All about eyebrows. Part 1

I'm a big fan of eyebrows, in fact if i had to pick two products i couldn't leave the house without those would be an eyebrow filler (pencil or shadow) and foundation...clean skin and contoured eyebrows, these two little things mean so much for one's face and can literally change one's appearance overnight. I remember i read in a magazine that one of the hottest trends of a few years' ago was the 'tweezers lift'- basically the eyebrows were arched as highly as possible accordingly to their natural shape to give the eyes that 'fresh' look of a good sleep, like you just came back from vacation.

I've been doing my own eyebrows for years and i never felt like going to a beautician because i never thought i needed it...and because my natural eyebrows have always had a high arch i could work very well with, experimenting, doing everything on my own without fear of infections or ending up with a shape i didn't want in the first place. Then i started doing my friends' eyebrows and i got more experienced; so i can honestly say i have tried almost everything, technique or product, regarding eyebrows...from high end to cheapos.

I do think the more expensive products will do the trick in terms of resistance, waterproof-ness, maybe color range (more choices) and more sophisticated ingredients. But my current favorite products are drugstore brands and i couldn't be happier. anyways.
On YouTube there are many gurus talking about eyebrows, about shaping techniques, how the arch should start here and it should end there and all that chit chat. I do agree with them...to a certain point. Mainly because the most important thing in shaping one's eyebrows is taking into account one's facial features. I have seen a couple of YouTube girls (no names given) whose eyebrows were not close to perfection yet they still gave advice about shaping and grooming. Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying i know it all and nobody else is right, i'm just pointing out something that is left out.

What i have seen in myself and the girls whose eyebrows i did is that you have to start working on what you have- the natural shape. In most cases the natural shape of the eyebrow is the most fortunate material one has, and it's a pity trying to change it in a radical manner. Not to mention other extensive changes, like tweezing all of the hairs and drawing with the pencil, creating the extremely high arches or maintaining a droopy shape- you don't wanna look like Droopy D or have people call you Cruella. But since 99% of the girls seem to have understood the importance of carefully and most important of all, naturally groomed eyebrows, i'll skip that.

what i have on the other hand noticed is the lack of consensus with regards to thickness. some ladies prefer the thinner eyebrows and claim it feminizes the look and the face, while others advocate the thick, au naturel shape on grounds of giving a more youthful appearance. and this is where your face gets to play an important role. This is more or less what Anastasia of Beverly Hills had in mind when she conceptualized her 'brow system'- five major types of arches and styles that are fit for all face shapes. Her concept is great and i myself am a fan of Anastasia's products, including the eyebrow stencils, but i also think there is one more thing to be taken into consideration- the face. Your appearance per se, the type of traits you have.

Basically, a thicker eyebrow does indeed give a more natural and youthful look, if you have the traits to back it up. With aging, or in case one has a more 'masculine' face, the thick, natural eyebrow needs to be thinned and more groomed to give the face a more demure, feminine look. Check this out:





This is a young and gorgeous Brooke Shields with her trademark eyebrows. I think this was the secret of her beauty since many girls had the popping blue eyes, the baby face and the pouty mouth, but none had her thick, natural, almost childish eyebrows that gave her that romantic, unripe, adolescentine look. Her natural eyebrows drew the attention away from the makeup attracting the eye to the out-of-bed look. Now...:





This looks like disaster to me. This is an older Brooke Shields, as gorgeous as ever, but looking rather masculine and harsher. The contours of her face have become softer and 'low', making the forehead go down a little, as it is perfectly normal at this age. Unfortunately, keeping the same eyebrow style darkens her eye area, making it look like she's squinting to get to see from under those two bushes.

And this doesn't apply to aging only. I'm talking about harsh features-imagine someone with a more 'masculine' face, like Madonna or Gisele Bundchen, sporting Brooke's eyebrows. It would look a little scary.

Same here. This is an old photo of Marilyn Monroe at the age of 16 i think,and it makes a good case:





Marilyn is of course younger and not so made up as in her later years, but there's something missing- her trademark look. With thin eyebrows she's nothing but a pretty face. Her signature full, high-arched brows gave her that eclectic, baby-faced goddess look:



Basically my point is that she could 'keep' this look with naturally groomed eyebrows even in her '30's due to her extremely feminine face. Someone who doesn't belong to that category should try a little harder- i am myself one of the girls who constantly fidget with the tweezers because i feel like my face can't sport the 100% natural eyebrows look, yet i prefer them to be as far as possible from pencil thinness.

Another example and I'm done :) :




The beautiful Camilla Belle with some Groucho Marx eyebrows. Too thick, too black,they just don't do her any favor but downplay her femininity.



...but Keira Knightley can definitely swim in the 'hairy' pool- she simply has the features to back it up, namely the square-roundish face, the pouty lips and snub nose.


Hope i'm making my point here...