Brow Rehab

There’s no denying ’90s nostalgia is in the air with
the notable reemergence of baby-doll dresses, Doc Martens,
and brown lipstick. Don’t be fooled, though, when it comes
to eyebrows. Women are swapping their pencil-thin brows
for a more modern, full look.

If you are like me and spent the ’90s tweezing your
brows into oblivion, don’t lose heart. Here are some tips
and tricks for getting your brows on point for this season’s
hottest trends.

Step 1: Grow, Grow, Grow!

Put down the tweezers.

There I said it. Please, dear friend and reader, raise your
right hand and repeat after me: “From this day forward, I
will only allow professionals to work on my brows.”

Sometimes it’s hard to see our own eyebrows objectively.
We go thinner and thinner before we even notice our brows
are nearly gone. A good professional will help you avoid
this mistake.

Once you’ve stopped plucking, my best advice is to be
patient. It may take up to a year to grow your brows to
their fullest potential, although, several new products aid
in eyebrow hair regrowth. Rapidlash Eyebrow Enhancing
Serum ($39.99) is one I recommend. In my experience, it
delivers results.

Step 2: Make an Appointment

After about a month of growing out your brows, set up
an appointment with a professional to map out a plan for
achieving your brow goals. For an incredible brow shaping,
I highly recommend Jennifer Helms at Salon Chirella
(Marysville) or Kathy Pederson at Spa Violet Ray (Silvana).
They are also experienced in brow tinting, which offers a
fuller look by tinting light vellus hairs within the brow.

Step 3: Fake it ‘til you make it!

At any stage in the process of reaching your brow
goals, makeup is an ally. Eyebrow products have come
a long way. As I demonstrate three brow styles, I list my
favorite products along with instructions on how I achieved
each look.

To help you find your best shape, find the “before’’ look
that is closest to your current shape and follow the tutorial
for that look.

I have to admit, no other makeup product, in my
opinion, has the most potential to make a woman’s face
look fresh and vibrant than a fuller, nicely shaped brow.
Ultimately your brows should reflect your personality, your
face, and your style. Period.

Chloe: The Straight Brow

High Fashion

Before

Chloe has a straighter brow, slightly unruly, and closer set,
which is right on fleek this season. For Chloe’s brows, I used
the Ardell 3 Piece Brow Defining Kit ($13.99). This kit is
exceptional if you naturally have a very full brow or if you
like a less defined look. The kit includes three brow powders,
brow highlighting powder, an angled brush, and a brow wax
crayon. You can mix the three shades to get the perfect custom
color. I mixed taupe and dark cool brown, and brushed
the powder into her arch. I also created a soft line at the
bottom edge of her brow, feathering up. Next, I set it with the
brow wax pencil by brushing the wax upward at the front of
the brow and then following the direction of hair growth. The
wax pencil gives added durability to the brow color and holds
the hair in place. Lastly I used a small eyeshadow brush and
swept highlighter powder just beneath the brow.

After

Claire: The Arched Brow

Girly and Feminine

Before

Claire has gorgeous eyes and eyebrows and an arch that
reaches for the heavens. For Claire’s look, we kept it simple
by using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer Pencil in
medium-brown ($23). I simply love this pencil for its ease of
application. It has a slanted tip, which helps color go on more
quickly and accurately. I made Claire’s brows appear slightly
fuller by drawing a line just a bit below her natural brow,
following her natural arch. Next I drew a line slightly above
her brow. I filled in a little more boldly toward the outer
edge and middle and more softly feathered the color toward
the inner part of the brow. Next I used the spoolie side of
the pencil to softly blend the brow color, for a more natural
look. Finally, I popped a touch of concealer just under the
brow to create a soft highlight and make the brows pop.

After

Bonnie: The Full, Sculpted Brow

Edgy and Dramatic

Before

Bonnie has an edgy, fun style, and she can really pull off
dramatic brows. On Bonnie, I used DIPBROW Pomade by
Anastasia Beverly Hills in Ebony ($18). This product is great
for creating a very defined shape. For Bonnie’s brows, I took a
thin angled brush and dipped it into the pomade (very lightly
as a little goes a long way) and drew a line following her
natural brow shape, top and bottom, and softly filled in the
entire brow with soft, upward strokes to mimic brow hair.
Next I brushed on Ardell Brow Sculpting Gel in clear ($3.50),
and finished with a sweep of concealer just under the brow.

After