Perfecting Your Brows

Achieving that 'perfect' brow look is something that can be quite difficult to grasp. Everybody has naturally different eyebrow shapes and there is not one set way for everyone. The key is to find your natural shape and make the most of them. Beautifully groomed brows make a huge difference to anyone. Naturally, I have super thick and dark eyebrows. Years ago, I used to hate them thinking they were far too big, overshadowing my small face, and couldn't wait to get the tweezers on them. Now, I love the shape of my eyebrows; I have finally got my desired shape, and I am now thankful for their thickness! However, if you are not blessed with thick, defined eye brows then there are natural looking ways to make the most of them. Eyebrows frame the face and add definition to your eyes, so it is something worth paying attention too. Eyes and eyebrows are my favorite features on the face, I absolutely love doing peoples eyebrows as I think they can be one of the biggest transformations of the face and even the most naturally perfect browns can benefit from some added definition. Once the brows have been groomed, it is also super easy to do your own upkeep. 

To help with working out your shape, I have rounded up some of the best celebrity brows as inspiration...

Cara Delevingne is probably one of the most iconic brow trend setters around right now. She is blessed with naturally dark eyebrows that are super thick. This is dramatically enhanced for photo shoots (see above image) as she has a lot to work with, yet they somehow still manage to look great! In this photo they have been darkened and defined to create statement brows, forming a frame for her equally beautiful eyes. Her shape is quite straight, but they still diagonally point upwards to add an arch to her eye. However, I can't help feel if I did my brows this dramatically, they would look ridiculous! I think that they clearly work for her and the work she does, but on ordinary people I think a natural look is much more suited. 

Kim Kardashian has the most beautiful shape to her eyebrows. What I love about hers is exactly that, the shaping. The arch just about three quarters across the brow really sculpts her face. 

Katy Perry is the celebrity who I have found has the most similar brows to me. They are quite rounded, naturally dark, and thick.

All you need to transform a face is just:

>Tweezers

>Shadow

>Angled brush

>A brow brush

>Brow gel

Brow coloring:

One of the most crucial parts to grooming your brows is choosing the right colour. You may have shaped them perfectly, but a common mistake is to use a much darker colour than your brow, creating a completely unnatural and 'drawn on' effect- not a good look. When I chose my brow powder, I brought a shade that was slightly darker than my brows, and another that was slightly lighter. My idea was to mix the two, but I have found it always works best to go with the lighter colour as that will give you the most natural looking appearance.

If you have blond eye brows- use ash blond

Light brown- use sable/ light brown

Red- use ash blond/ camel

Brunette- use mahogany/ warm brown

Black- use darkest brown/ dark gray (never use black!)

How I fill in my brows:

1. Use a brow brush to brush your brows in an upward motion so all the hairs stick up a bit. Then comb the hairs in the natural shape of your brow.

2. For me, powder gives the most natural and most long lasting finish. Get your angled brush and powder and lightly use some of the product . Start at the inner corner of the brow, using light feathery strokes in the same direction as your hair growth. Make sure you fill in all the gaps in the brow hair.

3. Then bring the brush into the center, creating an arch shape and then turn the brush and go down. Extend the edge slightly, making sure the brow is long enough to finish just after your eye, on a diagonal with the outer corner of your eye. 

4. Use brow gel to keep unruly brows intact- mine is from No7.

Even though my shaping is fine (above), the brow that is filled in (right) is darker and appears thicker. It is more arched due to using short upward strokes with the brush, and it generally looked more refined. This an example of how filling in your brows can really shape and define them, transforming your face.