We've been watching a lot of Elizabeth Taylor movies lately--a salute to the recently deceased movie queen who was often called "the most beautiful woman in the world". Though she was most famous for her gorgeous violet eyes, we noticed that in her Academy Award-winning performance in “Butterfield 8,” it wasn't just her eyes that were stunning --it was her eyebrows. They framed those amethyst orbs perfectly and it got us to thinking about eyebrow shaping and products that help keep our wild brows in great form.
Shaping Up: Your brows should not only frame your eyes, but flatter your facial shape, and balance your features. Consulting an expert the first time is always a good thing. Come on into Believe and we'll make sure you get the best brows of your life. But if you must do it yourself, here's how to determine the perfect shape for you:
- Remove all your makeup. Pull your hair gently back (use a headband for short hair) and look in a well-lit mirror.
- Hold a ruler vertically in front of your face, so it is lined up touching the outermost point of your nose and the inside of your eye. This line shows where your eyebrow should start. Mark the spot with a lip pencil and then repeat for the other eye. Next, angle the ruler so it lines up with the outermost edge of your nose and the outermost edge of the iris of your eye. (Be sure you are looking straight ahead and that your head is positioned straight ahead, too.) Wherever the line intersects your eyebrow is where the peak of your eyebrow arch should begin at the top border of the eyebrow. Mark that spot with your lip pencil. Repeat for the other eye.
- Now angle the straight edge further so that it touches the outermost edge of your nose and also passes along the outermost edge of your eye (not your eyelashes). This tells you where the eyebrow should end. Mark this point with your pencil. Repeat with the other eye.
Now that you have the shape, determine if you want thick or thin brows. Take into consideration the shape of your face. Thick eyebrows go best with strong features and thick hair (think Salma Hayek) and delicate features (like Halle Berry) usually call for thinner brows. (On the other hand, Brooke Shields became famous for her bushy brows, so it really is a matter of choice.) Some shapes can help correct facial shapes, too. Emphasize the arch if you have a round face, to draw attention away from the width.
If your face is long, flatter brows (less arch) empathize the horizontal planes of your face, making up for it's length.
Getting Rid Of Hair: Take it easy! It takes 64 days to regrow eyebrow hair—so less is more no matter which method you choose. Never shave your eyebrows...stubble is impossible to get rid of and looks terrible. Waxing, one of the services we offer at Believe, is quick and easy (and some say the hair eventually grows back lighter and finer.)
Tweezing is the choice of most people—at least between professional visits. Before you start tweezing, though, use a lip pencil (easier to see) to heavily draw on the shape you want. Adjust it with makeup remover as you go along. Tweeze any hairs that fall outside the line of the brow. Next, brush the brows straight up with a brow brush (we sell great ones at Believe) or old toothbrush. Any hairs that are too long should be trimmed with small scissors. (Tweezing long brow hairs can result in gaps in the eyebrow.)
Coloring/Filling In: Dame Elizabeth Taylor liked to extend her brows (making her eyes look farther apart) by using a real lead pencil, but new products make such extreme methods unnecessary... And while we are on the subject of extreme—don't dye your eyebrows! The chemicals can drip in your eye and blind you. Come into Believe and we will tint your brows with vegetable dye at the same time as we do your hair. You won't have to worry about matching the shade and we do it safely. Also be careful if you choose to get permanent eyebrows tattooed on (like Liza Minnelli and Michael Jackson.) Pick your operator carefully—there is no going back if there is a mistake. Also the use of eyebrow pencils—the standard way to fill in brows since the 1940s—is out. They can produce a greasy, hardened look (Joan Crawford anyone?) and draw the wrong kind of attention to the brow.
At Believe we offer GIELLA custom blended makeup products, including two that are magic for the brows:
Brow Powder-A cream-to-powder formula that fills in and defines brows naturally and is intended to compliment hair color. It's applied with a brush and comes in shades of Blonde, Light Ash, Taupe, Auburn and Brunette.
Brow Tint- A lightweight tints and gel for brows. It is a convenient way to cover gray hairs, set unruly brows, and change the tone of brows to match your hair. It's also a great quick-fix to cover gray in hair or men's beards or mustaches and comes in Blonde, Brown Suede, Sphinx (an auburn tone) and Taupe.
Now that Spring is finally here, you'll be showing off more of that beautiful face. Let us at Believe help make your brows the perfect frame for a lovely picture.