BROWsing

Happy Monday!!!


My weekend was very relaxed and fulfilling. I went to Sephora to see if they had anything new, then went off to show my friend how to tweeze and shape her brows. I headed over with my bag filled with Tweerman tweezers (the kind with the sharp, pointed tip), concealer, brow pencil, MAC 266 angled brush, small scissors, brow gel, alcohol, hydrocortisone cream and clean mascara wands. The look on her face was hilarious, when I knocked on her door and she saw how many tools that I had. I had come prepared to do brow reconstructive surgery!! LOL!! Paying someone else to wax your brows isn't always necessary. I learned this when the wax left me looking like I was experiencing puberty for a second time...and my brows were way too thin!! And I was out of twenty dollars!

The first thing to do when preparing to tweeze your brows is to evaluate the shape of your brows and what you would like them to look like. If you naturally have very thin brow work with that shape. The same applies if you have naturally full brows. Thin over tweezed brows are not complementary to every face shape. You want your brows frame your face and bring out your eyes.



Next brush your brows upward and trim any hairs that extend above the brow bone (the bone that your brows sit on). Then brush your brows upward and outward. If you have a curly hair texture, your brows maybe this way as well, so use a little brow gel to hold them in place (Maybelline makes an excellent brow gel for only 5 bucks!!). With your concealer, trace out the desired shape of your new brow(make sure to trace underneath the brow..called the underscore of the brow). MAC has these convenient little concealer sticks that look like chunky pencils. I love these!! Remove all the hair that the concealer is on. It may be easier to locate the hairs that need to be removed, if you use a concealer that is one to two shades lighter than your foundation. Once all the hairs have been removed, remove the concealer and evaluate your new shape. If there are any gaps, grab an angled brush and fill in. Please whatever you do.....DONT USE BLACK!!!! Ewww.....Elvira is not the intended look. If you have blonde hair try a very light brown or cement colored shadow or brow pencil, if you are a red-head try a camel colored shadow, brunettes try a dark brown. African American women with darker skin tones, should try a deep brown like espresso. I will list my favorites for each below. I have posted a before and after picture of Kevyn Aucoin's sister after he tweezed her brows....this is the G rated version....lol. There are also little illustrations to help guide you.

Before the Tweeze After the tweeze

I hope you can see the difference. Removing the excess hairs created more space between her eye and brow, which opened her eyes up.

1. Evalaute the shape of your brows. Hold a pencil vertically next to your nose so that you can see where your brows should begin. Next move the pencil to in about a 35 degree angle to see where they should peak (or where you arch should be. Finally extend the pencil another 20 degrees to see where they should taper off.







2. If you have hair that extends past where the pencil starts, tweeze them. When tweezing, grab the hair at the root and quickly remove it in the direction that the hairs grow. When filling in the brow, make sure to use short hair-like strokes to get the most natural looking brow. Once your finish, your brows should look nice and uniform. Don't worry if you don't get it right on the first try...Rome wasn't built in a day. Keep practiciing!! If you really need a little more help visit your local beauty counter and get someone to help you. Or get your brows waxed and shaped, then just maintain them by tweezing the hairs that grow in.

Try these Brands for Brow Pencils and Shadow

1. For Blondes...
Lingering Brow Pencil by MAC
Cement Eyeshadow by Bobbi Brown
Beguile Brow set by MAC
Blonde Brow Set by Bobbi Brown (brow gel that deposits color)


2. Brunettes/African Americans
Stud Brow Pencil by MAC
Spiked Brow Pencile by MAC
Espresso Shadow by MAC
Mahogany shadow by Bobbi Brown
Cork Eyeshadow by MAC
Show off Brow Set by MAC (brow gel that deposits color)
Girl Boy Brow Set by MAC (copper colored brow gel)


3. Red Heads
Taupe brow pencil by Bobbi Brown
Texture Eyeshadow by MAC
Camel eyeshadow by MAC