8 years ago by
I have always admired women with strong brows. Whether au natural or groomed – they completely finish a look.
My favorite eyebrows are the ones that are perfectly imperfect. You know the type: the brows that have that je ne sai quoi quality about them and a little attitude. It’s a look that I’ve been swooning over for years, which eventually led me to grow out my over-waxed brows, give in to that dreaded in-between phase, and come out the other side with enough hairs to finally embrace their natural shape.
I have tried it all and nothing really worked until I got them threaded at this wonderful place near my apartment and I have been going there ever since. Every four to six weeks, I go in with the same request: just a clean up, still trying to even them out [insert big smile, hoping they don’t take all my hair off!]. It’s been the best experience. Quick, easy, and I leave with truly lovely groomed brows! And for a price of $7 ($10 with tip), it’s so worth it. Now that I’ve reached my ideal shape, I’ve been on the hunt for the best products to make them pop.
I used to fill them in with an eye shadow and coarse bristle brush but it didn’t really hold them in place well. And then one glorious morning, I tried Glossier’s Boy Brow and it was life changing. It’s liquid wax in a tube! Using the small mascara applicator, I apply in short, upward strokes to sculpt full brows into my desired shape. The best part – it takes about 30 seconds to apply BOTH of my eyebrows. The color is also just enough to give me a pop of color without being too much (I use brown). It has been a total transformation: they are now tamed and a touch darker, and the product stays on all day and is also easy to wash off.
And since no two eyebrows are alike, I asked the studio what they do for their brows…
_________________________________________________
Garance and Elle both have a great natural shape, but they both like to fill and color their brows. Garance first uses Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil in Taupe then Diorshow Brow Styler Gel in brown to help keep them in place all day. Meanwhile, Elle would feel naked if she didn’t fill in her brows with Dolce and Gabanna’s Shaping Eyebrow Pencil.
Emily’s brows have never been touched by a professional (oh, what I would do to go back in time and tell my younger self to back off my brows)! So it was super cool to hear how she manages her hairs. She really doesn’t really do much to them… Just a few plucks every now and then, but she really embraces them being a little bit overgrown. AKA she has that perfectly imperfect shape that I love!
Our lovely model, Keisha has thick and beautiful natural eyebrows. She swears by Eyeko Brow Gel which is a tinted gel, so she gets the color fill as well as the hold in one sweep. She loves the clean results from threading, but requests that they don’t touch the top of the brows as they look too ‘done’ and start to thin out. I actually love this advice and will be using this for my next appointment.
Then we have Marina and Brie who have similar techniques! Marina is a natural blonde with fair skin and light hair so she fills in her brows with a darker shade so they help define and shape her face. When she has the time, she prefers to dye them (Trish McEvoy is her favorite) and come to think of it a lot of my natural blonde friends do this as well. And if for some reason she doesn’t have time to dye them, she colors them in with Benefit’s Brow Zings Shaping Kit in dark. Brie has had to embrace her natural eyebrow color and shape from an early age – growing up with blonde hair and dark eyebrows will do that to a kid! But for the past eight years she has filled them in, naturally. An early product favorite of hers was NYC Color which she found at Target for $3.99 – and used it for years. Most recently though, she’s been captivated by Glossier’s Boy Brow (okay, we’re a little bit obsessed at the studio).
And then there are some new techniques I never even heard about like brow tattooing! And using castor oil to help them grow? Garance knows someone who has tried brow tattooing, and she says the result is amazing… So let us know if you want to know more about this… Or if you know more? The idea scares me slightly, but definitely can take some time out of one’s morning routine!
One of our Studio Interns, Ashley, swears by castor oil. She applies this to her eyebrows and lashes every night, and she said it really helps them grow. Then, in the morning, she brushes them and uses some of – you guessed it – Glossier’s Boy Brow. Hmm.. I can see a pattern here!
Now it’s your turn. We want to hear all about your brow stories and what works best for you!
Let’s make 2016 the year of the awesome brow, shall we?
Earring by Sophie Bille Brahe
You may also like
Garance
From the Archives: The Party
Beauty
Whiplash, Round 2
Features
From the Archives: Tonal Dressing
Features
Le Credo de Garance
Beauty
Garance Doré’s Winter Edit
Beauty
Garance Doré’s Fall Edit
Garance
Our New World
Question qui n’a rien à voir avec le sujet de cet article : d’ou viennent les boucles d’oreille portées par Keisha ???
Merci de votre réponse, :)
Amélie
http://charlesrayandcoco.com/
The earrings are so beautiful, right! They are by Sophie Buhai!
exactly! thank you! i loved the brow-centric article but those earrings…! :)
http://littleaesthete.com/
J’aime beaucoup aussi les sourcils épais!
Je suis allée à l’atelier du Sourcil il y a un peu plus d’un an pour me faire dessiner la ligne et pareil, on m’a dit que je les avais trop épilés les années précédentes, surtout d’un côté… Et qu’il fallait que j’attende que ça repousse. Ca va faire un an que j’attends… Et ça prend énormément de temps parce que j’ai très peu de “poil”… Faut être patiente! En attendant, j’ai un côté complètement anarchique!
Ahhhh l’huile de castor, ça marche? A l’atelier du sourcil, on me propose à chaque fois (ça m’énerve) leur super produit qui est censé stimuler la repousse mais je m’en méfie un peu, il est cher… Et je ne sais pas s’il est bien efficace aussi!
Belle journée, bises
Julie, Petite and So What?
I have very sparse blond brows that basically disappear on my face. I have gotten them tinted in the past and liked the results, but it wears off in 2 weeks or so and was a bit of a pain to maintain, so I haven’t bothered to do it in a while. A friend suggested DIYing my brows with Just for Men beard and mustache dye from the drugstore. I finally tried it this weekend and it was perfect! The $10 box will last me forever and it takes 7 minutes to do. I went with the light/medium brown shade and it looks very natural. When I add some Benefit Gimme Brow, my brows look extra amazing. I tried Boy Brow, but I went with the lightest shade, which I do not recommend since it has very little tint.
I’m so glad to hear such a good review from you! I have heard such good things about Boy Brow and finally ordered it a few days ago (along with Glossier’s Milky Jelly cleanser) and am so excited for it to arrive in the mail.
Briana
http://www.youngsophisticate.com
Thanks so much! Would love to hear how it works for you! We are big fans of the Jelly Cleanser here too!
xx Amanda
Ah la la, la prochaine fois que je vais aux Etats-Unis, je trouverai un moyen d’acquérir certains produits Glossier… Ce Boy’s Brow me fait vraiment envie !
Petite correction de traduction : castor oil, comme son nom ne l’indique pas, ne se traduit pas en “huile de castor” mais en huile de ricin ;)
Nice brows! Fun tips :) Mine are almost always au naturel, I did threading once and suffered so much and another time colored them a darker shade which looked good… Usually I just use a tiny brush and a touch of mascara when going out and voila!
http://www.pinterest.com/geraldinetrip/wow-beauty/
OMG! my last article was about eyebrows!! at last I am in the same channel as Garance Doré…I am sooo proud of myself. We are trending!!!
I will post the article march 2 on my facebook (carlota otero) , and have some info in my blog; if someone wants to read it. Where to go, how to do it, why they are so important.
x
I love a timeless look that’s between natural and groomed. Think Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Lauren Bacall. Or Kate Middleton, Angelina Jolie, Amal Clooney, Robin Wright. They have real eyebrows that manage the middle ground between thick (dare I say bushy) and thin-to-overplucked.
Well I supposed that we all have had a bad brows moments (and still have them) . What I’m doing right now to make them look fuller and natural is using a tinted brows gel from an Italian brand Collistar, which is similar to one from Benefit .
Giada
Glam Observer
L’huile de Castor se traduit en français huile de ricin . (^^)
Adepte de l’atelier du sourcil , mes sourcils sont tatoués de façon semi-permanente , ça s’éstompe au fur et à mesure rien de permanent . Mais effectivement cela dépanne et c’est un gain de temps au quotidien pour les sourcils peut fourni , j’én avais marre d’utiliser des crayons à sourcils et autre poudres .
La technique du tatouage permanent à l’atelier est une technique du poil à poil et reproduit l’implentation naturel du poil cest très très discret .
Voilà mon expérience .
Great post ;)
______________________
PERSONAL STYLE BLOG
http://evdaily.blogspot.com
Similar to Garance, I used to use Anastasia’s Brow Wiz to fill and shape my brows. I stopped because I wasn’t sure what shape I wanted them to have. I just knew I wanted them to frame my face nicely without looking unnatural. I like a brow that could pass as natural but you know a little magic has happened to make them stand out.
Now I use Benefit Cosmetics Brow Zings Shaping Kit to fill in my brows while I figure out how I want to shape them. Right now I just fill them to my natural shape. I get my eyebrows waxed but I used to tweeze. In between waxing, I like to grow them out and my eyebrows are naturally light even though I have really dark brown/black hair.
http://www.dressupchowdown.com
Mais c’est le Gimme Brow de Benefit qu’il te faut, il m’a sauvé mes sourcils !
I second the mustache dye for blonde eyebrows. I also get the Just for Men in light brown, then use a little paintbrush/eyeliner brush, paint them in, wait 5 minutes and voila! That lasts about three to four weeks, then I probably go two weeks trying to remember to do it again and then the process repeats itself. I also get them threaded by one of those eyebrow threading studios that are everywhere in NYC about every 6 to 8 weeks.
I don’t like the way pencil/gel looks on my eyebrows because I am so fair, but have been looking for a good clear gel/wax so the hairs don’t get pushed down throughout the day (does anyone know what I mean by this or do I just have long eyebrow hairs…?)
I like my brows to look full, natural, and youthful. I use Anastasia Brow Definer and Glossier Boy Brow to help me get there.
Also, Amanda – your makeup work is gorgeous! Can you come and do mine??
Thank you so much <3 am truly flattered!
xx
Amanda
Quand je lis tout ça je me sens complètement à côté de la plaque question entretien et beauté des sourcils!
Les miens sont assez clairs (vu que je suis blonde) et je les laisse vivre leur vie, j’enlève juste ce qui dépasse, il faudrait peut être que je puisse les confier à un spécialiste pour savoir mieux m’en occuper…!
Au passage, Keisha est somptueuse :)
Mido.
http://www.bowsome.com
I do my brows myself, with tweezers…
I guess my brows could look better. :)
https://sofaundermapletree.wordpress.com
I LOVE everything you write about!
and this time it went straight to heart ;))
2016 The Year of the awesome BROW!!
I have never got the idea of thick brows. By nature I have strong and black brows which connected (in the past) over my nose (terrible memory). As far as I remember there were always people fascinated by my brows. I started to care of them by a professionalists, but the ladies had always let them THICK (and were of course fascinated). Now I am nearly 31 and I met my perfect brow lady 1,5 years ago. She made them middle thin (I would say) and I got a completely different face – now it’s not so heavy, perfect. To make the life more complicated I moved last summer to another city and the story begins all over again. I come, I say “I want them thin” and a lady says “Please, don’t worry, we will restore your brows with the time”. I don’t get it. And I’m really crazy about brows.
Thanks so much for contributing! That is so interesting to hear and hope you can find a good place now that can help you get the shape you want!!
xx
Amanda
I’ve groomed by brows I kind of just let them be
http://hashtagliz.com
Great post!
Would love to know where Keisha’s sweater is from if you know?
Thank you for your feedback! The sweater is beautiful, right! The brand is Iris & Ink.
I’m obsessed with eyebrows at the moment! Anastasia Beverley Hills do some great eyebrow products x
http://www.wonkylauren.com
I’ve given up on my eyebrows. They are blond and sparse so I’ve decided to go for the Scandi look :)
Ana
http://www.champagnegirlsabouttown.co.uk
I use to leave my alone and a couple of years ago tried the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Primer and Brow Powder. I thinking I am ready to try something new so thanks for the tip about Glossier’s Boy Brow!
I love this article! I do resort to dying my eyebrows since I’ve been a redhead for over twelve years, and it was rather tough to find the right balance and time it out properly so I don’t end up with yellow brows. They’re also quite thick and bushy, so I hear you on the cruel middle/high school experience, even more so because I was not allowed to wax them. I did eventually, and do like to keep them well-shaped and thinner than they’d naturally be. It’s rather funny how we women all have our beauty dilemmas and while some complain about not having thick-enough eyebrows, I wouldn’t really consider “filling them in” unless I’ve had a disastrous wax/plucking job that left me with holes. But lately I’ve found myself becoming more relaxed about them, and if they’re not in the most perfect shape/form, I’m not going to obsess about them all day long while I’m out (okay, maybe just for half a minute!).
Love,
S | French Girl In DC
http://www.sonushka.com
Very unrelated question – did Neada leave the team? Her latest article was published two weeks ago! I hope she’s on a temporary break and will be back soon!
Hi Sophie,
Great question! Neada has moved out to LA, so she is no longer based in the Studio here in New York. You may see her name pop up on some stories in the future!
x Emily
I finally found my perfect eyebrow gal at Anastasia in BH. My eyebrows would also grow together – but trying to make them thin is a fools errand. I have settled in to pretty Brooke Shield-esque but Carolina has helped be define the bottom and trim them to behave. I have no idea what filling is…never needed it. However, the new development is that I am getting grey hair in my brows. I get head highlights but am loath to get into one more process so I’m on the wait and see. Eyebrows beat a face-lift any day…
Comme toi, je trouve ça très important que les sourcils soient bien dessinés, fournis et surtout, qu’ils soient de la même couleur que les cheveux, ou plus foncés.
En fait, j’ai longtemps eu l’air très fatiguée car j’ai des yeux assez fermés et la peau claire. Dès lors où j’ai arrêté de m’épiler les sourcils (juste un petit passage de pince à épiler une fois de temps en temps pour enlever un intrus ^^) et que j’ai commencé à les maquiller, ça a tout changé !
Ça révèle le regard, ça donne du pep’s et du caractère tout en étant naturel.
Merci l’employée chez Bobbi Brown pour le maquillage qu’elle m’avait fait il y a plus de 3 ans et qui m’a un peu changé la vie, n’ayons pas peur des mots :)
Bonne journée,
Manon
Je suis d’accord il faut arrêter de sur épiler nos sourcils et leur redonner leur forme naturelle
http://mademoiselleglamour.fr/blog/
Terrific post – thank you for these discussions; love hearing new ideas. My hair is medium brown and I’ve found the best shade of brow pencil for me is actually GREY. I’ve tried various shades of brown but when I catch myself in some ghastly light I cringe seeing the brown looking completely (and oddly) unnatural. I have no idea why the grey works but it does perfectly.
Bobbi Brown Perfectly Defined Long-Wear Brow Pencil (Grey).
interesting how brows became a thing in the recent years
I have a scar in my right brow since I was 5 years old – it is splitted and for years I tried to cover it up…
25 years later I like it – people remember my face (even if they don’t realize it is because of the scar) and for a while I got asked if I am a TLC-fan (Left-Eye)
so now I let them grow the way they want :)
Hi, Studio Dore :) I am happy to see Keisha in this post – she is stunning!
My brows are pretty bushy and no one exept me touched them. I use lots ot stuff from ABH – clear gel, powder duo and her tweezers are amazing. For everyday I really like Lumene tinted brow wax in brown.
I’ve put a little of castor oil in an old brow wax tube (it looks like a little mascara) and this way it’s easy to use on my brows and lashes. I can totally see a difference when I use castor oil my lashes are longer and grow faster and when I wanted to grow my brows even more last year -it helped a lot.
Comme Kasia ci-dessus, je ne comprends pas bien l’obsession pour les sourcils épais… Perso, j’ai les sourcils naturellement broussailleux (merci papa!) et même s’ils ne sont pqs aussi fins que dans les 90s, j’aime bien les affiner/ couper ce qui dépasse (enfin, ce n’est mas moins qui m’en occupe, hein), ça me donne l’air moins sauvage…
Effortless looking brows is always best ! I love Keisha’s and I would love to try out the Glossier gel.
https://stylishwishes.wordpress.com/
Mes sourcils sont fins naturellement. Je fais un clean up 2-4 fois par année au fil chez les indiennes, pour 5$ (6$ a/ le pourboire). J’utilise Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade dans la teinte «ebony». C’est mon préféré depuis sa sortie. Je l’utilise tous les jours et ça me dure un an. Et pour finaliser le tout j’utilise le crayon Browdefiner de la même marque. Selon moi, c’est la combinaison parfaite pour mes sourcils. Je reçois toujours plein de compliments de mon entourage. ????
I’ve had 3d eyebrow tattooing here in Sydney and it is amazing. 2 different colours. One hair stroke other powdred.
Et ça prend énormément de temps parce que j’ai très peu de “poil”… Faut être patiente! En attendant, j’ai un côté complètement anarchique! http://www.suprachaussures.es/homme-chaussures-supra-skytop-c-19
Brows are such a hot topic, and I feel like the pursuit for perfect brows is never fully complete. My best friend, Breigh, is a brow artist and recently learned how to ‘micro-blade’ which is tattooing hair-like lines in the brow area so the effect is very natural. The tattoos last 1-3 years and let you wake up with eyebrows you love, every single morning. Feel free to reach out and I can connect you with her – she’s a true authority on all things brows!
Ive had this special treatment also in Salzburg and its so amazing. Im looking for a new technique. I think Im gonna try powderbrows.
your brows look so natural and soft :)
xoxo
franziska