BY: KIZZY COURTNEY
The eyebrows are a facial feature that protects your eyes from dirt particles and sweat, but why is this practical feature such an important key beauty feature? From the pencil, thin brows in the 70’s; the fuller, bolder, bushy brows in the 80’s; to the tweezed curvy arches in the 90’s, however, you wear them, the brows frame the face and can make or break any makeup look. Today we’ve left the overly plucked brows that the 90’s gave us behind and have adapted a more natural fuller looking brow like the 80’s; all be it more groomed. Whatever the ‘in trend’ is at the time full brows will never go out of style. Two of the more popular methods used to filling and shaping the brows are a powder or a pencil. One will give you a more soft, natural finish while the other a more defined look. Learning to properly do your brows is an important step in your makeup routine and should not be missed.
When filling in your eyebrows you must never over draw them; “boxy’ brows are never cute. Instead, try to keep your natural shape, the only definite line should be at the bottom part of your brow and on the top end forming the tail if needed. It is simple to find your natural eyebrow shape, to begin, first find the start of your eyebrow, place the brush on the edge of your nose, straight up to your eyebrow. Then to find the arch of your brow, place the brush again on the outer edge of your nose and angle it upwards, lining with the outer part of your pupil. Finally, to find where your eyebrows should end, place the brush again at the edge of your nose and then line it up against the outer corner of your eye. If you’re a beginner I recommend using a pencil to fill in your brows as you will have more control. If you have dark/black hair never use a black colour for your brows, always go two shades lighter when choosing brow colours and if you’re on the other end of the spectrum with lighter hair always choose a brow colour that is two shades darker.
If you’re pressed for time using a powder to do your brows is the easiest and fastest way to get beautiful brows in a hurry. An angled brush is a necessity when it comes to filling in brows with powder. Start by dipping the brush into the powder and begin about a third of the way in from where your brow starts. Then apply the powder along the bottom edge of the brow towards the end to create a defining line, and just work the powder into your brow moving from the bottom towards the top. When this is complete proceed to do the front third of the brow by applying a lighter amount of powder. Following up with a spoolie brush is important so the powder is well blended and can create a more natural look. Last, but not least, you want to make sure that you clean up your mistakes and stray hairs with concealer. This will ensure that your brows have a precise and crisp look. Using a concealer that is a shade lighter than your skin tone, outline your eyebrows and blend the concealer out with a small brush. The lighter concealer will add a highlight under your brows, which will bring the look to the next level!
If you don’t own any brow powder a matte brown eyeshadow works as a great substitute. I personally like to use a combination of pencil and powder when doing my brows but besides powders and pencils, there are other options like pomades, gels, and brow pens or markers as well. It’s all about your preference, and remember practice makes perfect.
