Category: ‘Eyebrows’

I’m a firm believer in the importance of good
brow grooming.  It might be one of the
first things to get axed from your beauty routine when you’re short on time,
but it shouldn’t be, because it makes a huge difference in how polished and
together you look.  Luckily, there are
plenty of products out there tailored to your exact brow needs.

No more settling for “eh, close enough”…the two shades housed
in Laura
Mercier Brow Powder Duo ($24) can be used separately or blended together to
achieve your exact color match.  They can
also be applied dry for a more natural look (which is what I prefer), or if
your brows are seriously sparse, you can wet it for more saturated
coverage. 

If your brows are like mine (naturally full, but a little
unruly without some help) try Three Custom Color Specialists
Brow Gel ($18.50).  It looks and
applies a little bit like a clear mascara, but it won’t flake off—it’ll just
lock your brows where you want them.  It
comes in tinted, too.    

What sets Clinique
Superfine Liner for Brows ($13) apart from a garden variety brow pencil is
the seriously miniscule point on this thing—you can practically draw on
individual hairs.  It’s a twist-up pencil
too, so no more worrying about having to constantly sharpen it to avoid a
really thick (a.k.a. fake looking) line. 
 

What: Tarte's The Toolbox: Brow Know-How Set, $32

Why: The first thing Tarte's Brow Know-How Set instructs you to do is measure the proper length of your eyebrows with a pencil. Well, this was enlightening in an embarrassing way, as I realized one brow is oddly longer than the other, and apparently has been that way for much of my adult life. That aside, the rest of the instructions and tools in this quaint kit proved to be quite helpful. 

There are three stencils, brow gel, wax, powder, a pencil, and tweezers. The instructions are brief, but thorough, so you're not involved in an in-depth tutorial. Although I didn't end up tweezing off the left side of my face, I did use the wax and powder to fill in gaps. And the gel was great at keeping everything in place.

My only qualm was with the stencils. Their shapes were fine, but it took an awkward hand-arched-over-head position to keep steady. It would have been nice to have them adhere around the brow while I was toiling away.

Get Yours: beauty.com

Inauguration Day finally came in all its glory, and most pundits are just ramping up for the long haul. However, there are a few Michelle Obama critics (now First Lady Michelle Obama critics) who'll have one fewer thing to harp on: her over-arching brows. Looking at the photos, Michelle on the campaign trail (left) has a higher arch, but yesterday, in her lovely Toledo ensemble, Michelle appeared with a softer brow.

According to an article in Monday's Chicago Tribune, Obama's makeup artist, Ingrid Grimes-Myles, started to gradually train Michelle's brows to grow lower. And while Grimes-Myles does admit to using Tweezerman tweezers, she's keeping mum on the types of powders and pencils she uses. Alas, we figured that since she slipped up and revealed using a MAC lip pencil on Obama, the MAC brow shader ($16) was a safe bet. Even if she doesn't use it, I do, and find it perfect for filling and shaping.

If you're in the same boat as Michelle, a good place to start would be with a brow stencil. Brow maven Anastasia makes an excellent All About Brows Kit ($75) that includes four different stencils, brow powder, and gel (among other essential goodies). The stencils are key, though, in getting your brows into shape. There may be a few difficult months in there, but that's what the highlighter pencil's for (camouflage), and if the First Lady can do it…

You may do a killer job lining, defining, highlighting, and otherwise setting off your gorgeous eyes, but if your brows are scraggly or out of shape, all that artistry on your lids is for naught. We found three double-whammy products that will get your brows in shape and deliver an added bonus.

Sexiest: Just reading off the names featured in Dianne Brill's Eye Lingerie line is enough to make us blush a little. Her sensual, powdery pencils ($24)—with names like Black Silk Lace—are long, lean, and easy to operate. Perfect your come-hither arches with the opposite end of the pencil: a mascara-like brush for grooming and polishing.

Most Practical: Makeup artist Susan Posnick  must have taken a peep inside our overstuffed makeup bags. She obviously knows the beauty of economy, as she's paired basic black mascara with clear, refining brow gel in one ingenious little tube. Swipe your lashes with lengthening, separating, and volumizing mascara, then give your brows a sweep of the taming topcoat-like gel for a complete eye look.

Best Buy: Two-fer and BOGO sales are the best, so when we find a deal like Wet n' Wild's Ultimate Brow Color & Set Pencils  (just $3) we have to jump. Fill in those unsightly patchy parts of your brows with the pencil end, then whip those arches into perfect shape with the tinted fixer end for setting and shaping. 

A couple weeks ago, the hugest set of eyebrows I've ever seen walked right into my view. All I could see was this woman's furry brows. I might have been inclined to ask her why she let caterpillars live on her face. But they were actually quite beautiful. Clearly, she's a trendsetter. According to Anastasia Soare, a celebrity eyebrow expert quoted in the Sephora catalog, "It's all about thick, arched eyebrows done a bit lighter than your natural color to brighten your face." To create the perfect brow shape, first determine their best length. "If you were to draw a diagonal line connecting the outer corner of your nose to the outer corner of your eye, the point where this line crosses your brows is where they should end," Sephora advises. "…Draw [another imaginary line] from the tip of your nose to the middle of your iris. The highest point in your arch should be where this line crosses your brows." Keep your brows in place with Anastasia Brow Gel, it comes in clear and in matching hair colors. Find it at Sephora.com. Deal Alert: Sephora.com offers Free Shipping on all merchandise orders over $75.