Friday, November 11, 2011

Perfect Eyebrows

Hello gorgeous,

During my last Make-up class, it occurred to me that many people don't know how important eyebrows are in framing the face and the eyes.
Many people take shaping eyebrows into their own hands and that's when the HORROR begins!!!
I am not kidding, very few people really know how to properly shape their brows, and need serious make-overs.
If you fall in one of these categories, leave your brows alone until they grow back to their original length and shape (I know it's "painful" to go around with un-kept brows, but it's a necessary step to fix the problem). Next, follow the "fix it" steps below.
NOTE: Stop the "bad" shaping as soon as possible; brows are among the few of our body hair than if removed long enough, it will stop growing!
And if you think any of these looks are ok, ask yourself a simple question: "which classy lady, or celebrity or beauty queen have I ever seen with THIS look?"
Trust me, they are not pretty, and if anyone tells you otherwise, they are either lying or trying to sell you the service (like tattoos)!
Remember fashion dictates brow shapes too, the 1970s had super thin brows in fashion, while the 1980s had the Brooke Shield's thick unkempt brows! I suggest you stick with the shape that suits your face the most, or follow fashion without changing your shape permanently.

Let's discuss the first NO-NO in eyebrow shaping:

Shaving eyebrows and drawing them in! The horror!!!

FIX IT: If you are among the fortunate ones who have big bushy eyebrows, figure out your most flattering shape first and draw it on the eyebrows with a white eye pencil; brush hair up (on the first inner half of the brows) and brush down (on the second outer half), then cut (Not shave) the excess length; after, with tweezers (or wax) remove the hair outside the shape you drew. It is important to draw the brow shape first, if we start tweezing without a shape, we risk to take too much off or have un-even eyebrows, making one too thin or too short.

Very small brows or lighter hair brows get Tattooed in! I am a fan of body tattooes but tattooed make-up is just AWFUL!!

FIX IT: Tattooed brows are usually tattooed in black ink, which with time will turn blue! The eyebrows are usually tattooed too strong and too angular...in short, they look like a cartoon drawing and un-natural! Unfortunately if you have already tattooed your brows, since it's a permanent decision, there is not much you can do to remove it! however, going over the shape with a brown eyeshadow and an angle brush, you can soften the look and make it more "natural".
If you haven't tattooed them yet, but want to fix a small or light eyebrow, you can fill it in with eyeshadow powder and achieve your favorite shape. The great thing about filling in eyebrows with make-up is that you can try different shapes or thickness and if you don't like it, you can wash it off!!
Black eyebrows should be colored with a brown eyeshadow and blond eyebrows with a green-grey eyeshadow (Sage or Safari, are some of the common names for these eyeshadows).
If the hair is too light and you want a more semi-permanent solution, you can color your hair with eyebrow dyes, which is a service most aestheticians perform in 10 min. or less!

Tadpole or Comma eyebrows are very common shapes. I find most people with bad brows fall in this category, and it's very common among young people. The problem is that people take too much off the entire length of the eyebrow, leaving a "ball" of hair close to the inner corner of the eyes.

FIX IT: Let your hair grow back first, then with a white eye pencil draw two parallel lines up to the point of the arch, and down towards the temples, slowly tapering into a point. When you are happy with the shape, take off with tweezers or wax strips the excess hair at the top and bottom of the brows. Follow the diagram to figure out where to start the brow, how long it should be and where to place the arch (the highest point of the eyebrow). Remember, if some hair within the desired shape is too long, don't pull it, just brush it up and then cut off the excess.

Another word of caution: when deciding how angled the eyebrows should be, keep in mind your face shape. If you have strong jaw lines and a square face shape, keep the arch low, almost circular (the opposite of your face shape). If the face is round, keep the angle high and more defined. Keep in mind the eye closeness as well. Close set eyes look better with eyebrows that start further apart, while wide set eyes look better with brows who are closer together.

Draw on different shapes before you decide which shape would look better, or visit a high quality aesthetician to help you decide...then keep up the shape.

Please, don't feel insulted by my comments, we have all been there! Eyebrow shapes are the hardest beauty step to figure out at first but make a huge difference in a look...as a matter of fact, go check out "before they were famous" celebrities pictures and the "after" looks, you can tell what a huge impact eyebrows have in their current looks.


Be Fabulous,

Ella


Personal beauty, Makeup, Fashion trends, Style & Glamour like celebrities.