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Next to ” How do you wear red lipstick?” the second most question I’m asked by readers is, “How do you get those amazing eyebrows?” And the answer is, “At the hands of a highly skilled professional!”
Brow maintenance is a highly underrated factor in created a perfectly polished look. But a DIY job is likely to be a DIYD job (that’s Do It Yourself Disaster). There are two things that ever woman (and a lot more men) should have at their disposal – An eyebrow guru and the perfect eyebrow pencil.
As someone who is naturally blessed with eyebrows of Brooke Sheilds follicular proportions, I learnt very early on that keeping them under control would make a break or girl come high school. But it took me some time to find just the right person in which to place my trust for this highly skilled operation.
First, my disaster story. And like all good disasters, this takes place on the eve of my wedding.
As a well organised bride with 24 hours up my sleeve before my Vegas wedding, I made the mistake of visiting a local beauty parlour for a bit of a touch up. I didn’t think that my brows were particularly out of control, but I did want them to be perfect for the next day.
(Aside – I should add here – NEVER have your brows done less than 48 hours before a big event as you’ll sometimes experience redness, swelling or a reaction to waxes that you’d hate to happen just then).
Right, so I showed the technician a photo of how I usually styled them and let myself relax on the table. About ten minutes later she smiles and chirps at me, “All done. Wanna take a look?” Having no inkling of the horror that awaited me I took the mirror from her hand and looked up…and it was a moment right from a Hammer film. I had no eyebrows!!
Okay, so maybe not exactly none, but what I didn’t know was that the trend in Vegas was to shave them off to little more than stubble then pencil them back in again. Oh dear god. I immediately broke out in a cold sweat, grabbed my bag and headed for the nearest department store to try and track down my saviour in pencil form.
Still to this day I hate the close up photos from my wedding because I just don’t look like me. And let that be a lesson; before trying out someone new to wax your brows, first test out their rudimentary skills as a bikini waxer, then ask to see their book of before and after shots. Brow shaping is an art and a science, and more importantly, it is one that EVERYONE will see.
To find the right eyebrow technician, choose someone who has been in the game for a long time. Someone who takes the time to analyse your face shape, as well as your life style (do you generally wear much makeup?), what style you’d like to replicate, (high glam, free spirited, silent film star…) and is able to translate all that information into the correct solution for you.
Just like hairstyling, I also suggest taking along pictures of brow shapes you love so that nothing is lost in translation, but keep in mind that what will work on you will be a version of your ideal.
I personally recommend brow tinting for everyone, not just light blondes; but do remember that tints come in many different shades so if you only see blue black on the technicians swatches, maybe give it a miss!
I don’t recommend getting your brows tattooed, because just like hemlines, the fashion for brow shapes change. And not only that, as your face changes with age, your brow shape can be an instant facelift and you don’t want to rob yourself of that option.
So in the spirit of sharing and caring, I took along my camera yesterday when I went to visit with my own personal Eyebrow Queen, Eileen Harper. Elieen has been looking after me for at least ten years now, and with more years in the beauty industry than I’m sure she’d care to mention, I have the utmost trust and faith in her work.
After a few months of travelling around, I hadn’t been for a touch up in a while. Here’s how things looked before hand..
Okay, they’re not so dreadful that they’ll jump off the page and smoother you, but the could certainly do with some attention and cleaning up.
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It all looks rather surgical, but that just goes to show what a precise operation it is..
No, this isn’t me screaming in pain, but in fact laughing hysterically at how ridiculous it is to be taking one handed photos of yourself while having your brows waxed. It was very hard to hold still and serious during the ‘operation’ while we shot these.
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And that’s one side done.
You can see how this is a far more involved and multi stepped process that just lining yourself up in the mirror, tweezers in hand. After both my brows have been shaped, I then have them tinted with some dark brown or blue/black tint. This is especially handy if you don’t want to pencil them in for drama each day, or if your heading off on a swimming holiday. And that’s the salon part done.
For those of you in Melbourne, you can find my own personal Eyebrow Queen at Eileen Harper Beauty Therapy in Canterbury on (03)9836 2294.
The next day, after any redness has subsided, they are ready for the final touch. I almost always pencil my brows for a crisp dramatic frame. Rather than using an actual brow pencil though, I use the Dior Powder Eyebrow pencil in sable. In is much easier to apply than a hard pencil, easier to blend and build to the desired intensity. Using the brush on the end of the pencil, I groom them into shape, then with fine, short feathery strokes, I finish of the shape I want for the day.
And that’s it. Brow perfection!
