Brows Are Big Again!
Filed under: Beauty Tips
Brow wow wow! From left to right, Brooke Shields in 1981, Madonna in 1985, and model Hilary Rhoda in 2009. Photos: Ron Galella, WireImage | Ron Galella, WireImage | Stephen Lovekin, Getty Images
Next, Madonna (above middle) rocked some serious arches all through her "Like a (tweezer) Virgin" period and has apparently not allowed 12-year-old budding fashionista daughter, Lourdes, to touch hers. And bravo! How many women wish they could start from scratch and have the full, lush brows they had in their youth?
Speaking of lush brows, there's Estée Lauder model Hilary Rhoda (above right) at the FiFi Fragrance Foundation Awards on May 27. She's young, stunning and smart. How do I know she's smart? Because she has left those full eyebrows alone a la Brooke (check out the unnerving resemblance to Shields). And now the model-of-the-moment is making the big bucks strutting runways across the globe.
Eye Brows 101
The right brow shape can lift your eyes, slim your face, and take ten years off your look...instantly! Makeup expert Carmindy, star of TLC's What Not To Wear, shares her best secrets for youthful, natural, and perfectly-groomed brows.
Trim and Shape
Before plucking, your brows may need a trim. Grab a spooley brush and a pair of small scissors. Brush your brow hairs straight up, and if there are hairs that go beyond your natural brow line, carefully snip them away.
Easy Tweezing
Carmindy suggests having two types of tweezers: one with a very fine tip and one with a slanted tip. You can use the slanted ones to grab a few hairs at once. The needle-nosed, fine-tipped tweezers are good for precision plucking and getting those tiny, hard-to-reach hairs.
Where to Start
"Everybody's brows are different, so if you're not sure where to start plucking, try this: Hold a makeup brush vertically along the side of your nose. Then use the side of the brush as the marker of where the brow should begin," explains Carmindy.
Finding the Arch
Angle the same makeup brush outward so that the bottom end is against your nose, and the top and is even with the iris of your eye--the brush now marks the point where the brow should arch.
Where to End
Angle the brush out even more toward the outermost corner of your eye--that's where the brow should end.
Mind the Gaps
"Not everybody's brows are totally perfect, so you may need a little brow corrector to fill in any gaps. A waterproof liquid brow corrector can last the longest," says Carmindy. Starting at the inside edge and working your way out, feather on a light brow color to fill in any sparse areas.
Voila!
Now your brows are groomed to perfection! Having well-defined, well-groomed brows really makes your face look finished. All you need to do is trim, pluck, and correct, and you'll have perfect, face-framing brows.
