i'm sure everyone has heard the proverb "the eyes are the windows to the soul." so what makes a window more interesting? window treatments of course! in this case i'm talking about the brows. and it seems that the eyebrow goes through trends just as makeup does -- i've seen bushy and unkempt as well as the super-skinny have their day in the limelight.
having the (mis)fortune of not only being fair-haired but thin-haired as well did not bode well for my brows. i never could rightfully sport the brooke shields "bushy brow," as they were never as such. and they are only barely darker than my hair. in most pictures (without help) they simply disappear. but just because it wasn't a virtual forest up there didn't mean i could go without tweezing. those little white baby hairs that grow all over my eyelid are not tolerated. i was also genetically cursed with down-turned brows with no arch to speak of. this was most distressing as i was told time and time again by professional brow shapers that the only way to achieve an arch was to get rid of the outer half and draw in an arch. i passed on this option because i was always warned that someday i would lose my eyebrows due to age . . . as most of the blonde women in my family had. why would i want to prematurely remove my brow hair? but a part of me never thought it would happen.
until it actually started to happen.
these days i only really have the front half of a decent brow. the rest i am now forced to draw on and fill in after that option had been offered to me many years before. i've become quite adept at this, and i want to pass along some of my favorite products that have become staples in my bag.
rogaine for men. yes, for men. why? well, they say that women who use the men's formula may grow facial hair. (precisely.) apply twice daily with a q-tip to the brows and see what happens. it doesn't work for everyone, but it couldn't hurt to try. the only downside is that it takes so long to see results. and you will definitely see peach-fuzz first, which can be a pain to remove in areas where it's not wanted. the other product i'm currently experimenting with is enormous lash by beauty society. they've recently changed their formula, but if you can get a hold of the older product with prostaglandin, it will be worth it. be forewarned that this is one of the ingredients shown to possibly darken the iris in blue eyes after prolonged use. (probably why they changed it.) the great thing about this product is that it can be used on the brows as well! it's worth a little extra swipe on the lashes while you're at it to see if it works for you. the results are going to be seen much quicker. because i have seen this product work well for many women, it makes me very curious about using latisse, which is getting tons of press. if i had to make an educated leap i would say that it probably works for the brows also.
while waiting for those precious little hairs to come in, there will need to be some cosmetic help in the interim. not that i have anything against the brow pencil per se, but in the hands of most women they can end up being dangerous. the only time it really works is for dark-haired women. many pencils are too dark and it ends up taking more work to finesse it into something natural-looking! conversely pencils labeled "blonde" rarely are. if you are truly blonde it tends to go orange. for blondes, ash blondes and women with white or grey hair i like to use a regular number 2 pencil. yes, the same one you used in school and yes, it will transfer onto the skin. it's just enough without looking orange or too dark.
better than pencils are shadows. bobbi brown makes great shadows that can double as brow fillers. (or liners!) she also has 2 great brushes that can be used to apply – one is the brow brush and the other is the eye definer brush, which is smaller for more definition or a thinner brow. some great colors typically used for the brows are grey, blonde, mahogany, sable, taupe, wheat and even smoke. let a consultant help you decide; just make sure you're not putting a shimmer shadow in your brows! it is good measure to go a shade lighter than your natural hair color, but for blondes it may work better to go a shade darker. if you have thinner hair and petite features, you'll want to stay more subtle with the brows. those women with lots of thick hair or more pronounced features can get away with a stronger brow.
once you've filled in you'll want to seal it. the more expensive lines all make a product to achieve this, but in this case cheaper is better! i usually grab cover girl's professional natural lash mascara. it's simply a clear mascara that's great for grooming the brow and protecting the shadow used to fill.
i hope everyone is familiar with the tip for this blog – the shape of your brow – which is information that is imperative when filling in a sparse brow. take a pencil and lay it vertically next to the nose; where it aligns with the corner of the eye is where the brow should begin. keeping the base of the pencil next to the nose, align the other end to intersect your pupil looking straight on; this is where the highest point of the arch should be. next, move the end of the pencil to the outer point of the eye itself; this is where the brow should end.
having the (mis)fortune of not only being fair-haired but thin-haired as well did not bode well for my brows. i never could rightfully sport the brooke shields "bushy brow," as they were never as such. and they are only barely darker than my hair. in most pictures (without help) they simply disappear. but just because it wasn't a virtual forest up there didn't mean i could go without tweezing. those little white baby hairs that grow all over my eyelid are not tolerated. i was also genetically cursed with down-turned brows with no arch to speak of. this was most distressing as i was told time and time again by professional brow shapers that the only way to achieve an arch was to get rid of the outer half and draw in an arch. i passed on this option because i was always warned that someday i would lose my eyebrows due to age . . . as most of the blonde women in my family had. why would i want to prematurely remove my brow hair? but a part of me never thought it would happen.
until it actually started to happen.
these days i only really have the front half of a decent brow. the rest i am now forced to draw on and fill in after that option had been offered to me many years before. i've become quite adept at this, and i want to pass along some of my favorite products that have become staples in my bag.
rogaine for men. yes, for men. why? well, they say that women who use the men's formula may grow facial hair. (precisely.) apply twice daily with a q-tip to the brows and see what happens. it doesn't work for everyone, but it couldn't hurt to try. the only downside is that it takes so long to see results. and you will definitely see peach-fuzz first, which can be a pain to remove in areas where it's not wanted. the other product i'm currently experimenting with is enormous lash by beauty society. they've recently changed their formula, but if you can get a hold of the older product with prostaglandin, it will be worth it. be forewarned that this is one of the ingredients shown to possibly darken the iris in blue eyes after prolonged use. (probably why they changed it.) the great thing about this product is that it can be used on the brows as well! it's worth a little extra swipe on the lashes while you're at it to see if it works for you. the results are going to be seen much quicker. because i have seen this product work well for many women, it makes me very curious about using latisse, which is getting tons of press. if i had to make an educated leap i would say that it probably works for the brows also.
while waiting for those precious little hairs to come in, there will need to be some cosmetic help in the interim. not that i have anything against the brow pencil per se, but in the hands of most women they can end up being dangerous. the only time it really works is for dark-haired women. many pencils are too dark and it ends up taking more work to finesse it into something natural-looking! conversely pencils labeled "blonde" rarely are. if you are truly blonde it tends to go orange. for blondes, ash blondes and women with white or grey hair i like to use a regular number 2 pencil. yes, the same one you used in school and yes, it will transfer onto the skin. it's just enough without looking orange or too dark.
better than pencils are shadows. bobbi brown makes great shadows that can double as brow fillers. (or liners!) she also has 2 great brushes that can be used to apply – one is the brow brush and the other is the eye definer brush, which is smaller for more definition or a thinner brow. some great colors typically used for the brows are grey, blonde, mahogany, sable, taupe, wheat and even smoke. let a consultant help you decide; just make sure you're not putting a shimmer shadow in your brows! it is good measure to go a shade lighter than your natural hair color, but for blondes it may work better to go a shade darker. if you have thinner hair and petite features, you'll want to stay more subtle with the brows. those women with lots of thick hair or more pronounced features can get away with a stronger brow.
once you've filled in you'll want to seal it. the more expensive lines all make a product to achieve this, but in this case cheaper is better! i usually grab cover girl's professional natural lash mascara. it's simply a clear mascara that's great for grooming the brow and protecting the shadow used to fill.
i hope everyone is familiar with the tip for this blog – the shape of your brow – which is information that is imperative when filling in a sparse brow. take a pencil and lay it vertically next to the nose; where it aligns with the corner of the eye is where the brow should begin. keeping the base of the pencil next to the nose, align the other end to intersect your pupil looking straight on; this is where the highest point of the arch should be. next, move the end of the pencil to the outer point of the eye itself; this is where the brow should end.
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