By Elissa Frittaion
The eyebrow is the unsung hero of the face. It supports, it accentuates, it communicates expression. A face’s entire character can be determined by the shape of the brow – just ask Joan Crawford, or Mr. Spock, or any drag queen. Madonna’s eyebrows shifted radically with each of her new personas. Musician David Bowie has finely arched brows, but alien rock star Ziggy Stardust had none at all.
Back in the 80s, before I had discovered tweezers, my own eyebrows travelled across my face like rampaging caterpillars. I was young, but heavy brows leant me a mature appearance, and people were forever thinking I was much older than my years. Strong brows will always do this – its part of the reason actresses like Brooke Shields and Jennifer Connelly looked alarmingly womanly at very young ages. During the 90s, my brows got progressively thinner until, after a frenzied session with my new Tweezermans (the best tool out there), there was nothing left of my former caterpillars but a delicate, pencil thin line. I started to grow them back in, and they’re a nice shape now, but they never did fully recover from The Great Tweezing of 1998.
Thick or thin, modern brows should be in proportion to the rest of your face. To frame the eye without overpowering it is your goal. Ideally, they should start directly above the inside corner of your eye (lining up more or less with the tear duct), with the arch cresting at about 2/3 of the way, and they should finish in a nice tapered end a couple millimeters past the outer corners of your eye. As symmetrical as you can get them. If you have decided to tweeze them yourself, get a good pair of tweezers – Tweezerman full sized angled ones are best, in my experience – and start small. Tweeze away strays that are underneath your brows, and also any that float around over the bridge of your nose (because Frida Kahlo and Salma Hayek notwithstanding, most women cannot rock the unibrow). See how that suits you. Get a little eyebrow brush and comb the hairs so they are tidy. Give it a day. And after that, if you feel that you need a few more hairs gone, then do it. But baby steps! Lest you suddenly look like one of the Spiders From Mars.
If you opt instead to have your brows done by someone else (waxing or threading are the most common spa techniques), let me remind you that ‘professional’ does not always equal ‘good’. Ask around, try to find someone reputable, who you know is hygienic and will listen to his/her clients, and who understands that ‘clean it up a little’ does not mean ‘Hey, you know that movie The Rocky Horror Picture show? Can you make me look like Columbia? Thanks.’
Should you fill in your brows? Well, the answer to that varies from person to person, but it seems to be that most of the time, eyebrows can benefit from a little cosmetic assitance. Most makeup artists eschew brow pencils, as they can look harsh. An angled brush (MAC’s # 208 wins first prize) and a matte eyeshadow will afford you more control and result in a more natural looking brow. Or it can result in an artificial but still glamorous looking brow, a la Dita Von Teese: strong and refined and precise.
Generally speaking, you want a colour that matches your eyebrow hair. For most people this means an ashy (grayish) brown that is either light (like MAC Omega, for blondes) or medium (MAC concrete) or dark (MAC’s Brun, or Espresso). Black shadow should not be used on its own (even if you have black hair) as it tends to have a blue undertone that looks artificial on most people. Instead, it can be layered in with a dark brown. The only people who should use reddish tones in their brows are those who are true redheads, with ginger coloured eyebrows.
All this may sound like a lot of work, but really, once you’ve found a shape you like, it’s mostly about maintenance. I think it’s worth it. The eyes are the windows to the soul, right? They deserve a nice frame.download scary movie 2 divx
Last 5 posts by Elissa
- Smooth Operator - December 15th, 2009
- My Fair Lady - October 16th, 2009
- The Butterfly Effect - September 15th, 2009
- Great Expectations - August 15th, 2009
- Pride and Prejudice - July 17th, 2009
