Brows

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Brows
Well-groomed eyebrows are a must for anyone. They can make such a
difference! Brows are the picture frames of your eyes. The right brow
shape can actually lift your face and open up your eyes.
But before you reach for the tweezers, please take some professional
advice: You should embrace your natural brow shape, because no
matter how much you tweeze, you cannot turn your brows into something
they are not. Some brows naturally curve into a gentle arch; others grow
straight across. However your brows grow, you need to shape them to suit
the way they grow on your face. But never fear! Whatever their shape, we
can groom them to flatter your features.
Let me start by sharing two more key points with you:
First, fuller brows make you look younger, honesty they do. So do not start
over-tweezing your brows, you want them to look naturally full. If you have
already over-tweezed, no worries, just watch this course to learn how to
make them look thicker.
Second, do not follow fashion trends with your brows. The trend will
change, and you will be left with a brow that is not right for your face.
Always give your brows the best shape for your face and the way they
naturally grow.
Before we begin, gather your tools together. You will need a good pair of
tweezers, a brow brush, and a small pair of scissors. Now, we’re ready to
start!
Let’s begin by evaluating your brows. First, are they too dense? Trimming
can soften eyebrows that are too dense or heavy. It will completely
change the way the brow hairs lie on the face.
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Trimming
Often, brow hairs are actually longer than they appear because the tips
of the hairs are lighter in color, and when they reach a certain length, they
tend to curl. By trimming them, you trim away some of the density and
that slight curl so that the hairs lie down more neatly.
To trim your brow hairs, simply brush them up and snip any stray hairs that
extend past the upper brow line. Next, brush them down and snip any
unruly hairs that extend past the lower brow line. Now brush them back
into place. Notice how much better they lie and how much softer they
look on your face.
It’s important to remember that if you need to trim your brows, it should be
done before you start to tweeze. Otherwise, you might ruin your brow line
by tweezing away hairs that should have stayed but were simply too long.
Tweezing
Now it’s time to tweeze. The best time to tweeze your brows is after a
steamy shower. It’s a lot less painful then, because your pores are already
open. Try to tweeze in natural light. You can see what you’re doing much
better. Always tweeze in the same direction as the hair grows. If you don’t,
it can damage the hair follicle and the hair might not grow back properly.
It might grow back sticking straight out rather than lying down.
If you are born with naturally full brows, you never want to take really full
brows and tweeze them pencil- thin, because your face needs a fuller
brow. Shape them and groom them, just do not over-tweeze them.
Tweezing your brows to look like each other can be very difficult. If you do
what I call “tweezing side to side” it will help you tweeze your brows more
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evenly. Very few women have brows that grow identically on their face.
What this means is that you could tweeze one brow and when you were
finished, because of the way they grow, you could never make the other
brow match the first one no matter how you tweezed.
If instead you start by tweezing a couple of hairs out of one brow, then
switch to the other, tweeze a couple out of it, then switch back to the
other, you’ll avoid this problem. By doing this each time you switch brows,
you’ll be able to constantly reevaluate what needs to be tweezed, and
the frequent comparison will help you get them more even.
How do you determine where to start? By locating three key points of
reference, we will know where and what to tweeze.
Simply follow these directions and you will have perfect brows:
Point A.
Hold a pencil or the handle of a brush vertically
against the side of your nose, noticing where it
meets the brow. That is where your brow should
begin.
Point B.
Hold the pencil against your nostril and
move it diagonally across the outer half of
the iris of your eye. Notice where the
pencil meets the brow: This is the best
place for the peak of your arch.
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If you tweeze from Point A to Point B, tapering the line slightly thinner
toward the peak, you will create the ideal shape for your brow. It is a
gentle taper, using the natural width at the beginning of your brow (point
A) and slowly tapering it thinner as you get to the arch (point B).
Point C. Again, place the pencil against your nostril, but this time, extend it
diagonally to the outer corner of your eye. Where it meets the brow is the
best place for your brow to end. If you tweeze from Point B to Point C,
tapering the line even thinner, you will create the best brow shape for your
face. Once again, it is a slow taper from point B to point C, not a drastic
change.
Brow Color
Did you know that you can choose a brow color as easily as a hair color?
It’s true, and you should take advantage of it. When selecting a brow
color, the basic rule of thumb is that it should pretty closely match your
hair color (whether natural or chosen). Let’s elaborate a little bit, though,
because as you know, it is just not as simple as that. Here are the perfect
brow colors for each hair color:
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light blonde: same shade as hair or one shade darker
medium to dark blonde: same color as hair
auburn: same color as hair
light brown: same color as hair or one shade lighter
medium to dark brown: same color as hair or one shade lighter
very dark brown to black: one shade lighter than your hair color
silver or gray: use a blonde or soft taupe color for ivory or beige skin
tones, and use a light golden brown for bronze or ebony skin tones
(a silver or gray brow color to match your hair would just wash you
out and make you look older)
Really dark, harsh-colored brows can be very aging and harsh to a face,
so when in doubt, always go a shade lighter. I would rather see a woman
walking around with brows that are a little too light rather than looking like
she has two dark slashes above her eyes.
Now with silver or gray hair, I know a lot of women may still have dark
brows (probably because their hair was quite dark when they were
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younger). But trust me, you want to fill in with a softer, lighter brow color to
soften the brows’ appearance and make you look younger. Believe it or
not, on ivory or beige skin, a blonde or taupe shade will help define your
brows and soften them while helping them blend better with your hair and
face, even if your natural brow color is darker than the blonde or taupe
brow color I’m recommending. For bronze or ebony skin, choose a light
golden brown instead of the dark brown they used to be. This will soften
your brows’ final look and help you look more youthful.
Just a reminder: Brow color products are specifically designed to do their
job. Brow pencils are duller in color, usually with no sheen, and have a
somewhat waxier texture than eyeliner pencils do. Eyebrow powder is
duller and more matte than eyeshadow. So make sure you are using
products designed to do the job at hand.
Application
Our goal when applying brow color is to mimic your natural brows. You
want to draw short feather-like hair strokes as you apply the color, never a
straight solid line.
Short, feather-like strokes are meant to imitate natural brow hairs. As we
have already learned in the product knowledge course, you have
multiple products to choose from when applying brow color. Let’s review
all the different types of brow color and grooming products, and the best
application technique for each.
Pencil
A brow pencil is probably the most commonly used and definitely the
most portable coloring tool. The sharper the point, the better the
application, so sharpen your pencil before you start.
Apply your pencil using short, feathery, hairlike strokes, angled in the
same direction as the hairs’ growth. Your strokes should mimic
natural brow hairs (never draw a solid straight line).
2. Using a small stiff-angled brush, go over the pencil strokes you just
applied, using the same short strokes. This will blend your color even
more, making it look perfectly natural.
1.
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Powder
Powder is probably the easiest of all brow color to apply, and it also looks
the most natural. It is perfect if your brows don’t need much filling in, but
you want to define and refine them. It is also the quickest and easiest to
apply, since there is only one step: you apply and blend at the same time.
Simply take your short, stiff-angled brush (after dipping it in product of
course) and draw short, feathery, hairlike strokes angled in the same
direction as the hairs’ growth. Remember: no straight lines, just short,
feathery strokes.
Crème
This will give you the most coverage, but is definitely not my brow product
of preference, because it is the hardest to make look natural. But it might
be a good choice for you if you need a lot of coverage due to
overplucking or chemotherapy; however, I still prefer the powder-onpencil technique I discuss in the “More Coverage” section below.
Here’s the best way to apply it for a natural look:
1. Using a short, stiff-angled brush, apply your crème using short,
feathery, hairlike strokes.
2. Make sure to always follow your crème with powder brow color,
using the exact same application method. The powder will set the
crème and help it last all day.
More Coverage
For those with scars in the brows or brows that just are not there, you will
need more coverage. You could use a crème, but I prefer to layer brow
pencil and brow powder together, since I feel that it looks most natural.
1.
Apply your pencil using short, feathery, hairlike strokes angled in the
same direction as the hairs’ growth. Your strokes are meant to mimic
natural brow hairs (never draw a solid straight line).
2.
Using a small stiff-angled brush, go over the pencil you just applied,
using the same short strokes. This will blend your color even more,
making it look extremely natural.
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3.
Take your brush and dip it into your brow powder, once again
applying the powder using short, feathery, hairlike strokes angled in
the same direction as the hairs’ growth.
Make sure you cover the entire brow. The powder and pencil
layered together like this will give you more complete coverage,
help the color last longer, and look more natural.
Finishing Touches
Whichever method you prefer, when grooming your brows, always finish
by using a brow brush (my favorite is shaped like a toothbrush) to brush all
your brow hairs upward and outward. This will assure that your brow hairs
are lying in place, and blend your color beautifully to give you an
absolutely natural effect.
If you have wild, unruly brows and need help keeping them tamed during
the day, you can end with a brow gel. It acts like hairspray for the brows.
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