Many make-up artists and beauty gurus will often refer to eyebrows as ‘face shapers’ – and it’s not until you start to style, shape and fill them in that you truly understand this.
But there are so many options out there it can be hard to know where to begin. Pencil, powder, gel, pomade, wax – the list goes on and on.
Even the beautyheaven office doesn’t have a ‘go-to’ technique or product – we all use different things and have personal favourites. So to help you decide what’s right for you, we take you through how we look after our brows:
bh’s Rosie – Pencil
Okay, I’ll be honest. Up until about two years ago, I had never touched an eye pencil. Truthfully, I ignored them and focused on making my eyes pop with liner and eyeshadow until I discovered the transforming powers of the perfect eye pencil. I have been using the Bobbi Brown Perfectly Defined Long-Wear Brow Pencil in Blonde for about a year now, and I absolutely love its powdery texture and the subtle definition it gives my brows. I start by combing them with the spoolie brush, and then lightly ‘feather’ the pencil through the thicker part of my eyebrows, moving outwards along the tail, making sure I focus on sparse areas. Afterwards, I gently comb them with the spoolie again to make sure they look neat. I have quite fair brows and blonde hair, so I don’t attempt to give them a bold, sharp look, but instead help to enhance their shape and fill in any gaps.
bh’s Beth – Powder
I fill in my brows using L’Oréal Paris Brow Artist Genius Kit. At the moment I only use the powder, but I’ve been meaning to experiment with the wax – maybe this will motivate me. I love the soft brush (it gives a really natural look, no harsh lines) and the warm, medium brown shade. I don’t use a lot as I have relatively full brows already. I simply go over each brow about two times, making sure I stick within the lines (one extra sweep on my right brow, where there’s a slight gap in the hair due to a scar). I find this simple technique lends itself to a slightly more defined and darker yet still natural look! If I have time I use the spoolie last to brush any wayward hairs into line. I find the effect lasts all day, which is fine by me as it means my brows look well groomed for longer!
bh’s Astrid – Pomade
To be honest, the only reason I use pomade is because it’s the first thing I ever tried and it just stuck! My brows are naturally quite dark, so I don’t need to fill them in that much. I find even when I do, there’s only a subtle difference, and I’ll only fill them in if I’m going the full haul for a special occasion. I use the Ardell Brow Pomade which is a three-in-one set that makes things super quick and easy for lazy girls like me. I use the angle tip brush to fill in my brows and get the shape I want. To finish, I’ll use the spoolie to brush up my brows and that’s that!
bh’s Sam – Gel
I’ve tried pretty much every technique for filling in my brows, but have found gel is the easiest and most effective for me. I should start by saying I tint my brows at home, so they don’t need too much in terms of pigment. However, I do style them with a coloured gel to give them extra definition and help to fill any gaps that DIY tinting can’t cover. I used the L’Oréal Paris Brow Artist Plumper in Dark Brunette in the photo above, but I’m also quite fond of Benefit’s Gimme Brow. To style my brows I’ll firstly make sure there are no stray hairs underneath my arch as gel tends to cling to everything. If there is, I use my trusty QVS Classic Slant Tip Tweezers to pluck them (being careful not to overdo it). Most eyebrow gels come with a mascara brush-like applicator – only smaller. And the technique for application is similar: I simply wipe off any excess product on the corners of the tube and then apply the gel using an upward brushing motion to coat the hairs. I like my brows to look a bit spiky and gel is great for that as it sets the hairs in place. For the tail end of my brow, I put the applicator on a slight angle and run it horizontally through the hairs – I’m not sure if this is how it’s meant to be used but it works for me! Then, because the applicator already brushes through the brows, I can skip using a spoolie and just head straight out the door.
How do you style your brows? Do you have any tips for getting the shape just right?
