Spring’s boldest accessory is not sitting in your closet. It’s on your face, so just look up. Thicker brows are the sure-fire way to make the face appear more youthful, because the brows naturally get lighter and sparser as we age. Plus, when you have beautiful eyes, a thicker brow can make the perfect frame.
Women have been noticed for their brows for decades. Who will ever forget the 1950s when Elizabeth Taylor’s legendary brows made headlines: thick, full and perfectly arched, whether on or off the big screen?
In the 1960s, Audrey Hepburn stole hearts with those cropped bangs and dark, thick brows. Fast forward to Brooke Shields in the 1980s when bigger was always better, and that meant thicker-than-life brows which left all her fans tossing the tweezers.
My suggestion for pulling off the season’s thickest brows is to ignore them for a week or two, allowing them to fill in, even if it means big sunglasses as they grow back in. Then use an angled brow brush and a dark shade of powder matching your hair color (or one shade darker) to paint the brows. Use small strokes in the same direction of the brows going up and outward, remembering to go bigger and wider than usual for that true brow wow.
If the brows are thin with gaps, you might want to use a pencil first to fill in because you will have more control. Remember to use short dots or dashes to mimic the look of the actual tiny hairs of the brows. Careful, though, because nothing is more frightening than brows drawn on too darkly, too heavily, or too unnaturally.
If you are brow shy, schedule an appointment with a professional at a nearby makeup counter. Pull out pages of some of your favorite looks from magazines to show your makeup artist. Forget stencils. They are difficult to use, and nobody wants to look like a clown, well, except for a clown. Limit tweezing to strays between the brows.
Remember that practice makes perfect. If you fumble the first few times while painting on some thicker brows, don’t sweat it. Just use some makeup remover on a cotton swab, and begin again. It’s only makeup for crying out loud. If you want the latest spring trend, on your mark, get set … makeover those brows!
Former Columbus resident David Creel is FOX 40 TV’s resident “makeover guy,” and owner of Beautiful With David salon in Jackson. Contact him at [email protected].
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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