It is a truth universally acknowledged that every well-groomed woman develops a beauty “staple”. Be it a bold lip, a signature flick of liner or perfectly manicured nails, we all cultivate our beauty favourites over time—and (rightly so), we stick to them. If you’re anything like me, you’ll agree that makeup is not only fun, but empowering and important. The ability to change the way the world sees you with a fractal amount of eyeliner or a really, really good foundation is a beautiful thing; and the added confidence we women can attain through makeup is priceless.
So I’m here to tell you about my beauty obsession, and argue that it is the most essential—and, unfortunately, oft-neglected—of all beauty routines: Ladies, I want to reintroduce you to your eyebrows.
Think about it: Your eyebrows are constantly in use. Without necessarily realising it, you’re constantly drawing attention to them: when you’re surprised, cross, upset, happy—your eyebrows demonstrate emotion and people are looking at them. It doesn’t matter how much you prettify your eyes—however many lashings of mascara or strategic dustings of shadow it takes for you to achieve your perfect eye—it’s worth so much less if you haven’t paid any attention to dem brows. Plus, your eyes are the most unique facial feature that makes you look like you. And it’s not just about the masterpiece, it’s about how you frame it… hence, your eyebrows are a “make or break” feature of any beautiful visage. Fact.
I strongly believe that it’s worth playing around with your eyebrows to find a “look” which suits you best. Like eyes, lips and cheekbones, with eyebrows we’re granted a certain “lot” at birth and that will determine the extent to which we need to play around with them—some women have naturally bushy brows, others will be more streamlined and scant; some will be light, some will be dark. Some women pull off strong, bold eyebrows; others can get away with a light pluck and maybe a dusting of brow powder to fill in those irksome little gaps. It depends on your face shape and colouring: for me, with my naturally light auburn hair—that makes my natural brows and eyelashes look almost invisible when I leave them alone—I’ve found that going for a bolder look with my eyebrows compliments my features better than if I were to leave them to do their natural thing. Without a strong eyebrow, I feel as if I look a bit naked—hence why giving my eyebrows a bit of TLC every morning has become as much a part of my routine as brushing my teeth and putting on socks. Plus, perfecting my brows gives me an extra boost of confidence that is well worth the extra couple of minutes it takes in the morning.
[divider] [/divider]
- Invest in good tools. A decent pair of tweezers make the whole process of plucking so much easier; the right slant is key to getting a good grip on each hair.
- Eyebrow serums or oils. Eyebrow serums or oils are a great way to keep your eyebrows looking healthy and full. It is an easy and affordable way to enhance, shape and define the eyebrows. They are applied to the eyebrows to help nourish and hydrate the area and promote the growth of healthy, full brows. Eyebrow serums or oils can help reduce the appearance of bald spots and encourage fuller, thicker brows. The serum or oil helps to nourish, moisturize and soften the eyebrows. Eyebrows serum or oil can be used to get a more natural-looking and fuller brow without having to use brow pencils or other makeup products. To get healthy and thicker brows, use lashrescue.net‘s eyebrow serum or oil.
- Find your perfect brow pencil. Finding a shade of eyebrow pencil that will look natural and blend well with your brows is probably the most important way to achieve a great eyebrow look. If you go too light or dark, you’ll end up looking silly (I’m thinking specifically of a lady who comes into my workplace who uses a black eyebrow pencil despite her naturally blonde hair … woops). Benefit has a great product called Brow-Zings that combines a waxy substance and a powder that you can blend to achieve exactly the right shade; MAC also has a really great selection of shades and textures to work with.
- Dye them! I have naturally fair hair so my eyelashes and eyebrows are also naturally even more fair. A few years ago I invested in a “30-day mascara” kit that could also be used to dye your eyebrows… so I tried it and stumbled across something wonderful in the process. It changed my face entirely; suddenly I had a strong, groomed eyebrow look that I’d never been able to achieve before. It also makes it possible for you to go darker when you dye your hair without ending up with an awkward situation where your hair is darker than your eyebrows (rookie error). Plus, when you use a pencil you’re at risk of making them look drawn-on if you don’t blend it well with your natural brows. So if you’re a fair-haired maiden, I thoroughly recommend this.
- Consult the experts. You wouldn’t think twice about heading to the salon for a good haircut or a manicure, so why ignore your eyebrows? Getting a specialist on the job can be relatively inexpensive and the results can last for a lot longer than if you battle with them at home—plus, the risk of over-plucking or ending up with an unsymmetrical shape isn’t a worry. Treat yourself sometime; go to a salon and have your eyebrows laced or waxed to get a photo-worthy face in a jiffy.
How do you take care of your eyebrows? Tweet us @litdarling.
