always tweeze from underneath the brow and only ever pluck one hair at a time and in the direction of growth following the natural line. Don’t pluck from above the brow – just use some small grooming scissors to carefully trim these.”
There are an abundance of products out there to help you with your brow confidence. We’ve come a long way since the shave-off and pencil job, but scarily there is talk of a Scouse Brow! These products will help you steer clear of any northern confusion, and aid you in getting the perfect eyebrow…
Benefit’s Browzings (£22.50) is a great shaping kit to keep in your make-up bag. The compact mirror allows you to touch up on the road. What I love most about this product, is the fact that you get a pair on itsy-bitsy tweezers. The coloured wax helps you to groom all those little hairs into place, and the mini hard angle brush will make getting the arch, an easy job. Once in place, you can use the blending brush to apply the shadow and fill in any bald patches. I found the kit very easy to use, but I had to apply the powder on quite thick to get the full look.
The Smashbox Browtech Trio (£18.50) is also a great little product. It contains two shades of colour so you can match it to the brow, and the wax helps you to seal the hairs into place. I found that the colourless wax was much easier to use, as you could apply a little more vigorously, and not have to worry about having uneven brows.
The Browtech doesn’t come with a brush, but when testing it out, I used the Laura Mercier Brow Definer (£22.50) which although is a little pricey, you can see the difference in application. The bristles are super soft, and the point is the right shape, which made is very easy to push all my little hairs into the high arch.
Another brush and pot duo that I tested out was by bareMinerals. Their Brow Colour (£11) is a mineral powder, that glides on easily, but you need a little layering to get the right colour match and fullness.
The bareMinerals Brow brush (£10) is made from pony hair, which makes it a lot courser then other brushes, but the effect works brilliantly with their powder.
The quickest way to a fuller looking brow is the pencil, but it doesn’t always have the best results. Personally I prefer powders to pencils as they have a more natural effect. One pencil, however, that does do the trick is Mac Eye Brows (£11.50). The thin tip allows you to fill in the smallest of gaps and gives a very natural looking brow.
One product I just couldn’t get used to was the eyebrow pen. Think felt-tip. I tested out Stila All Day Waterproof Brow Colour (£13.50), and I have to say it is the better of the eyebrow pens, but I still couldn’t get the angles or the fullness I wanted. Staying true to it’s name, it was long-lasting.
One product that I found ridiculous was the La La 24 Semi Permanent Brow Pen by La La Lashes (£12.20). The nib is much too thick and not flexible enough to get any precision, and it does leave you looking like a 2 year old applied your make-up, with a felt-tip pen. As much as I like La La’s Lashes, the pen I did not.
If you have a thin brow and just can’t seem to get the look you want with pencils or powders, RapidBrow (£37) is the latest product said to help, from the makers of the award winning lash serum RapidLash. It is said to condition, restore and repair the appearance of your eyebrows in 60 days. I have been applying it for a week and a half now and am yet to see results, but I’ll keep you posted.
but I definitely think that guys are becoming more and more bold with their wardrobes; more adventurous with colour whatever season it is. Guys aren’t afraid to stand out and this goes perfectly with my use of colour and pattern – you’ll see some bold pattern coming your way so watch this space!
