Perfect eyebrows in lockdown? Achieve the ultimate arch with these key products
The products to try if you’re growing your brows out in lockdown or want to transform them
Eye makeup is the only kind you need for the foreseeable and with fabric concealing more than half our faces, beautiful brows make more of an impact. When I began experimenting with makeup, applying gel between threading appointments (as a child of the 90s, I’d be well warned about over-plucking) was making an effort, but these days the product selection is much broader. Whether you’re growing your brows out in lockdown or want to transform them, these are the launches to try now.
The late Kevyn Aucoin started the 90s ‘power brow’ trend that Kim Kardashian highlighted on Instagram this month. “There was a time that we decided together that everyone needed to look like Carole Lombard and have really skinny eyebrows,” explains fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi in the 2018 documentary . Angelina Jolie, the girls and almost every supermodel embraced his high arches. His namesake brand’s new marker-gel duo pen helps you shape and set brows to a look that is polished but more natural. The marker has a precise tip that lets you fill in sparse areas with fine strokes. It’s not a felt-tip, it’s made up of sharply cut synthetic fibres that evenly distribute the natural matte ink. The other end is a conditioning gel with mung bean and clover extract.
Pro Tip: “If you apply foundation before doing your brows, make sure to clean them with a cotton bud soaked in makeup remover before you begin,” says Kevyn Aucoin Artistry Director Nick Lujan. Foundation residue can give your eyebrows a greyish cast and brow colour shows up best on clean hair and skin.
Charlotte Tilbury’s launches three new brow products this month, including an update on her triangle-tipped Brow Lift Pencil, €28, which is now refillable, waterproof and very rich in emollients. The highlighter on the top gives you the same under-arch ‘lift’ as the original. Brow Cheat, €28, is a refillable, precision-tipped pencil that lets you mimic natural hairs and elongates your brow’s ‘tails.’ Brow Fix, €25, is a clear setting gel with a glossy, non-sticky finish.
Pro Tip: To create an immaculate arch, Charlotte recommends angling a pencil, from the edge of your nostril through the centre of your pupil to find the highest point. Then move the pencil from the centre to the outer corner of your eye, to pinpoint where the tail should end.
Makeup mogul, Huda Kattan, favours bushy, symmetrical eyebrows and so often speaks about the time hers take that it’s no wonder she’s taken this long to create her ideal product. Graphic pencils like Bomb Brows help you draw precise, hair-like strokes in areas you’ve over-plucked or that highlight the natural asymmetry of your brows. Fenty Beauty, Rodial and many other brands do them, Huda Beauty’s unique selling point is a 0.9 mm retractable tip. It is ultra-fine (I’ve broken it twice), and the goal is to create the closest possible approximation of a micro-bladed brow using makeup alone. Doing this with fine strokes takes more time than simply drawing your brows with a regular pencil but the results are more natural, especially if you go a shade darker than your roots. I was most surprised by the effects of Bomb Brows formula — usually a pencil with haircare ingredients doesn’t do much but my brows did respond well to the coconut and castor oils.
Pro Tip: Huda says that even with minimal brow hair, you don’t need to use a lot of the pigmented product to get flawless eyebrows. Instead of covering the entire brow, concentrate on micro-shading in just the sparse areas.
Brow shaving was a major TikTok beauty trend during 2020’s lockdowns and remains a relatively safe way to quickly and dramatically change your look. Brushworks razors can be used on dry skin to define and shape hair without causing razor burn. They are also effective on the bikini line, arms and legs.
Pro Tip: Shaving mistakes won’t haunt you like the plucking kind. Some people's hair grows faster than others but, in general, the growth cycle of eyebrows is around four to six weeks. Your hair’s texture won’t change and the regrowth may even look thicker.
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