How to: My Brows

Brows frame the face, in my opinion they finish off a look and especially as I don’t really have much brow to be proud of, I fill them in whenever I am wearing make up. I guess this will be a brief overview (probably not that brief) on the products I use and how I go about getting my Scouse brow – I kid, no Scouse brow involved!

Now, this seems to be...at the moment...my tried and tested technique for filling my brows in, I do all my base make up: foundation, powder, bronzer etc first and also apply my eye primer up to the brow.  Now we can begin! Personally, I find that filling the brows in first will aid with the application of your eye make up as I generally make my eye shadow fit to the shape and ‘flow’ of the arch of my brow if that makes any sense?

Let’s discuss tools of the trade first before we start...You have two options when deciding on using a pencil to fill in your brows; a waxy based pencil will potentially help to hold the hairs in place as an extra fixer, though I find sometimes this needs a bit more care as they are a bit more difficult to work with as they are a harder pencil (like a H drawing pencil) or a soft pencil which is easily to glide on the brow with but could potentially have a lesser lasting power (like a B drawing pencil). The pencil I have been using as of late is an Eylure one which I picked up from boots, it has a handy lil’ spooley - mascara wand in effect - on the end to groom the brows to your liking before filling them in. When looking for an eyebrow pencil make sure not to go too dark or you will look brow heavy and a lil’ bit like a caveman. My recommendation would be to go for a pencil which is a shade lighter than your hair colour or even 2-3 shades depending how dark your hair is, and also remember to go for a pencil which is of a similar tone, whether it be red based or of an ashy based tone. Setting your brow pencils would be strongly advised, this isn't a necessity but especially as I have oily skin I find a pencil won’t last and will smudge and move through the day if I do not set it with a powder. For this I would suggest that you use an angled brush and these generally come in smaller sizes so even if you were going for a thinner brow look this can be achieved.

Concerning the powder you use, I use a general eye shadow and make sure that the eye shadow you use is a matte one as no one wants a shimmery or glittery brow for everyday wear! Find a few examples below of some shadows I would suggest for varying shades of brow.

Finally, I would suggest this to everyone....brow gel if you aren’t going to fill your brows in with anything at least brush through a gel, It helps hold any hairs in place, will tame those unruly hairs that like to go wild and also add the texture back to your hair that can sometimes get lost when they are filled it. A cheap one will suffice, even clear mascara will do! The one I use is £1 and from Superdrug, I believe from MUA, if you wanted to lighten your brows I suggest that a blonde tinted brow gel would do the trick without having to bleach them if you would rather not have such a dramatic change and they can also add depth if you have lighter hairs and would like to gain more definition. That all said, let’s get started!!

Step 1:  I run the spooley on the end of my brow pencil through my brows, brushing the hairs in an upward motion to increase the lid space on my eye lid as much as possible and to enhance the arch of my brow from underneath.

Step 2: Making sure that my pencil is sharp, which I think is very important to get a clean brow, I start beneath my brow and from the part closest to my nose follow the shape of my brow – not changing anything that isn't already there – and stopping as I get to the highest point of my arch.

Step 3: I do the exact same along the top of the brow; normally I may thicken it slightly but nothing substantial. I again stop at the top of the arch and then proceed to lightly fill it in.

Step  4: I have changed my pencil for the ‘tail’ of my brow to a softer pencil so that it is easier to get the desired shape I want without having to tug at my skin or pull it taut as the last thing I want is to get tugging my skin and asking for premature ageing to catch me! I look straight ahead in the mirror and see the kind of shape I want my brow to have in my head. Whether this be a high and prominent arch or more of a ‘straighter’ brow or even one with more of a sloping arch which has no harsh points to it at all. I start with the pencil at the very top of the arch to my brow and draw the top part of the ‘tail’ and lighten my hand as I get to the end to create a point. I generally go for quite a straight brow as this is most flattering to my face shape.

Step 5: You know what is coming...I then go to the underside of the arch and ‘connect the dots’ so to speak and fill in the gap to create a final full shape to my brow.

Step 6: The next few steps are pretty simple, the hardest part is drawing the shape to the brow and finding one that suits your face and eye shape and you have just done that! If you are having problems, you can pick up brow stencils instead of having to draw them free hand. This step though is simply setting the brow with a powder. Load the angled brush up with the shadow of your choice and I follow the same procedure of drawing them in as filling them in. Start underneath and apply the shadow, apply to the top as well and fill in the middle softly. When filling in the brow I start from the bottom and do small brush strokes up wards and never applying too much pressure.

Step 7: This step is for the front of the brow, I get a small amount of powder on the brush and turn it so that the longer side is aligned with the bottom of the brow and do light strokes upwards. Not putting on any substantial pressure as we do not want this to be harsh in any way or too obviously square, continue this until you get the desired look to your brow, I never do this action from the top as it becomes too heavy in my opinion.

Step 8: Load up the brush and set the ‘tail’ of your brow, just because it is at the end does not mean you need to forget about it! Make sure to set this as this will be the part which will most likely smudge as you brush your hair from your face or have an itch or rub your temples as you sit with your face in your hands sleeping at your desk etc... Sounds silly, but you would probably be surprised how often you touch your face without realising!

Step 9: Almost there guys, hang in there, brush the brow gel through, don’t press the spooley into the brow as you will smudge the hard work you have just done and move the product around. Just light strokes through the hair to coat them and remember to brush upwards or into your desired shape.

You should now have your perfect drawn in brow. Add your make up and you will be laughing at how polished the look is now you have framed your eyes/face. It may take practise and I would suggest doing a brow at a time, so you can match the second brow to the first shape you drew. Remember though...your brows are sisters, not twins. Your face is not symmetrical, I know that my right brow is higher than my left; you just have to make it work. Don’t over study them otherwise you will never leave your mirror. Perseverance is the key. Happy Browing!!